Ramakrishna Ranga Rao
Encyclopedia
Raja
Sri
Ravu Svetachalupati Sir
Ramakrishna Ranga Rao KCIE
(Telugu
: రామకృష్ణ రంగారావు) (February 20, 1901 – March 10, 1978) was an India
n politician
and zamindar
who served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from November 5, 1932 to April 4, 1936 and August 24, 1936 to April 1, 1937.
Ramakrishna Ranga Rao was born in the royal family of Bobbili
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
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
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.
Ramakrishna Ranga Rao was born in Bobbili
in Madras Presidency
(now a part of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
) in the Bobbili royal family. The royal family belonged to the Velama
community. He was the son of the heir-apparent, Venkata Kumar Krishna Ranga Rao and the grandson of Raja Venkata Ranga Rao
of the Bobbili zamindari. He had an elder sister Victoria Venkata Ramanamma, born on October 10, 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
.
, the upper house of the Imperial Legislative Assembly of India 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)
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 held in London in 1931 as a representative of the Indian landholders.
During this period, the Raja's personal secretary was C. N. Annadurai
who later served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1967 to 1969.
The Raja of Bobbili became the Chief Minister on November 5, 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 April 1, 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.
was Nathaniel Higginson
, 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 January 17, 1933, by the City Municipal Act. The first mayor after its revival was the prominent Justice Party Leader, L. Sriramulu Naidu
who was followed by Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar.
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. 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
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.
served as the first Minister of Home followed by Sir A. T. Paneerselvam.
was separated from Madras Presidency and constituted in the newly-created province of Orissa
.
'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. 4,333.60 per month as opposed to Rs. 2,250 per month that ministers in the Central Provinces
received as salary. 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 November 26, 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 demanded that the land tax be reduced by 33.3 percent. These demands were backed by the peasants in the province. 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.
Lord Erskine
, the Governor of Madras wrote to the Secretary of State for India
, Lord Zetland
in February 1937 that the peasants in South India
were fed up with the Justice Party.
The Suthanthira Sangu , in its issue dated February 26, 1935:
The Madras Mail
noted in its editorial dated June 1, 1935:
This, along with Bobbili's autocratic rule and factionalism within the party, had disastrous effects for the fortunes of the Justice party.
, 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
candidate V. V. Giri
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
. The Justice Party ceased to be a major force and remained so until it was revived by E. V. Ramasami 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 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".
In 1946, the Raja was elected to the Constituent Assembly of India
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.
He also contributed to Andhra University
and Shantiniketan. The Raja served as the Chancellor of Andhra University
in 1930. The Rajah R.S.R.K. Ranga Rao College
was inaugurated at Bobbili on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday in 1961.
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 March 10, 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.
from Bobbili (Lok Sabha constituency)
in 1962. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao's grandson Venkata Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao 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.
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
Sri
Sri
Sri , also transliterated as Shri or Shree or shre is a word of Sanskrit origin, used in the Indian subcontinent as polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, or as a title of veneration for deities .-Etymology:Sri has the root meaning of radiance, or...
Ravu Svetachalupati Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Ramakrishna Ranga Rao KCIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
: రామకృష్ణ రంగారావు) (February 20, 1901 – March 10, 1978) was an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
who served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from November 5, 1932 to April 4, 1936 and August 24, 1936 to April 1, 1937.
Ramakrishna Ranga Rao was born in the royal family of Bobbili
Bobbili
Bobbili is a town, mandal headquarters and a Municipality in Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Geography:Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres .-History:...
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
Justice Party (India)
The Justice Party , officially known as South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. The party was established in 1917 by T. M. Nair and Theagaroya Chetty as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency...
in 1930 and was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly. He served as the Chief Minister or Premier of Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
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
Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India, and following independence served as the nation's first Parliament.-Nature of the Assembly:...
which framed India's Constitution
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
. 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
Bobbili
Bobbili is a town, mandal headquarters and a Municipality in Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Geography:Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres .-History:...
in Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
(now a part of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
) in the Bobbili royal family. The royal family belonged to the Velama
Velama
Velama or the Velama Doralu is a social group found mainly in Andhra Pradesh. Velamas are classed as "Upper Shudras". The history of Velama's is as old as Telugu bravery. Military exploits of Velamas form an important part of Telugu tradition, history and folklore...
community. He was the son of the heir-apparent, Venkata Kumar Krishna Ranga Rao and the grandson of Raja Venkata Ranga Rao
Venkata Ranga Rao
Sir Venkata Svetachalapathi Ranga Rao Bahadur GCIE was an Indian landlord and zamindar of Bobbili in Madras Presidency from 1881 to 1921. His grandson and successor Ramakrishna Ranga Rao served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from 1932 to 1936.- Early life :Venkata Ranga Rao was born at...
of the Bobbili zamindari. He had an elder sister Victoria Venkata Ramanamma, born on October 10, 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
Bobbili is a town, mandal headquarters and a Municipality in Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Geography:Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres .-History:...
