B. Srinivasa Rao (10 April 1907 - 30 September 1961) was an Indian politician. He hailed from present-day Karnataka, but moved to Tamil Nadu and became a peasant organiser there.[1][2]
Srinivasa Rao was born on 10 April 1907.[3]
He was a member of the Congress Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India.[1] He was an associate of S.V. Ghate and P. Jeevanandham, and was one of the nine founding members of the Tamil Nadu unit of CPI.[1][4] He played an important role in the Tamil peasant movement from 1935 onward, in spite of not knowing Tamil language upon his arrival in the region.[1] As of 1935 he was the secretary of the Congress Socialist Party in Madras.[1] B. Srinivasa Rao was jailed for having distributed leaflets calling for boycott to the King George V Silver Jubilee celebration.[1] After his release from prison he worked with P. Jeevanandham and P. Ramamurthi in setting up various trade unions.[1] According to P. Ramamurthi, he founded the peasants and agricultural labour movement in Thanjavur District as "[h]e toured the district for months, lived with the peasants and agricultural labourers, ate in their houses and built a strong movement."[5]
He managed the monthly publication of CPI 1938–1939.[2] Upon the outbreak of World War II, he was arrested under the Defense of India Rules for having made anti-war speeches.[1][4] He served as Joint Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha 1954–1957.[2] He was elected to the CPI National Council at the 1958 Amritsar Party Congress.[2]
He died on 30 September 1961.[3]