Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on Friday that the late P V Narasimha Rao, a seasoned Congress leader and former prime minister, will receive the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna. Speaking on X, Prime Minister Modi said that Narasimha Rao was a renowned statesman and scholar who had rendered significant service to India in a number of roles.
“Delighted to share that our former Prime Minister, 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,” the PM said.
“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.
Narsimha Rao, a farmer and advocate who was born in Karimnagar, Telangana, on June 28, 1921, entered politics and held a number of significant positions. He served as Andhra Pradesh’s Minister of Law and Information from 1962 to 1964, Law and Endowments from 1964 to 1967, Health and Medicine from 1967 to 1971, and Education from 1968 to 1971. From 1971 to 1973, he served as Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister, and from 1975 to 1976, he was the All India Congress Committee’s general secretary.
A man of many interests, his special interest was in Indian philosophy and culture, writing fiction and political commentary, learning languages, writing poems in Telugu and Hindi and keeping abreast of literature in general. He successfully published ‘SahasraPhan’, a Hindi translation of late Shri Viswanatha Satyanarayana’s famous Telegu Novel ‘Veyi Padagalu’; ‘Abala Jeevitam’, Telugu translation of late Shri Hari Narayan Apte’s famous Marathi Novel, “Pan Lakshat Kon gheto”.
