P. V. Narasimha Rao: Difference between revisions

| birth_place        = [[Vangara, Karimnagar]], [[Hyderabad State]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br />(now in [[Telangana]], India)

According to a former [[Foreign Minister of India]] [[Natwar Singh]], "Unlike Nehru, his knowledge of Sanskrit was profound. Nehru had a temper, PV a temperament. His roots were deep in the spiritual and religious soil of India. He did not need to '[[The Discovery of India|Discover India]]'". [[List of Presidents of India|11th]] [[President of India]] [[APJ Abdul Kalam]] described Rao as a "patriotic statesman who believed that the nation is bigger than the political system". Kalam acknowledged that Rao in fact asked him to get ready for nuclear tests in 1996 but they were not carried out as [[Govt of India|government at centre]] got changed due to [[1996 Indian general election|1996 general election]]. The tests were later conducted by Vajpayee-led [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|NDA]] government. In fact Rao briefed Vajpayee on nuclear plans.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/how-pv-became-pm/article3592852.ece How PV became PM], The Hindu, 2 July 2012.</ref>

Although heavily criticised during his tenure and even sidelined later by his own party,<ref>{{cite web |title=PV Narasimha Rao, a forgotten prime minister |url=https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/0i3G8vG5fALoILBeJBqqHL/PV-Narasimha-Rao-a-forgotten-prime-minister.html |website=Livemint |language=en |date=21 June 2016}}</ref> retrospective evaluations have been kinder, even positioning him as one of the best prime ministers of India in various polls and analyses.<ref>{{cite web |title=Half Lion: Resurrecting Narasimha Rao |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/Arrackistan/half-lion-resurrecting-narasimha-rao/ |website=Times of India Blog |date=26 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Raman |first1=B |title=Narasimha Rao: Our finest PM ever? |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/28raman.htm |access-date=1 May 2022 |work=Rediff |date=27 December 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Biswas |first1=Soutik  |date=25 July 2016 |title=Reassessing India's 'forgotten PM' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36791913 |website=BBC News |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Padmanabhan |first1=Anil |date=7 October 2016 |title=Why Narasimha Rao is suddenly a star |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/xdRVNfVp6pYaB8pYueVQLO/Why-Narasimha-Rao-is-suddenly-a-star.html |work=Livemint |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Shekhar |date=23 December 2018 |title=Why Narasimha Rao is India's most vilified, deliberately misunderstood and forgotten PM |url=https://theprint.in/opinion/why-narasimha-rao-is-indias-most-vilified-deliberately-misunderstood-and-forgotten-pm/24463/ |work=ThePrint |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Pushkarna |first1=Vijaya |title=The PMs who shaped India |url=https://www.theweek.in/leisure/society/2019/09/26/The-PMs-who-shaped-India.html |access-date=1 May 2022 |magazine=The Week |date=26 September 2019 |language=en}}</ref> His achievements include steering India through the [[1991 Indian economic crisis|1991 economic crisis]], completing a tenure with a [[10th Lok Sabha|minority government]], establishing [[Israel - India relations|diplomatic relations with Israel]], starting India's [[Look East policy (India)|Look East policy]], rekindling [[Indian nuclear programme|India's nuclear programme]], defeating the 1994 United Nations resolution against India,<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Gupta |first1=Shekhar |date=31 March 1994 |title=India shows the world it means business on Kashmir issue at Geneva meet |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19940331-india-shows-the-world-it-means-business-on-kashmir-issue-at-geneva-meet-808937-1994-03-31 |magazine=India Today |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref> effectively handling and crushing [[insurgency in Punjab]], tough policy against [[terrorism in Kashmir]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Shekhar |title=P.V. Narasimha Rao’s Kashmir policy was much more muscular than PM Modi’s |url=https://theprint.in/opinion/narasimha-raos-kashmir-policy-was-much-more-muscular-than-pm-modis/76506/ |access-date=1 May 2022 |work=ThePrint |date=28 June 2018}}</ref> and opening partial diplomatic relations with [[Taiwan]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kumar |first=Sumit |date=22 May 2016 |title=Strategic ties with Taiwan will greatly benefit India |url=https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/4762-strategic-ties-taiwan-will-greatly-benefit-india |work=The Sunday Guardian Live}}</ref>

