Mustering a force combined of Adivasis, farmers and sympathizers to their cause, he engaged in guerilla campaigns against the British colonial authorities in the border regions of the Madras Presidency part of the districts of East Godavari and Visakhapatnam (now part of Alluri Sitharama Raju district). He was nicknamed "Manyam Veerudu" (transl. Hero of the Jungle) by local villagers for his heroic exploits.[2]