The hill people of Andhra (Gudem Hills) were angry with the British rule, because the government had deprived them of the use of forest lands. They were prohibited to graze their cattle on forest lands, denied the right to cut trees for fuel and eat the fruits of the forest. This affected their livelihoods as well as denied them their traditional rights. They were also forced to do begar for building roads by the government. This enraged them so much that they organised a militant guerrilla movement in the 1920s.