P.&nbsp;V. Narasimha Rao was born on 28 June 1921 in a [[Telugu Brahmin]]{{sfn|Reddy|1993|p=35}} family in the village of [[Vangara, Karimnagar Dist]] of present-day [[Telangana]] (then part of [[Hyderabad State]]).{{sfn|Reddy|1993|p=35}}<ref name="britannica">{{citation |title=P.V. Narasimha Rao |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-V-Narasimha-Rao |encyclopedia=britannica.com }}</ref><ref name="thehindu.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/people-hail-decision-on-pvs-birth-anniversary/article6146786.ece|title=People hail decision on PV's birth anniversary|date=25 June 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=31 December 2019}}</ref> His father Sitarama Rao and mother Rukma Bai hailed from agrarian families.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aggarwala |first1=Adish C. |title=P.V. Narasimha Rao, Scholar Prime Minister |date=1995 |publisher=Amish Publications |isbn=978-81-900289-1-2 |pages=215, 298 |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=CfxtAAAAMAAJ&dq=p+v+narasimha+rao+rukma+bai&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=+Rukma+Bai |quote=His father Mr. Sitarama Rao and mother Mrs. Rukma Bai. With his wife Mrs. Satyamma}}</ref> Later he was adopted by Pamulaparthi Ranga Rao and Rukminamma and brought to [[Vangara, Hanamkonda district|Vangara]], a village in [[Bheemadevarpalle]] mandal of present-day [[Hanamkonda district]] in Telangana when he was three years old.<ref name="thehindu.com"/><ref name="britannica" />{{sfn|Sitapati|2016|p=}} Popularly known as P.&nbsp;V., he completed part of his primary education in Katkuru village of Bheemdevarapalli mandal in [[Hanamkonda district]] by staying in his relative Gabbeta Radhakishan Rao's house and studying for his [[bachelor's degree]] in the Arts college at the [[Osmania University]]. P.&nbsp;V. Narasimha Rao was part of Vande Matram movement in the late 1930s in the Hyderabad state. He later went on to [[Hislop College]], now under [[Nagpur University]], where he completed a master's degree in law.<ref name="pmindia">{{citation |title=Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao |url=https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/former_pm/shri-p-v-narasimha-rao-2/ |work=pmindia.gov.in }}</ref> He completed his law from Fergusson College in Pune of the University of Bombay (now Mumbai).<ref name="britannica" />

Along with his distant cousin [[Pamulaparthi Sadasiva Rao]], Ch. Raja Narendra and Devulapalli Damodar Rao, P.&nbsp;V. edited a Telugu weekly magazine called ''Kakatiya Patrika'' in the 1940s.<ref name="kakatiya1">{{cite web |url=http://kakatiyapatrika.com/?page_id=20&cpage=1 |title=Pamulaparthi Sadasiva Rao |work=M. Rajagopalachary, Pamulaparthi Sadasiva Rao Memorial Endowment Lecture |publisher=kakatiyapatrika.com |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203021206/http://kakatiyapatrika.com/?page_id=20&cpage=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Both P.&nbsp;V. and Sadasiva Rao contributed articles under the pen-name ''Jaya-Vijaya''.<ref name = "kakatiya1"/><ref name="kakatiya2">{{cite web |url=http://kakatiyapatrika.com/?p=57 |title=With PV |work=kakatiyapatrika.com |date=31 October 2009|access-date=30 March 2010}}</ref> He served as the chairman of the Telugu Academy in Andhra Pradesh from 1968 to 1974.<ref name="britannica" />

Rao was an active freedom fighter during the [[Indian Independence movement]]<ref name = "Embassy">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119155631/http://www.indianembassy.org/PV/pv.pdf |title=A Profile of P.V. Narasimha Rao |publisher=[[Embassy of India in Washington]] |archive-date=19 January 2010 |url-status=dead |url=http://www.indianembassy.org/PV/pv.pdf }}</ref> and joined full-time politics after independence as a member of the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref name="pmindia" /> He served as an elected representative for Andhra Pradesh state assembly from 1957 to 1977.<ref name="britannica" /> He served in various ministerial positions in Andhra government from 1962 to 1973.<ref name="britannica" /> He became the [[Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh]] in 1971 and implemented land reforms and land ceiling acts strictly.<ref name="britannica" /> He secured reservation for lower castes in politics during his tenure.<ref name="britannica" /> President's rule had to be imposed to counter the [[Jai Andhra movement]] during his tenure.<ref name = "Telegraph"/>

