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Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...
Ravu Svetachalapati
Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Ramakrishna Ranga Rao KCIE (20 February 1901 – 10 March 1978) was an Indian politician and ''
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 ...
'' who served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from 5 November 1932 to 4 April 1936 and 24 August 1936 to 1 April 1937. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao was born in the royal family of
Bobbili Bobbili is a town in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres (337 feet). History The town of Bobbili was founded during the 17th cen ...
''zamindari'' in 1901. He succeeded his father Venkata Kumar Krishna to the throne of Bobbili and ruled as zamindar from 1921 to 1948 and as the titular "Raja of Bobbili" from 1948 to 1978. He set up trusts and patronized sports and education. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao joined the Justice Party in 1930 and was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly. He served as the Chief Minister or Premier of
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 ...
from 1932 to 1936 and 1937. He resigned as Chief Minister in 1937 when the Justice Party lost the elections. From 1946 to 1951, he served as a member of the
Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...
which framed India's Constitution. In his later years, he also served a term as a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for the Bobbili assembly constituency. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao married Lakshmi Subhadrayamma in 1921. He had a son Venkata Gopala Krishna Rao who succeeded him as Raja in 1978. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao is mostly remembered for his contribution towards framing India's constitution and for his service to society in establishing colleges. He is also held responsible by analysts for the defeat of the Justice Party in the 1937 assembly elections which is blamed upon his despotism and anti-people measures.


Early life

Ramakrishna Ranga Rao was born in
Bobbili Bobbili is a town in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres (337 feet). History The town of Bobbili was founded during the 17th cen ...
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 ...
(now a part of the Indian 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 ...
) in the Bobbili royal family.
Encyclopedia of Political Parties An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, Pg 150
He was the son of the heir-apparent, Venkata Kumar Krishna Ranga Rao and the grandson of Raja
Venkata Ranga Rao Sir Sri Venkata Svetachalapathi Venkatesh Srinivasa Ranga Rao Bahadur (8 September 1862 – 1931) was an Indian landlord, maharaja, polygar,and ''zamindar'' of Gubbi and Sempake Samasthanam in Madras Presidency; List of zamindari estates in Ma ...
of the Bobbili zamindari. He had an elder sister Victoria Venkata Ramanamma, born on 10 October 1899. In his childhood, he was tutored by H.C. Leclare, D. Gordon, F.H.J. Wilkinson and Ramalingaswamy. He used to play badminton and billiards in the palace. Ramakrishna married Lakshmi Subhadrayamma, a princess of the Tallaprole Zamindari in 1921. He succeeded to the throne as the 13th Raja of
Bobbili Bobbili is a town in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres (337 feet). History The town of Bobbili was founded during the 17th cen ...
.


Early political career

Ramakrishna Ranga Rao made his entry into politics when he was nominated a member of the
Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
, the upper house of the
Imperial Legislative Assembly of India The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also some ...
in 1925. He served as a member of the assembly till 1927. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao contested the Madras general elections of 1930 from the Vizagapatam constituency as a
Justice Party (India) The Justice Party, officially the South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. It was established on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Public Hall in Madras by Dr C. Natesa Mudaliar and co-founde ...
candidate against the Nationalist Party nominee, C.V.S. Narasimha Raju, and polled 28,000 more votes than his opponent. He also attended the second
Round Table Conference The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in Dec ...
held in London in 1931 as a representative of the Indian landholders.


Rise to leadership

Bobbili rapidly rose in power and position during the tenure of B. Munuswamy Naidu. As Naidu began to alienate the zamindars by omitting eminent and powerful people like Muthiah Chettiar from his cabinet, these disgruntled zamindars favoured the Raja of Bobbili as an acceptable alternative.
Encyclopedia of Political Parties An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, Pg 197
Gradually, the leadership of the party passed on from Naidu to Bobbili.
Encyclopedia of Political Parties An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, Pg 250
When both his ministers in the cabinet resigned, Naidu was forced to step down as Chief minister. Subsequently, the Raja of Bobbili took oath as Chief Minister on 5 November 1932. During this period, the Raja's personal secretary was
C. N. Annadurai Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (15 September 1909 – 3 February 1969), popularly known as Anna also known as Arignar Anna or Perarignar Anna (''Anna, the scholar'' or ''Elder Brother''), was an Indian Tamil politician who served as the fo ...
who later served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1967 to 1969.


