Born this day in 1921 in Vangara village of Bheemadevarapally mandal in Karim Nagar district, Pamulaparthy Venkata Narasimha Rao has had a lasting impact on the Indian political and economy scene.
PV Narasimha Rao is renowned as the leader who ushered in the liberalization in Indian economy in 1991. He is also credited with ‘finding’ Manmohan Singh, who served as Finance Minister under PV and then went on to become the Prime Minister of India.
PV Narasimha Rao was elected to the AP state assembly 4 times from Manthani constituency. He served as the Health Minister of AP in 1967 and went on to become the Chief Minister of the state in 1971. However, Seemandhra leaders did not let him stay in that seat for long.
In 1977 he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Hanmakonda and served as the Home Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet. In 1984, he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Ramtek in Maharashtra. He served as the Home Minister and HRD Minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s government. Post Rajiv Gandhi’s assasination, he ascended the chair of Prime Minister in 1991.
Apart from politics, PV Narasimha Rao was known for his interest in literature. He was a poet, translator, writer and journalist combined into one. His ability to read and write in 17 languages was legendary.