Kaloji Narayana Rao
(9 September 1914 – 13 November 2002) was an Indian poet, freedom fighter, anti-fascist and political activist of
Telangana. He was awarded the
Padma Vibhushan in 1992. The
Telangana government honored Kaloji's birthday as
Telangana Language Day.
Education and activism
Kaloji was born on 9 September 1914 in Rattihalli village in Bijapur district, Karnataka. His mother Ramabayamma hailing from Karnataka. Father Kaloji Rangarao is from Maharashtra, his elder brother, Kaloji Rameshwar Rao, an Urdu poet, played a vital role in shaping his personality. Kaloji completed his primary education from
Madikonda and higher education in
Warangal and
Hyderabad.Kaloji is a polyglot. Although he studied Telugu from an early age, he also wrote poetry in Marathi, Kannada, Hindi and Urdu.Kaloji married Rukmini Bai in 1940.
During his student days, he was deeply influenced by and participated in popular movements of the time. like the
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sanny ...
Movement, especially in the domain of civil rights. He has also involved in
Andhra Maha Sabha activities since its formation in 1934, and part of the
Satyagraha
Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...
,
Osmania University Vandemataram, State Congress,
Andhra Mahasabha (Telangana) and Library movements. Considered by many to be a
freedom fighter, he was part of the freedom movement of
Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
and underwent imprisonment under the
Nizam.
His commitment to
human rights made him an active member of the Tarkunde Committee. Although opposed to power and the trapping of office Kaloji looked upon elections as a democratic exercise. He contested thrice and got elected once as a member of the
Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council. His most significant dispute was against
Jalagam Vengal Rao, then
Chief Minister of
Andhra Pradesh, in 1977.
Honour
In September 2014, the
Government of Telangana in his honour, named the Medical University,
Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences
Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) is a public university in the city of Warangal, Telangana, India. University is named after its poet, and political activist of Telangana – Kaloji Narayana Rao.
History
Before the sta ...
after him.
Literary works
Kaloji wrote poetry in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
,
Urdu,
Hindi and
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
languages. In 1992, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by
Kakatiya University.
Published writings
Death
Kaloji died on 13 November 2002. He donated his body for research to
Kakatiya Medical College in Warangal.
References
External links
Kaloji's essay about Telangana and its dialectetelangana.org/Kaloji_Bio.asp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Kaloji Narayana
1914 births
2002 deaths
Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts
People from Telangana
Telugu poets
People from Warangal
Telangana Rebellion
20th-century Indian poets
Indian male poets
20th-century Indian male writers