Tenure as Chief Minister

The Raja of Bobbili became the Chief Minister on 5 November 1932 at the age of 31 and except for a short span of 4 months when he was on a trip to England, served as Chief Minister until 1 April 1937. During his tenure, Madras was in the grips of the Great Depression. The Raja did introduce some measures in order to relieve the burden on the poor peasant. But by and large, the rapid depreciation of the economy remained unchecked and the government showed little concern towards the plight of the poor peasant. The Justice Party lost badly in the 1937 elections. The Raja's policies are believed to be the main reason.


Revival of the mayoralty

The
Mayoralty In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
of Madras came into existence when the Corporation of Madras was established in 1688. The first mayor was
Nathaniel Higginson Nathaniel Higginson (11 October 1652 – 31 October 1708) was an English politician and a scion of the Higginson family of Salem, Massachusetts who served as the first Mayor of Madras, and later as the President of the colony from 3 October ...
, who resigned after a period of six months to take over as Governor of Madras. The post of mayor was abolished in 1801. The post of mayor was revived by the Raja of Bobbili government on 17 January 1933, by the City Municipal Act. The first mayor after its revival was the prominent Justice Party Leader, K. Sriramulu Naidu who was followed by Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar.


Estates Land Act of 1933

In August 1933, despite the vehement opposition of
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 ...
s in the Madras Presidency, the Raja of Bobbili passed an amendment to the Estates Land Act of 1908 which safeguarded the rights of the cultivators and freed them from the bondage of middlemen or ''inamdars''. However, despite this legislation and a few others benefitting the cultivator, his regime was regarded as one which largely supported the interests of ''zamindars''.


1934 Assembly elections

The term of the legislature expired on 5 November 1933. However, the elections to the Madras Legislative Council were delayed by a year. Meanwhile, the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
had decided to participate in the elections at a meeting in Patna in May 1934 and hence, when the elections took place in November 1934, the Justice Party lost miserably.
Encyclopedia of Political Parties An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, Pg 198
However, the Raja of Bobbili adopted contingency measures by immediately convening a meeting and conducting negotiations between the different factions of the party. The Swarajya Party which won a majority in the Assembly once again refused to form the government in accordance with its policy of wrecking the dyarchy. So, the Raja of Bobbili was elected Chief Minister for a second term though he did not command the majority of the house. Justice Party stalwarts R. K. Shanmukham Chetty and
Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar (14 October 1887 – 17 July 1976) was an Indian lawyer, diplomat, and statesman who was the first president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the 24th and last Diwan of Mysore. He also served as ...
had lost their seats as the chief whip of the party Muthiah Chettiar withdrew his support for their candidature. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao responded by dismissing Muthiah Chettiar as the leader of the party in the Assembly. Muthiah moved a no-confidence motion against the ministry but the motion was defeated. However, the differences between the Raja of Bobbili and Muthiah Chettiar was soon patched up and the Raja made the latter a minister in the cabinet.Rudner, David West. Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India: The Nattukottai Chettiars. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994


Changes in the ministry

Kumaraswami Reddiar resigned his ministry post due to ill-health in 1936 and he was replaced with Muthiah Chettiar in a move to wipe out differences in the party. With the permission of the Governor, the Raja also created a new Ministry of Home in order to accommodate disgruntled factions in the party. Manikumar, Pg 184 Mohammad Usman served as the first Minister of Home followed by Sir A. T. Paneerselvam.


Separation of Ganjam district

On 1 April 1936, the Ganjam district was separated from Madras Presidency and constituted in the newly created province of Orissa.