He supported [[Indira Gandhi]] in formation of New Congress party in 1969 by splitting the Indian National Congress.<ref name="britannica" /> This was later regrouped as Congress (I) party in 1978.<ref name="britannica" /> He served as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Andhra Pradesh districts in 1972.<ref name="britannica" /> He rose to national prominence in 1972 for handling several diverse portfolios, most significantly [[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Home]], [[Minister of Defence (India)|Defence]] and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (India)|Foreign Affairs]], in the cabinets of both Indira Gandhi and [[Rajiv Gandhi]].<ref name="pmindia" /> He served as Foreign minister from 1980 to 1984 and then from 1988 to 1989.<ref name="britannica" /> In fact, it is speculated that he was in the running for the post of [[President of India|India's President]] along with [[Zail Singh]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mjakbar.org/blog/archives/2004_12_01_mjakbarblog_archive.html|archive-date=17 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917205158/http://www.mjakbar.org/blog/archives/2004_12_01_mjakbarblog_archive.html|title=The Lonely Masks of Narasimha Rao|work=mjakbar.org|access-date=24 August 2007}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2020}}

Rao very nearly retired from politics in 1991. It was the [[Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi|assassination of the Congress President Rajiv Gandhi]] that persuaded him to make a comeback.<ref>John F. Burns (21 May 1995). [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/21/world/crisis-in-india-leader-survives-for-now.html Crisis in India: Leader Survives, for Now]. The New York Times.</ref> As the Congress had won the largest number of seats in the [[1991 Indian general election#1991|1991 elections]], he had an opportunity to head the [[minority government]] as Prime Minister. He was the first person outside the [[Nehru-Gandhi family]] to serve as [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] for five continuous years, the first to hail from the state of [[Andhra Pradesh]], and also the first from [[southern India]].<ref name="Reforming"/><ref>[http://www.boloji.com/plainspeak/045.htm Observations on Indian Independence Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112211011/http://www.boloji.com/plainspeak/045.htm |date=12 November 2006 }}. Subash Kapila. Retrieved 2 March 2007.</ref> Since Rao had not contested the general elections, he then participated in a by-election in [[Nandyal (Lok Sabha constituency)|Nandyal]] to join the parliament. Rao won from Nandyal with a victory margin of a record 5 lakh (500,000) votes and his win was recorded in the [[Guinness Book Of World Records]]; later on, in 1996, he was MP from Berhampur, Ganjam, Odisha.<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/feb/andhra27.htm Rao's world record]. ''[[rediff.com]]''. Retrieved 2 March 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/rezuj/pt.html |title=Indian Political Trivia |access-date=18 April 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050206101148/http://www.geocities.com/rezuj/pt.html |archive-date=6 February 2005 }}. Retrieved 19 April 2007.</ref> His cabinet included [[Sharad Pawar]], himself a strong contender for the Prime Minister's post, as [[Defence Ministers of India|Defence Minister]]. He also broke a convention by appointing a non-political economist and future prime minister, [[Manmohan Singh]] as his [[Finance Minister of India|Finance Minister]].<ref name = "cabinet1">{{cite news|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1991-06-22/news/mn-916_1_prime-minister|title= Rao takes oath in India, names his cabinet|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=30 March 2010 | date=22 June 1991}}</ref><ref name = "cabinet2">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3725357.stm|title= Profile: Manmohan Singh|work=BBC News |date=30 March 2009|access-date=30 March 2010 }}</ref> He also appointed [[Subramanian Swamy]], an opposition party member as the Chairman of the Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade. This has been the only instance that an opposition party member was given a Cabinet rank post by the ruling party. He also sent opposition leader [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]], to represent India in a UN meeting at Geneva.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jha |first=Prabhat |date=24 December 2020 |title=No one like Atalji |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/no-one-like-atal-bihari-vajpayee-7118859/ |access-date=27 January 2021 |work=The Indian Express |language=en }}</ref>

Rao decided that India, which in 1991 was on the brink of bankruptcy,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3680/is_199810/ai_n8812118/pg_6|title=India's economic reforms|work=findarticles.com}} {{Dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref> would benefit from [[Economic liberalization|liberalising]] its economy. He appointed economist Manmohan Singh, a former governor of the [[Reserve Bank of India]], as [[Finance Minister of India|Finance Minister]] to accomplish his goals.<ref name = "Reforming"/> This liberalisation was criticised by many socialist nationalists at that time.<ref>{{cite magazine|author1=John Greenwald |author2=[[Anita Pratap]] |author3=Dick Thompson |date=18 September 1995 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930091951/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C983429%2C00.html |title=No Passage to India |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=2 March 2007}}</ref>

Narasimha Rao was charged for facilitating his safe exit of accused of 1995 Purulia arms drop case.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Purulia-arms-drop-had-govt-sanction-Davy/articleshow/8112968.cms|title=Purulia arms drop had govt sanction: Davy &#124; India News - Times of India|website=The Times of India|access-date=31 December 2019}}</ref> Although it was never proved.