Rama Rajyam founder Raghava Reddy is proud of his identity and doesn't shy away from flaunting it. He takes pride in being from Andhra Pradesh, calls for ‘citizen arrest’ of judges and deems police the army of ‘Kali’ - evil incarnate.
Published Feb 11, 2025 | 3:00 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 11, 2025 | 3:00 PM
A look into Veera Raghava Reddy and his Rama Rajyam
Synopsis: Rama Rajyam, an outfit registered in Hyderabad, grabbed headlines after its volunteers attacked the head priest of the Chilkur Balaji Temple, for not providing ‘soldiers’ and funds to the far-right group. A look into the outfit’s functions, and that of its leader Veera Raghava Reddy, reveals that the group is thriving in the hope of a dystopian future.
The irony of Rama Rajyam is that it punishes evil and protects the innocent, which are some of its stated visions. The proponents of Rama Rajyam — not to be confused with Mahatma Gandhi’s Ideal State — call it Kalibandhanam.
Yet, in the morning of 7 February, a mob of around 20 people barged into the house of the head priest of Chilkur Balaji Temple — popularly known as Visa Balaji Temple — in Hyderabad and assaulted him.
The mobsters were clad in black with saffron shawls casually thrown around their shoulders —the uniform of the self-anointed soldiers of Rama Rajyam. They were incensed when the priest, CS Rangarajan, refused their demand for ‘soldiers’ and funds.
A day later, Veera Raghava Reddy, the leader of the fringe far-right Hindu outfit Rama Rajyam, was arrested. On 10 February, five more members of the outfit were taken into custody.
Rama Rajyam is registered under the Kosalendra Trust, an NGO in Telangana floated by Raghava Reddy.
Registered in November 2022, Rama Rajyam “shall function and carry out the activities as stated under Bhagvadgeetha chapter 4 -7 & 8 and 18-17 & 43 ‘ R/w Article 48 and Article 361 (Rajapramukha) of the Constitution of India [sic]“, according to its website.
#Telangana: The head priest of the Chilkur Balaji Temple was attacked on 7 February by a group called #RamaRajya claiming to be the descendants of the Ikshwaku clan.
The group aiming to establish their own version of a ‘Rama Rajya,’ attacked the priest for refusing to associate… pic.twitter.com/oVVSNklxgw
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) February 9, 2025
“The current criminal justice systems in establishment are evil–disciplined and are only defending the wealthy criminals, and no dharma is seen in the process,” the website said.
“Anyone paying a fee to the litigant and going around the court can never hope that justice will ever be done,” it further claimed, while calling judges and the police the army of Kali, evil incarnate as per the Hindu mythology.
It also detailed a list of objectives for itself:
A video meant to recruit 5,000 volunteers listed the qualifications: “The member should be aged between 20 and 50, be able to walk for 5 km and run for about 3 km.”
The registration page makes it seem like a harmless hobby. Caring for cows and feeding the underprivileged — in that order — are listed as day-to-day activities. Meanwhile, it states that it provides a sense of community for support, mental well-being, and creative expression for its members,
It views the authority to arrest a private person ( under CrPC 43) as a primary tool to tackle the police and judges to establish their justice.
Among the activities of Rama Rajyam is to appoint other ‘rulers.’ The hierarchy of Rama Rajyam doesn’t shy away from calling authority figures rulers.
Raghava administering the oath to volunteers in Andhra Pradesh.
However, that doesn’t come as a surprise, given the group’s disillusioned objectives. The hierarchy goes Trinities > Ashtadik Ruler > State Ruler > District Ruler > Mandala Ruler > Village Ruler.
At one such ‘coronation’ of local rulers in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, Raghava administered a solemn oath to the new members.
“For establishing Rama Rajyam, I’m ready to give my life up or take a life too,” the oath went.
Despite the group being akin to fringe elements, it’s somehow partaking in YouTube’s feud cultures, except with less success. In the more than 100 videos, Raghava rants against:
Notably, the BJP is missing. More surprisingly, Raghava seldom goes against the Muslim and Christian communities, something seen as common for far-right outfits.
Other videos include information from Raghava’s ‘intelligence sources’ and, often, threats of surprise inspections and citizens’ arrests.
He also goes as far as to call judges ‘injustice idols.’ threatening them with a citizens’ arrest under CrPC 43 (also of BNSS).
The leader, Veera Raghava Reddy, began his YouTube journey in 2020, even before the establishment of the Kosalendra Trust or Rama Rajyam.
Seated on a throne, Veera Raghava Reddy engages with his followers.
In his first video, which is publicly available, he goes on an 11-minute rant about the justice system. One of the videos was titled “TO THE DGP TS, FROM …..K VEERA RAGHAVA REDDY,” released 4 years ago.
There is a bit of everything. He began with a warning to the police for seemingly implicating him in a false case. Then, he went after the judiciary for allegedly taking too long to hear his case. He then took an unexpected direction, ‘revealing’ the crimes he had committed in his past lives.
“You can find weapons I had used for murder in my previous lives in certain locations as per the scriptures,” he challenged the police.
From this supernatural turn, some of Raghava’s peculiarities began showing up; these would persist into his future videos as well. Notably singing at unexpected times. Throughout the first video, Raghava would randomly and unexpectedly start singing, apparently to accentuate his point.
Raghava Reddy is proud of his identity and doesn’t shy away from flaunting it. He takes pride in being from Andhra Pradesh.
The reason? According to him, the state is the homestead for the Bharata and Ikshwaku clans and has claim over all of India’s glory. He often begins his videos by stating that he is an Aandhrudu, followed by his gotra, a Hindu system of lineage.
His love for gotras goes as far as to help him establish himself as a distant relative of any random person, as he does, and to establish his superiority. Not only does he identify himself by his gotra, he also uses it to identify others.
However, the icing on the cake is Raghava’s claim as a descendant of the Ikshwaku clan.
In every video, along with his signature songs, Andhra and gotra emphasis, Raghava finds a way to talk about lineages and clans. He banks on these identities to instill a reign over his followers.
The Moinabad police told South First that the accused, Raghava Reddy, already has two cases pending against him in Hyderabad.
“He has a case of harassing a woman and obstructing the work of a government official,” the inspector stated.
After the attack on Rangarajan, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and BRS working president KT Rama Rao called on the priest. However, the BJP has been remaining mum.
#Telangana: Chief Minster @revanth_anumula spoke To Chilkur Balaji head priest Rangarajan over a call following the attack on him by a far-right group called ‘Rama Rajyam.’
The group entered the priest’s residence on 7 February, demanding that he provide ‘soldiers’ for the… pic.twitter.com/ZW4tBlJWzB
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) February 10, 2025
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