.
Early political career
Ramakrishna Ranga Rao made his entry into politics when he was nominated a member of the Council of StateCouncil of State
The Council of State is a unique governmental body in a country or subdivision thereoff, though its nature may range from the formal name for the cabinet to a non-executive advisory body surrounding a head of state. It is sometimes regarded as the equivalent of a privy council.-Modern:*Belgian...
, the upper house of the Imperial Legislative Assembly of India 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)
Justice Party (India)
The Justice Party , officially known as South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. The party was established in 1917 by T. M. Nair and Theagaroya Chetty as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency...
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 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. Gradually, the leadership of the party passed on from Naidu to Bobbili. 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 November 5, 1932.During this period, the Raja's personal secretary was C. N. Annadurai
C. N. Annadurai
Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai , popularly called Anna , or Arignar Anna was a former Chief Minister of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu...
who later served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1967 to 1969.
Tenure as Chief Minister
| Ramakrishna Ranga Rao's Cabinet | |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | Minister |
| Local Self-Government | Raja of Bobbili (Also Chief Minister) |
| Development, Public Works and Registration | P. T. Rajan P. T. Rajan Sir Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from April 4, 1936 to August 24, 1936. He was also the last President of the Justice Party.... |
| Education, excise | S. Kumaraswami Reddiar(1934-1936) |
| Rajah Muthiah Chettiar | |
| Home | Mohammad Usman Mohammad Usman of Madras Khan Bahadur Sir Mohammad Usman, KCSI, KCIE, Kt was an Indian politician, hakim and socialite who served as the Minister of Home for the Madras Presidency in the Justice Party government of the Raja of Bobbili and as the acting Governor of Madras from May 16, 1934 to August 16, 1934... (1932-1934) |
| A. T. Panneerselvam | |
| Source: Encyclopaedia of Political Parties | |
The Raja of Bobbili became the Chief Minister on November 5, 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 April 1, 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 of Madras came into existence when the Corporation of Madras was established in 1688. The first mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
was Nathaniel Higginson
Nathaniel Higginson
Nathaniel Higginson 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 1692 to 7 July 1698.-Early life:Nathaniel Higginson was born at Guilford, Connecticut Colony in...
, 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 January 17, 1933, by the City Municipal Act. The first mayor after its revival was the prominent Justice Party Leader, L. Sriramulu Naidu
L. Sriramulu Naidu
K. Sriramulu Naidu was a leader in the Justice Party, close friend of Periyar and the first Mayor of Madras in the 1930s and 40s, the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. His father was the chief translator of the Madras Presidency for the British and was knighted the Rao Bahadur by King...
who was followed by Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar.
Estates Land Act of 1933
In August 1933, despite the vehement opposition of Zamindars 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 November 5, 1933. However, the elections to the Madras Legislative Council were delayed by an year. Meanwhile, the Indian National CongressIndian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
had decided to participate in the elections at a meeting in Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
in May 1934 and hence, when the elections took place in November 1934, the Justice Party lost miserably. 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
R. K. Shanmukham Chetty
Sir Ramasamy Chetty Kandasamy Shanmukham Chetty KCIE was an Indian lawyer, economist and politician who served as independent India's first finance minister from 1947 to 1949...
and Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar
Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar
Diwan Bahadur Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar, KCSI was an Indian lawyer, politician and statesman who served as a senior leader of the Justice Party and in various administrative and bureaucratic posts in pre-independence and independent India.Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar was born on October 14, 1887 in...
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.
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. Mohammad UsmanMohammad Usman of Madras
Khan Bahadur Sir Mohammad Usman, KCSI, KCIE, Kt was an Indian politician, hakim and socialite who served as the Minister of Home for the Madras Presidency in the Justice Party government of the Raja of Bobbili and as the acting Governor of Madras from May 16, 1934 to August 16, 1934...
served as the first Minister of Home followed by Sir A. T. Paneerselvam.
Separation of Ganjam district
On April 1, 1936, the Ganjam districtGanjam District
Ganjam district is a district in the Indian state of Orissa located on the border of Andhra Pradesh. Ganjam's total area is 8,070 km² . Its population is approximately 2,704,056.Ganjam is known for its beaches bordering the Bay of Bengal, the most famous ones being Gopalpur and Dhavaleshwar...
was separated from Madras Presidency and constituted in the newly-created province of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
.
