PV Narasimha Rao Death Anniversary 2022: All You Need To Know About The Former PM Who Liberalised The Indian Economy
Rao was also called ‘Chanakya’ for his ability to steer economic and political legislation through the parliament at a time when he headed a minority government. APJ Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India, described Rao as a "patriotic statesman who believed that the nation is bigger than the political system".
Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao, popularly known as PV Narasimha Rao, was a statesman and politician who served as the 9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was born on June 28, 1921, in Karimnagar, Telangana and died on December 23, 2004, following a heart attack in New Delhi and was later cremated in Hyderabad. Rao assumed the prime minister post after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991. He is known for introducing various liberal reforms to India's economy and would hence remain etched in the country's history forever as a staunch reformer. Rao was also called ‘Chanakya’ for his ability to steer economic and political legislation through the parliament at a time when he headed a minority government. APJ Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India, described Rao as a "patriotic statesman who believed that the nation is bigger than the political system". Interesting Facts About Former Prime Minister of India, a Scholar And Linguist.
Early Life
Rao was born to a Telugu Brahmin family in Telangana to Sitarama Rao and Rukma Bai, both belonging to agrarian families. Later, Rao was adopted by Pamulaparthi Ranga Rao and Rukminamma and brought to Vangara in Telangana when he was three years old. Popularly known as PV, he completed part of his primary education in the Hanamkonda district and then his bachelor's degree in the Arts college at Osmania University. He later went on to Hislop College, now under Nagpur University, where he completed a master's degree in law and later completed his law from Fergusson College in Pune of the University of Mumbai.
A Look at His Political Journey
Rao led a necessary administration, overseeing a major economic transformation and several home incidents affecting India's national security. The prime ministers continued the economic reform policies pioneered by Rao's government. Rao appointed economist Manmohan Singh, a former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, as Finance Minister to accomplish his goals of liberalising India’s economy. Many socialist nationalists criticised this liberalisation at that time. He is often called the 'Father of Indian Economic Reforms'.
Rao was an active freedom fighter during the Indian Independence movement and joined full-time politics after independence as a member of the Indian National Congress. As the Prime Minister of India, Rao’s journey was eventful in India's history. Apart from marking a paradigm shift from industrialising, his years as Prime Minister also saw the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a major right-wing party, as an alternative to the Congress.
Rao energized the national nuclear security and ballistic missiles program, which ultimately resulted in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. Rao's mother tongue was Telugu, but he also had an excellent command of Marathi. In addition to eight other Indian languages (Hindi, Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Sanskrit, Tamil and Urdu), he spoke English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German and Persian. As per historical records, Rao was able to speak 17 languages.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 23, 2022 08:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).