Narasimha Rao, a staunch Congressman right from the pre-Independence days, finally got the recognition that was long due to him, ironically from the BJP-led government.The Congress-led UPA, which was in power when Rao was alive, was accused of distancing itself from him after the Babri demolition in Dec 1992.
It would have been appropriate had the Bharat Ratna been conferred on PV garu, as he is fondly called in these parts, in his birth centenary year, celeb rated three years ago in 2021, his supporters feel. Nevertheless, the announcement coincided with the opening of the grand temple in Ayodhya. PV’s detractors have often accused him of remaining a silent spectator when the centuries old mosque was pulled down.
HUMBLE BEGININGS
Known to navigate tough situations with silence, Narasimha Rao took some of the path-breaking decisions including the economic reforms that opened Indian economy to the world market. He was an enigma for many of his supporters as he would never make public what’s on his mind. His biggest achievement was to keep all the political factions within the Congress and outside happy, of course, by maintaining silence on crucial issues.
Even as a youngchief minister of undivided AP during 1971-73, he would not take decisions in haste, old-timers recall. No leader from Telugu states held as many coveted positions as he did. From a humble beginning in the nondescript Vangara village in what is now Hanumakonda district, Narasimha Rao rose to the national horizon even as he was a student of Osmania University in 1930s where he led the famous Vande Mataram movement, that virtually sowed the seeds of Independence movement among students andyouth in the princely Hyderabad state. The Nizam government debarred him from the university, forcing him to shift to Nagpur to complete his studies.
PV & CONGRESS
Many felt that Narasimha Rao, the second Congress prime minister outside the Gandhi-Nehru family, did not get the respect he deserved from the Congress leadership after he demitted office of the prime minister in May 1996. And when he passed away eight years later in December 2004, none of the membersfrom the Nehru-Gandhi family had participated in the funeral in Hyderabad.
Though the Congress government in undivided AP conducted a state funeral and built a sprawling memorial on the banks of the Hussainsagar lake, the way PV’s body was left unattended after the pyre was lit drew sharp criticism from people. Photographs of half-burnt body invited the wrath of his supporters.
In fact, the funeral was delayed as officials kept on maintaining that Sonia Gandhi would participate in the last rites. The Congress government later may have named one of India’s longest flyovers after PV (PVNR flyover in Hyderabad), but the party leadership could not come clean out of the accusation of neglect. The leadership was also accused of preventing the common Congress workers from paying their last tributes to Narasimha Rao at AICC headquarters in Delhi.
The announcement of Bharat Ratna was a political masterstroke as the Congress had returned to power in Telangana only a couple of months ago and is preparing for the Lok Sabha polls.
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RISE IN POLITICS
His rise in AP and Indian politics was steady and gradual. From a student leader and member of the Hyderabad Congress, which was formed in 1938, Narasimha Rao became an MLA in 1957, a year after Hyderabad state and Andhra state were merged to form Andhra Pradesh. He became an MP in 1977.
A disciple of Swami Ramanand Tirth, an important functionary of Hyderabad Congress, Rao was both politically and spiritually inclined. He maintained a healthy balance between politics and spirituality and this explains his golden silence on issues controversial.
With PV getting his due, admirers of late NT Rama Rao, an equally illustrious politician, thespian and cultural icon of Telugus, eagerly wait for the conferment of the highest civilian award on NTR.
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