Ramoju Shanmukha, who was a full-time worker in Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, BJP, a leader in many public movements and a center of inspiration for many social activists, Ramoju Shanmukha, affectionately known as “Jannanna”, is no more. He died at his home in Hyderabad on Saturday morning at 1.20 am on the eve of Vaikuntha Ekadashi. He has a wife Sobharani and a daughter Tejaswi. Wife is a lawyer.
Born in a traditional Vishwa Brahmin family in Patabasti Malbai in Nalgonda town, Shanmukha was influenced by the local conditions and was attracted to the Sangh Parivar ideologies from an early age. Since then he devoted his entire life to the strengthening of RSS, ABVP, Hindu Vahini, Bajrang Dal and BJP organizations.
Many central ministers, high-ranking leaders and governors of many states, including the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Nadda, are contemporaries of Janna in social work. He also served as the state joint organising secretary of ABVP.
There was, and still is, a significant difference in social, cultural, political and life style between Nalgonda town where the big clock is on the right and Ramagiri on the left side of the old basti. Naturally, like all the major towns in Telangana, Nalgonda town’s cement road, Akkachelma, Jam Masjid, Jammalaguda, Manyam Chelka, Bar Pet, Nehru Ganj, Chowrastha… Other streets were more religiously sensitive.
For that matter, Nalgonda town, Bhaisa and Bodhan were the first places to have communal clashes after Hyderabad in the entire then united Andhra Pradesh. In such an area, Ratuthelina has matured as a social activist. In Nalgonda town they worked hard without gundaism, dadagiri and rowdyism.
He spent nine months and 15 days in jail in 1976 for participating in the anti-Emergency movement announced by Indira Gandhi. He worked again in North Eastern states, Jammu and Bengal to strengthen the Bharatiya Janata Party. Also, he worked as BJP in-charge of Rayalaseema, North Telangana districts and Hindu Vahini state president.
In 1980-81, the ABVP won the entire panel of the student body elections of the Government Nagarjuna Degree College, Nalgonda. Then he was elected as the General Secretary of Shanmukha College. He is among those who have contributed significantly to the strengthening of ABVP in the united state of Andhra Pradesh.
Shanmukha was attacked and seriously injured by a religious group in Nalgonda town. On the one hand, from the extremist radical Student Union, PDSU, moderate ASIF, SFIs, NSUI under the ruling party… in many adverse situations, they worked very hard in the management of ABVP programs.
In 2007, after being invited by KCR himself to work for a separate Telangana state, he tied the knot with him. KCR and Professor Jaya Shankar came to Jannana’s house in Nalgonda and spent about three hours. Again, he returned to his parent organization BJP as the state prepared. He contested as a BJP candidate from the Nalgonda assembly constituency in the 2019 assembly elections.
Shanmukha lives a very ordinary life and blends in with everyone. Any difficult situation is faced with anxiety. He undertook social service programs in the name of his mother late Sriramoju Saradamba Foundation. He lost his father when he was five years old. Jannanna, who fought for life since childhood, also ran a pawn shop.
