Dewan Bahadur Dewan Bahadur or Diwan Bahadur was a title of honour awarded during British rule in India. It was awarded to individuals who had performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special T ...

Sir Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu (1 October 1862 – 26 May 1939) was an Indian

social reform A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

er who hailed from

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal he ...

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 ...

in India. His father Appayya Nayadu worked as a subedar in Madras Army. Their forefathers served as commanders in Madras Army and East Indian Company Army since its inception i.e. late 17th Century. He was a disciple of Veeresalingam, and has been described as "the most powerful orator of his day".

Social Reforms

Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu was born on 1 October 1862 in

in a famous

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 ...

Naidu family. As his father, Raghupathi Appayyanaidu worked as

Subedar Subedar is a rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army; a senior non-commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army, and formerly a Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History ''Subedar'' or ''subadar'' was the ...

in the army, he lived in

Chandrapur Chandrapur (earlier known as ''Chanda'', the official name until 1964) is a city and a municipal corporation in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra state, India. It is the district headquarters of Chandrapur district. Chandrapur is a fort city ...

. This helped him gain knowledge of

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

languages. He continued his education in

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

high school in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

when his father was transferred there. He later graduated from

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institu ...

. He continued further education to complete M.A. and L.T. from

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...

. He founded the Social Purity Association in 1891 to train people as honest citizens. He worked for the eradication of

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

and upliftment of

Harijan Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...

s, and founded an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

and a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

for Harijan boys and girls in

Kakinada Kakinada (List of renamed places in India, formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the List of cities in Andhra Pradesh by population, sixth largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra P ...

. He strived for the abolition of the "

Devadasi In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

system" (the system in which women were devoted to the temples and who in the course of time were treated like

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

s) in Andhra, and succeeded to a considerable extent. He promoted

widow remarriage Hindu texts present diverse views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership as the highest goddess, to limiting gender roles. The Devi Sukta hymn of Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism, declares the feminine energy as the esse ...

s and encouraged

women's education Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

. He was an ardent

Brahmo Bengali Brahmos are those who adhere to Brahmoism, the philosophy of Brahmo Samaj which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy. A recent publication describes the disproportionate influence of Brahmos on India's development post-19th Century as unpar ...

and promoted the Brahmo movement in Andhra. The

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of th ...

honored him with the title of "

Brahmarshi In Hinduism, a Brahmarshi (Sanskrit ', a tatpurusha compound of ' and ') is a member of the highest class of Rishis ("seers" or "sages"). A Brahmarshi is a sage who has attained enlightenment (Kaivalya or Moksha) and became a Jivanmukta by complet ...

". All the above social reforms have led to him being described as the second great social reformer of Andhra, the first being Veeresalingam. He was one of the trio of

. The other two being Kandukuri Veeresalingam Panthulu and Desiraju Peda Bapayya.

Educational Achievements

After passing

Matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

, he took his B.A., degree from

and MA. and L.T. degrees from

Madras University The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

. Joining the teaching line, he worked as the Principal of the Mehboob College,

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

between 1889 and 1904, and then of the Pitapuram Raja College, Kakinada between 1905 and 1919. In 1925 he became the first elected

vice chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of Madras University, holding that position until 1928. He was conferred a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

by the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

in 1924.

Author

His thoughts and writings were published in 1924 authored by him and V. Ramkrishna Rao - The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur Sir R. Venkata Ratnam, Volume 3 by Sir R Venkata Ratnam, V. Ramakrishna Rao

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naidu, Raghupathi Venkataratnam Brahmos Telugu poets Telugu writers 1862 births 1939 deaths Indian social reformers Vice Chancellors of the University of Madras English-language writers from India Dewan Bahadurs Knights Bachelor Indian Knights Bachelor People of British India People from Krishna district Writers from Andhra Pradesh 19th-century Indian essayists 20th-century Indian essayists 19th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian educational theorists Scholars from Andhra Pradesh People from Machilipatnam