Policy during the Great Depression
The Great Depression struck the province at the fag end of P. SubbarayanP. Subbarayan
Paramasiva Subbarayan was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and diplomat and was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, India's ambassador to Indonesia and Union Minister of Transport and Communications in Jawaharlal Nehru's government. He is the father of General P. P...
'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. 4,333.60 per month as opposed to Rs. 2,250 per month that ministers in the Central Provinces
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. 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 November 26, 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 demanded that the land tax be reduced by 33.3 percent. These demands were backed by the peasants in the province. 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.
Lord Erskine
John Erskine, Lord Erskine
John Francis Ashley Erskine, Lord Erskine GCSI, GCIE was a British soldier, Conservative Party politician and administrator who served as Member of Parliament for Weston-super-Mare and Brighton...
, the Governor of Madras wrote to the Secretary of State for India
Secretary of State for India
The Secretary of State for India, or India Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister responsible for the government of India and the political head of the India Office...
, Lord Zetland
Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland
Laurence John Lumley Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC, DL, JP , styled Lord Dundas until 1892 and Earl of Ronaldshay between 1892 and 1929, was a British Conservative politician...
in February 1937 that the peasants in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
were fed up with the Justice Party.
Alleged abuse of authority
Bobbili's rule was autocratic and he was highly inaccessible to party members. 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 February 26, 1935:
The Madras Mail
The Madras Mail
The Mail, known as The Madras Mail till 1928, was an English-language daily evening newspaper published in the Madras Presidency from 1868 to 1981.- History :...
noted in its editorial dated June 1, 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 1935Government of India Act 1935
The Government of India Act 1935 was originally passed in August 1935 , and is said to have been the longest Act of Parliament ever enacted by that time. Because of its length, the Act was retroactively split by the Government of India Act 1935 into two separate Acts:# The Government of India...
, 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
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
candidate V. V. Giri
V. V. Giri
Varahagiri Venkata Giri , commonly known as V. V. Giri, was the fourth President of the Republic of India from 24 August 1969 to 23 August 1974.-Early life:...
by over 6,000 votes, almost triggering the end of his political career. Other prominent losers in the election were P. T. Rajan
P. T. Rajan
Sir Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from April 4, 1936 to August 24, 1936. He was also the last President of the Justice Party....
, Kumarraja of Venkatagiri and A. P. Patro
A. P. Patro
Rao Bahadur Sir Annepu Parasuramdas Patro KCIE was an Oriya politician, zamindar and education minister in the erstwhile Madras Presidency....
. The Justice Party ceased to be a major force and remained so until it was revived by E. V. Ramasami 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 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".
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
Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India, and following independence served as the nation's first Parliament.-Nature of the Assembly:...
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
Andhra University or Andhra Viswa Kala Parishad , located in Visakhapatnam, north east coastal Andhra Pradesh, is one of the older premier universities in India with a broad focus...
and Shantiniketan. The Raja served as the Chancellor of Andhra University
Andhra University
Andhra University or Andhra Viswa Kala Parishad , located in Visakhapatnam, north east coastal Andhra Pradesh, is one of the older premier universities in India with a broad focus...
in 1930. The Rajah R.S.R.K. Ranga Rao College
Rajah R.S.R.K. Ranga Rao College
Rajah R.S.R.K. Ranga Rao College is one of the premier educational institution in Bobbili.His Highness Sree Ravu Swetha Chalapathi Rama Krishna Ranga Rao Bahudur, was the Rajah of Bobbili estate and premier of Madras Combined State. The people of Bobbili established this college in his name in 1962...
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 PradeshAndhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
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 March 10, 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 is Ravu Venkata Gopala Krishna Ranga Rao, son of Ramakrishna Ranga Rao. He was elected to the 3rd Lok Sabha3rd Lok Sabha
List of Members of the 3rd Lok Sabha, elected February-March 1962. The Lok Sabha is the lower house in the Parliament of India.-Important members:* Speaker:...
from Bobbili (Lok Sabha constituency)
Bobbili (Lok Sabha constituency)
Bobbili was a Lok Sabha constituency in north-eastern Andhra Pradesh till 2008.-Members of Parliament: Lok SabhaDurationName of M.P.Party AffiliationFourth1967-71K. Narayana RaoIndian National CongressFifth1971-77K. Narayana RaoIndian National Congress...
in 1962. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao's grandson Venkata Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao 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.