Narasimha Rao's birthday celebrated as Telangana event

The former Prime Minister died in New Delhi in 2004 while undergoing treatment at AIIMS

Almost a decade after his death, PV Narasimha Rao got the recognition due to him. For the first time on Saturday, the birthday of the former Prime Minister was celebrated as a state function, thanks to the government of the new state of Telangana.

PV, as Rao is popularly known, died in New Delhi on December 23, 2004, while undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. His son, Prabhakar Rao, insisted his memorial be built in the national capital as had been done in the case of other former prime ministers. But to no avail.

His body was brought to Hyderabad where it was cremated. The state government gave a three-acre land near Necklace Road in the city  for building his memorial. Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, never visited the PV Gnana Bhoomi, where his Samadhi exists, during any of her visits to the state capital.

Consequently, there is an overwhelming feeling among the people here that the only Telugu person who became Prime Minister and the first one outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to complete a five-year term had been virtually ignored by the Congress high command.

However, the TRS, which always accused the ‘Andhra rulers’ of ignoring the contribution of Telangana leaders and literary figures, wanted to resurrect the legacy of PV, who was born in Warangal and brought up in Karimnagar districts, the hot-bed of the separate Telangana movement.

So, soon after it rode to power, party president and chief minister, K Chandrasekhara Rao, announced PV’s birthday would be celebrated henceforth as a state event.  

PV, who was born on June 28, 1921, is  remembered both in Andhra and Telangana and may be elsewhere not only as an astute politician and architect of economic reforms but also as a scholar who was well versed in eight languages.