Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao served as the Prime Minister of India between 1991–1996 and was the first non-Hindi speaking PM of the country. He is best known for introducing revolutionary economic reforms that liberalised the Indian economy.
As India observes Narasimha Rao's 18th death anniversary on 23rd December 2022, lets take a look at his journey of becoming the first non-Hindi speaking PM.
Early life
Born on June 28, 1921 in a small village near Karimnagar (now in Telangana) PV Narasimha Rao or Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao's mother tongue was Telugu and had an excellent command of Marathi. He could speak 8 Indian languages (Hindi, Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Sanskrit, Tamil and Urdu) and 8 foreign languages ( English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Greek, Latin and Persian).
Rao went to Pune's Fergusson College, and then attended the Universities of Bombay and Nagpur, from where he received a degree in law.
Joining Congress
He joined the Congress Party as an activist to fight for independence from Britain and was also a member of the Andhra Pradesh state legislative assembly. Before becoming India's prime minister, Rao represented Andhra Pradesh in the Lok Sabha.
He was also referred to as 'Chanakya' for his ability to steer tough economic and political legislation through Parliament at a time when he headed a minority government.
Prime Minister Rao
After Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in May 1991, the Congress (I) Party chose Rao as its leader at the age of 70, and he became India’s 9th prime minister after the general elections in June. Before becoming India's prime minister, Rao represented Andhra Pradesh in the Lok Sabha. He also served as the foreign and home minister under Rajiv Gandhi tenure.
Narasimha Rao, along with his Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, is responsible for leading India through a turbulent period and pulling the country out of economic darkness.
In May 1996, after the Congress Party lost the parliamentary elections by a huge margin, Rao resigned as prime minister.
Narasimha Rao was the first PM of India to lead a minority government for a full term. He had laid the foundation for trade liberalisation and the re-integration of the Indian economy with the global economy.
Demise
Rao suffered a heart attack on 9 December 2004 and was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where he died 14 days later at the age of 83.
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