Kandukuri Veeresalingam was a born crusader against social evils. As a social reformer, he stirred public conscience for the improvement of Women’s status, uplift of Harijans, and the removal of various social taboos. A man of action and firm determination he heralded a social revolution in Andhra. He is to Andhra what Ram Mohan Roy is to India in a larger sense.
He was born on 16 April 1848. Veeresalingam lost his father at a tender age and was brought up by his uncle. Even as a pupil in primary school, he opposed meaningless customs and religious beliefs. Later in life, he was a school teacher. He fought valiantly against orthodoxy and waged a long-drawn battle for the rights of women to education, the marriage of widows, and the abolition of child marriage. He campaigned against the caste system and encouraged inter-caste marriages. He waged a battle against untouchability. He took up the case of the poor and the downtrodden and fought corruption in the administration.
Veeresalingam was also a man of great erudition. He wrote playlets and essays in simple Telugu, dealing with social evils. He started various Telugu journals and through their pages advocated various causes for social reform. He breathed his last on 27 May 1919.
Source: Information Brochure of Commemorative Postage Stamp issued by Department of Posts.