Policy during the Great Depression

The Great Depression struck the province at the fag end of P. Subbarayan's tenure and lasted the whole span of the Munuswamy Naidu and Bobbili governments. The policy of the Raja of Bobbili during the Depression was alleged to be one of the indifference to plight of the peasants and the poor. The government expressed its complete solidarity with the Governor and his executive council. As a result, while the Government endorsed the measures taken by the governor it did not criticize those that were detrimental to the common man. The ministry is alleged to have done little for the financial relief of the common man apart from making recommendations or expressing sympathy and grief. Moreover, the affluent lifestyle led by the ministers at the height of the Great Depression were sharply criticized. Madras ministers drew a salary of Rs.433 per month as opposed to Rs.225 per month that ministers in the
Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur. ...
received as salary. Manikumar, Pg 185 This invoked the ire of the Madras press. The newspaper ''India'' wrote: In 1933, the Indian National Congress, represented by the Swarajya Party, brought forth a resolution demanding a decrease of 12.5% in land revenue in non-Zamindari areas. The Justice Party voted against the resolution. Angered by the stand of the Justice Party, the Congress declared that 26 November 1933 be observed as Land Revenue Reduction Day. Protests were organized all over the province. At a meeting organized on the Madras beach, Congress leader
Sathyamurthy Sundara Sastri Satyamurti (19 August 1887 – 28 March 1943) was an Indian independence activist and politician. He was acclaimed for his rhetoric and was one of the leading politicians of the Indian National Congress from the Madras Presidency, ...
demanded that the land tax be reduced by 33.3 percent. These demands were backed by the peasants in the province. Manikumar, Pg 189 However, these demands went unheeded. On the eve of the 1937 elections, the South Indian Federation of Peasants passed a resolution Individual Congressmen launched agitations for the abolition of ''zamindaris''. The Raja of Bobbili was against the movement as being a ''zamindar'' himself, he had pro-zamindar sympathies. He, therefore, considered it to be a law and order issue and order a crackdown leading to police firing in some areas. Manikumar, Pg 191
Lord Erskine The Lordship of Parliament of Erskine (Lord Erskine) was created around 1426 for Sir Robert Erskine. The sixth lord was created Earl of Mar in 1565, with which title (and the earldom of Kellie) the lordship then merged. Lords Erskine (c. 1426) * ...
, the Governor of Madras wrote to the
Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...
,
Lord Zetland Marquess of Zetland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 August 1892 for the former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland. Zetland is an archaic form of Shetland. The Dundas family des ...
in February 1937 that the peasants in South India were fed up with the Justice Party. Manikumar, Pg 187


Alleged abuse of authority

Bobbili's rule was autocratic and he was highly inaccessible to party members.
Encyclopedia of Political Parties An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, Pg 151
The success of every previous government in the Presidency had been due to the support of the district boards. However, the Raja of Bobbili, instead of appeasing the district-level politicians tried to destroy their power and influence. The ''Suthanthira Sangu'', in its issue dated 26 February 1935: The '' Madras Mail'' noted in its editorial dated 1 June 1935: This, along with Bobbili's autocratic rule and factionalism within the party, had disastrous effects for the fortunes of the Justice party.


1937 elections

The Justice Party contested the 1937 provincial assembly elections, the first according to the Government of India Act 1935, under the Raja's leadership and lost badly, winning just 18 out of 215 assembly seats and 7 out of 46 council seats. The Raja, himself, lost his seat to
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
candidate
V. V. Giri Varahagiri Venkata Giri (; 10 August 1894 — 24 June 1980) was an Indian politician and activist from Berhampur in Odisha who served as the 4th president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974. He also 3rd vice president of India from ...
by over 6,000 votes, almost triggering the end of his political career. Other prominent losers in the election were P. T. Rajan, Kumarraja of Venkatagiri and
A. P. Patro Rao Bahadur Sir Annepu Parasuramdas Patro KCIE (1875 or 1876–1946) was an Indian politician, ''zamindar'' and education minister in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Patro was born in a rich and powerful family of Berhampur, Madras Presidenc ...
. Manikumar, Pg 197 The Justice Party ceased to be a major force and remained so until it was revived by
E. V. Ramasami Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the ' ...
during the 1938 Madras Anti-Hindi agitations. The Raja led a much-weakened Justice Party until 1938, when he bowed out of politics. Meanwhile, the Justice Party's opponents the Indian National Congress had decided to contest the elections at a rally in 1935. It was at this rally that the Swarajya Party formally merged with the Indian National Congress when Congress resolved to participate in the elections. The united Indian National Congress led by
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...
captured power in the province and ruled until the declaration of war in 1939. P. Rajaraman sums up the factors as follows "internal dissension, ineffective organization, inertia and lack of proper leadership led to the Justice Party along the path of decline". Manikumar, Pg 180


