Andhra Patrika was the weekly newspaper of the nationalist movement in the Telugu speaking region founded by Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao in 1908. It later transformed into a daily newspaper before it closed down in 1991. It helped to shape both modern Telugu language and an identity that resulted in the creation of the state of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
.
History
Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao founded the weekly as he recognized the need for a
Telugu language
Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language fami ...
journal to campaign effectively for the
Indian freedom struggle
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
and founded the weekly, and the newspaper wandered all over the territories in which the Telugu language was spoken. Rao moved the newspaper to Madras in 1914 to get closer to Telugus, and after a few years turned it into the first enduring daily in Telugu. Gaining a reputation even among the British as the most efficiently managed Telugu newspaper, it backed the Gandhian nationalist movement from 1920, and Nageswara Rao served as president and treasurer of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, the chief organizational body of the national movement in the Telugu areas. According to a British official, ''Andhra Patrika'' became "the most evil influence in the Telugu country". Dubbed "Viswa Datha" ("donor to the world"), Nageswara Rao put money and effort into his newspaper. He introduced good quality news photos from 1928 and is said to have distributed 800 copies of the paper free to village libraries. In 1931, in the heat of the civil-disobedience movement against the British, ''Andhra Patrika'''s circulation reached 10,000. At independence, it was the largest, best- known Telugu daily. Its proprietors joined forces with others like them from around India when they joined the
Audit Bureau of Circulations An Audit Bureau of Circulations is a private organization that provides industry-agreed standards for media brand measurement of print publications and other media outlets in a given country. The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circula ...
formed in 1948. The ABC was intended to certify and guarantee circulation figures and thereby reassure and encourage advertisers. ''Andhra Patrika'' was the 33rd member, not far behind major English-language dailies like the ''Hindu of Madras'' (No 16) and ahead of the ''Statesman of Calcutta'' (No 57).
Decline of the Journal
''Andhra Patrika'' published only from Madras city until about 1969 when it started an edition from
Vijayawada
Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises NT ...
and established an office in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
under the leadership of T. V. Krishna. Ten years earlier, it had been passed in circulation by ''
Andhra Prabha
''Andhra Prabha'' - ''Journalism first'' is a Telugu language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The newspaper is one of the oldest running Telugu-language daily newspapers of India. The newspaper ...
,'' which was published from towns inside Andhra Pradesh from the 1950s. In 1960, ''Andhra Prabha'''s circulation was 53,000 for its two editions from Vijayawada and
Chittoor
Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popu ...
. ''Andhra Patrika'''s sole edition from Madras sold 48,000 copies. Ten years later, ''Andhra Prabha'', then publishing from Vijayawada and
Bengaluru
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, reached 1,16,000; ''Andhra Patrika'' remained at 48,000.
After Nageswara Rao's death in 1938 his son-in-law, Sivalenka Sambhu Prasad took over the operations. After Sambhu Prasad' s death, his successors closed the Madras edition and began publishing from Vijayawada and later Hyderabad, the capital of Undivided Andhra Pradesh. Circulation declined, and when the new Telugu daily
Eenadu
''Eenadu'' () is the largest circulated Telugu-language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Contributors
Some of the noted people who worked for the daily include
Krishnam Raju
Uppalapati Venkata Krishnam Raju (20 January 1940 – 11 September 2022) was an Indian actor and politician. He was known for his works in Telugu cinema and was widely known as "''Rebel Star''" for his rebellious acting style. He was also the ...
, Maa Telugu Talli poet,
Sankarambadi Sundaraachari
Shankarambadi Sundarachari (10 August 1914 – 8 April 1977) was an Indian writer and poet in the Telugu language, although of Tamil origin. He wrote '' Maa Telugu Talliki, Malleypu Danda'', the official state song of the present-day Indian state ...
Veturi
Veturi Sundararama Murthy (29 January 1936 – 22 May 2010), known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet, lyricist and journalist who is popular for writing Telugu songs. His career in the Telugu cinema spanned more than four de ...
, Chirala Rama Rao, Goparaju Venkatanandam etc.
The editors include
# Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao (1909–1938)
# G. Harisarvottamarao
# C. Seshagirirao
# Sivalenka Sambhu Prasad
# Polavarapu Sriramulu (1944–1969)
Revival
In 1990s, Liquor businessman and Telugu newspaper patron, Magunta Subbiram Reddy purchased the property and tried to revive the daily. But after he was killed by the Naxalites in 1995, the effort did not succeed.
All the journals and newspaper were digitized and stored at Gautami Library, Rajamahendravaram.
Book
* ''Andhra Patrika Charitra'' by C.V. Rajagopalarao (2004)