Military Madhavaram, A Tiny Hamlet In AP Has At Least One Soldier In Every Household

A soldier that selflessly protects the country, an army officer that is ready to die for their nation. It needs courage to be so selfless. Courage from the soldier and from the family members who send off their loved ones to serve in the military.

The courage and bravery pours out of every house in this Andhra village. A place where kids are motivated and taught that one day, their legacy will be to serve their country, India. Madhavaram, a small village in Andhra Pradesh has at least one member from every household serving in the military.

History of Valor

The history of this village’s valor goes decades back. This West Godavari village is popularly nicknamed as Military Madhavaram Village. This small village has fought and has a military history that goes back to the 17th century.

Around 300 years ago, Madhavaram was the defense base of Gajapati dynasty ruler, Pusapati Madhava Varma Brahma. The village was named after this ruler. Men of Madhavaram village fought alongside many kings and provided their service to them.

It was said that around 90 men were sent to fight World war I and during World War II, at least 1,100 men fought from the British side.

Now the village is known as Madhavaram and is located 150 kms away from the capital, Amravati.

Subedar Vempalli Venkatachalam

One of the greatest fighters that the village has ever produced; Subedar Vempalli Venkatachalam was honored with the Victoria Cross Medal. He was also the recipient of titles like Pallaki Subedar, Rao Bahadur and Ghoda Subedar.

The villagers take his name with pride. Following the path that he laid, the family decided to honor his legacy. Vempalli’s son as well became a soldier. His son, Markandeyulu took part in the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the 1965 Indo-Pak war, and the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.

After Vempalli, every son in the family dedicated their life to service. Generation after generation, the family still continues to serve the country, making this family one of the oldest in the village to serve in the Army.

Following his grandfather’s footsteps was Subbarao Naidu who also served in the Indian Army. He is a retired Army man. Currently the fourth generation of this family is living in the village. Vempalli’s great grandson, Manas is currently serving in Indian military.

2021, The Legacy Continues 

Almost every household in this village has at least one person serving the country. Some houses even send three-four members to serve in Indian Army. They could be serving the country and protecting the borders or help would be helping in governmental/administrative work. Currently there are more than 70 men from this village serving in the military. 

To honor the soldiers and members of the village who sacrificed their lives for India, a war memorial was built in their name along the Amar Jawan Jyoti of New Delhi, by the village members. 

Now the men of this village are providing their service in either, Indian Army, Navy or Air Force. Not just the men, the women of Madhavaram are also applying for positions that are open to them.