Retirement from politics

Following the defeat of the Justice Party in the 1937 elections, the Raja's participation in politics drastically decreased until the anti-Hindi agitations, when E. V. Ramasami was elected President of the Justice Party. The Raja temporarily bowed out of politics and devoted himself to social service and other public activities. In 1946, the Raja was elected to the
Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...
and was part of the team which wrote India's Constitution. In 1948, following India's independence from British rule, Ramakrishna Ranga Rao lost his administrative rights over Bobbili and was reduced to the status of a titular "Raja" with some exclusive privileges.


Other activities

The Raja was a great sportsman and his main interests were horse racing and polo. He had imported many fine breeds of horses from the United Kingdom, France and Pakistan. He had won a number of cups in horse racing. He was an expert polo player and often played in the Dasara sports at Mysore and Jeypore besides Bobbili. He also contributed to
Andhra University Andhra University (IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest don ...
and Shantiniketan. The Raja served as the Chancellor of
Andhra University Andhra University (IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest don ...
in 1930. The Rajah R.S.R.K. Ranga Rao College was inaugurated at Bobbili on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday in 1961.


Later years and death

The Raja briefly returned to politics in his later years and contested as an independent from Bobbili assembly constituency in the 1967 elections to the
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 ...
Legislative Assembly at the age of 66. He was subsequently elected by a margin of 28,561 votes over his nearest rival, L. Thentu of the Indian National Congress. The Raja served as a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 1972. He did not stand for a re-election when his term came to an end in 1972. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao died on 10 March 1978 at the age of 77. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao was succeeded as the titular Raja of Bobbili by his son Venkata Gopala Krishna Ranga Rao.


Successors

The incumbent
Raja of Bobbili Raja Sri Ravu Svetachalapati Sir Ramakrishna Ranga Rao KCIE (20 February 1901 – 10 March 1978) was an Indian politician and ''zamindar'' who served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from 5 November 1932 to 4 April 1936 and 24 ...
is Ravu Venkata Gopala Krishna Ranga Rao,Biodata of Shri R. V. G. K. Ranga Rao at Lok Sabha website.
/ref> son of Ramakrishna Ranga Rao. He was elected to the
3rd Lok Sabha List of Members of the 3rd Lok Sabha, (2 April 1962 – 3 March 1967) elected February–March 1962. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India. The election was held for 494 seats out of which Indian na ...
from
Bobbili (Lok Sabha constituency) Bobbili (Lok Sabha constituency) was one of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh in India. It was one of the Lok Sabha constituency in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh till 2008. Members of Parliament Election results Ge ...
in 1962. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao's grandson Venkata Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao ravu is the heir-apparent. Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao also stood in the 2004 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections as a candidate of the Indian National Congress and was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly from Bobbili 3 times. Sujay Krishna Rangarao's brothers are Rama Krishna Rangarao and RVSKK Rangarao (Baby Nayana).


Notes


References

* * Bobbili: Being a biography of Sri Varu Sir Ramakrishna Swatchelapathi Ranga Rao, the 13th Raja of Bobbili, who was Chief Minister of Madras (1932–36), Nilkan Perumal, The Topical Book Co: 1960. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramakrishna Ranga Rao 1901 births 1978 deaths Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Telugu politicians Indian Hindus Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India Madras Presidency Indian knights Justice Party (India) politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of India People from Uttarandhra Members of the Council of State (India)