Raja Kanchumarthi Ramachandra Rao was a

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

of Dharmavaram. He is notable for the development of

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

. He was the son of Kanchumarthi Narasayya Naidu.

Personal life

Kanchumarthi Venkata Seetha Ramachandra Rao is the adopted son of Kanchumarthi Narasayya Nadiu from his wife's brother. Kanchumarthi Venkata Seetha Ramachandra Rao comes from a respectable

Telaga Telaga is a community of agriculturists ( Kapus) in the Coastal Andhra Pradesh, concentrated in the West and East Godavari districts. They are also found in smaller numbers in Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts.: "Telaga – (regions) Visa ...

family of

. When his adoptive father died in his very young age his estate was managed by his uncle Raja Vogeti Ramakrishnayya Naidu. He was assumed to take back his property in year 1890. He was the childhood friend of

Tanguturi Prakasam Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu (23 August 1872 – 20 May 1957) was an Indian jurist, political leader, social reformer, and anti-colonial nationalist who served as the chief minister of the Madras Presidency. Tanguturi subsequently became the fi ...

. He was also one of the first trustee board member of Rajahmundry town hall started by

Kandukuri Veeresalingam Kandukuri Veeresalingam (16 April 1848 27 May 1919) was a social reformer and writer from the Madras Presidency, British India. He is considered as the father of the Telugu Renaissance movement. He was one of the early social reformers who en ...

Political life

Even from the childhood Ramachandra Rao was very interested in politics and starting businesses. His uncle Vogeti Ramakrishnayya Naidu at that time used to have 16 businesses. By seeing him Ramachandra Rao, even though being the average student attracted towards industry culture and later he had spent some amount on it. He was elected to Rajahmundry municipal council for two terms. Later he entered in Justice party. He was said to be the legacy carrier of

Vogeti Ramakrishnayya Raja Vogeti Ramakrishnayya (10 October 1830 – 20 June 1900) was born to a ''zamindari'' family of Rajahmundry, India, where he was for a long time an honorary magistrate and municipal councillor, as well as a wealthy landlord who owned more th ...

Naidu who played important role in politics. He is also the trustee for Korukonda Devasthanam and also a nominee for Diwan Bahadur.

Social works

He donated a lot for social works. He was one of the main reason for the development of

Gowthami Grandhalayam Gowthami Grandhalayam or Sri Gowthami Regional Library was started by poet and social reformer Nalam Krishna Rao in 1898 in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. History Initially named Sri Veeresalingam library, since it was backed by the na ...

. He also participated in the Freedom struggle. He is also the main person in the tour of

Bipin Chandra Pal Bipin Chandra Pal ( bn, বিপিন চন্দ্র পাল ; 7 November 1858 – 20 May 1932) was an Indian nationalist, writer, orator, social reformer and Indian independence movement freedom fighter. He was one third of the “L ...

trip to India. He constructed and women empowerment building in 1921 to honour his daughter Babayamma (one of the first women to complete matriculation in Rajahmundry).

Death

He died in the year 1926.

Hierarchy

He had three sons; Kanchumarthi Parthasaradhi, Kanchumarthi Venakata Sita Ramarao, Kanchumarthi Venkata Subbarao (vaachi).

History

The ancestors of them were the senathipathis and samantharajas of the Vijayanagar dynasty. They never wanted a zamindari till 1784 when nuzvid zamindar Meka apparao naidu lost his zamindari in Rajahmundry. Later in 1794 it was changed to collectorate when Vogeti Apparao Naidu was given other estates to rule. Their zamindari was considered to be one of the oldest Zamindaris in

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. these meraka veedhi telagas have prominent role in history and politics.

Meraka Veedhi Telaga

Meraka Veedhi Telagas, once known as Chandragiri Balijas, are a sect of 20+ surnames who once served as Senathipathis and Samantharajas of

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellary ...

Empire who migrated to

after the downfall of

Rama Raya Rama Raya (died 23 January 1565 CE), known as "Aliya" (son-in-law in Kannada) was a statesman of the Vijayanagara Empire, the son-in-law of Emperor Krishna Deva Raya and the progenitor of the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire, the fourth and ...

of Vijayanagara and refused to rule their kingdoms under the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. In 1565, they migrated to

Chandragiri Chandragiri is a suburb and neighbourhood of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headqua ...

and later served in the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

armies. Finally they reached

and settled in Merakaveedhi. They served the Nawab of Rajahmundry and later served the highest native ranks in British Company Army. Later many of them became feudal landlords,

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

s, MLAs, and MLCs. Important people from these families include Vogeti Ramakrishnayya Naidu, Pothula Veerabhadra rao, Kandula Veera Raghava Swamy Naidu, Muthangi Jaggarao, Raja Vogeti Venkata Gopala Rama Krishnam Raju. The surnames of these families include Kanchumarthi, Vogeti, Bayapuneedi, Kandula, Muthangi, Narra, Yerra, Ramineedi, Mondreti. Even now you can find swords and weapons used in 15th century are available in their houses.

References

{{reflist 1870 births 1926 deaths People from Rajahmundry People from British India