Politics
Bharat Ratna to PV Narasimha Rao: Architect of India’s success story
Bharat Ratna to PV Narasimha Rao: Architect of India’s success story
Former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao has been posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honours. The Congress stalwart is credited with bringing economic reforms to India in 1991, which paved the way for the country’s economic revival.
Announcing the award, PM Modi acknowledged his contribution to making India economically advanced.
“Delighted to share that our former Prime Minister, Shri PV Narasimha Rao Garu, will be honoured with the Bharat Ratna. As a distinguished scholar and statesman, Narasimha Rao Garu served India extensively in various capacities. He is equally remembered for the work he did as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Union Minister, and as a Member of Parliament and Legislative Assembly for many years. His visionary leadership was instrumental in making India economically advanced, laying a solid foundation for the country’s prosperity and growth,” PM Narendra Modi wrote on X.
“Narasimha Rao Garu’s tenure as Prime Minister was marked by significant measures that opened India to global markets, fostering a new era of economic development. Furthermore, his contributions to India’s foreign policy, language and education sectors underscore his multifaceted legacy as a leader who not only steered India through critical transformations but also enriched its cultural and intellectual heritage,” he added.
Who was PV Narasimha Rao?
Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was a lawyer, a towering Congress leader in undivided Andhra Pradesh, who became the 9th prime minister of India. He ruled the country between 1991 and 1996.
In 1991, when India was facing a foreign reserves crisis, Narasimha Rao’s government brought about three big-ticket economic reforms — globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation.
PV Narasimha Rao was the first person from South India to become the prime minister of India.
He was born in a Telugu Niyogi Brahmin family in the Laknepalli village of Narsampet mandal, Warangal. The district is currently in Telangana. He was a freedom fighter who took part in Hyderabad’s Vande Mataram movement in the late 1930s. He was a lawyer by profession.
After Independence, PV Narasimha Rao became a full-time politician. He was elected as an MLA for the first time in 1957. Till 1971, he assumed many ministerial positions in the state government. He became the chief minister in 1971.
He was known as an Indira Gandhi loyalist. He supported her in 1969 when the Congress vertically split into two parts.
Rao also served as a member of parliament from Andhra Pradesh and handled home, defence and foreign affairs portfolios as a central minister.
In 1991, he had almost retired. However, he came back to active politics after the assassination of Congress President and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
Final Thought
Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s posthumous Bharat Ratna award is a historic acknowledgement of his revolutionary leadership and contributions to India’s economic reforms. Rao’s policies of globalization, privatization, and liberalization laid the groundwork for India’s quick economic development and assimilation into the world economy amid a critical juncture in the country’s history. Future generations will be motivated by his diverse legacy as a politician, scholar, and leader, which emphasizes his crucial role in guiding India through difficult times and setting the stage for its ascent to prominence in the world economy.
