Andhra Pradesh- A Case Study For Political Students - Part 2 ....Political Environment

Disclaimer: Previously in the first part ,i have discussed about the formation of andhra pradesh and what are the views of ambedkar on linguistic states.....let me enlighten the political situation from the past 60yrs in andhra pradesh.
For this post i have verified many books including the pradesh- 2 book written by unknown author and Language, Emotion, and Politics in South IndiaThe Making of a Mother Tongue by Lisa Mitchell


Andhra Pradesh was formed in 1956. Till 1953 Andhra was a part of the composite Madras State. Eighty percent of the people in the State are agriculture - oriented.

Sir Arthur Cotton made it possible for the middle class in the Krishna-Godavari delta to rise up. The dams on Godavari and Krishna rivers were completed in 1848 and 1852 respectively.
Guntur, Vijayawada, Eluru and Kakinada were fast growing into cities. The Marwadis and Vysyas and the Cooperative Banks lent money to the agriculturists, and laborers from dry lands who came to work in the wet areas for cheaper wages. That was how they earned their livelihood. Few villages were aware of urban fashions, the exception being the places which had railways nearby.

As long as the British ruled, the whole authority was centered in London and to some extent, at Delhi. Only nominal power was given to the presidencies like Madras. As much as 70% of the land
revenue went to the Centre. The Britishers, due to communication problems, had to depend on local clerks, which gave these local officers a chance to play their corrupt game. From the Collector to the Revenue clerk, corruption was rampant, Selection of jobs had the stench of corruption, casteism and favoritism through and through.

Brahmins migrating from Maharashtra, established themselves in most of the jobs. The Britishers found it beyond their control to stop nepotism. For example, one Mr. Krishna Rao, who was the Hujoor Tahsildar of Ananthapuram, appointed 108 of his kith and kin in various jobs. As a punishment he was then transferred to Cuddapah, where he recruited 117 of his men for jobs this time. Among those 117 there were 80 of his own family members. Similar situations arose in the Krishna and Godavari districts. Karanams ( village officers who maintain the revenue records) and village Munsifs divided the villages between them and ruled with British help. The wealthy families virtually controlled the people. In Kakinada and Eluru, money lenders had the local people under their thumbs. In other places like Vijayanagaram, Pithapuram, Kalahasthi, Bobbili, Parlakimidi, Nuziveed and Venkatagiri, the Zamindars made use of their power, and squeezed money from the people, a part of which, in the name of taxes, went to the British rulers. Zamindars of Parlakimidi made money by manufacturing locomotives. The Raja of Bobbili excelled others in business. The Raja of Venkatagiri minted money through his mica mines. The Zamindar of Pithapuram  lent money to other Zamindars. Small Zamindars hoarded money through money-lending. The Kalahasthi and Polavaram Zamindars lived in opulence till they were impoverished. The Raja of Vizianagarm had an income of 20 lakhs per annum, and was famous for establishing educational institutions and promoting cultural activities. The Zamindar of Nuziveedu supported the cause of the spoken language, Telugu. 

The Zamindars collected taxes as they pleased. In Kalahasthi many people went to court against the increase in taxes, and it was years before the land revenues could be collected there. Even Nuziveedu was in trouble due to the inefficient tax collection system. 

The wealthy were no different from the zamindars. Many employees in Eluru Collectorate were debtors to Mote Venkatswami. The people twice tried to send a memorandum against him. But he saw that those papers were intercepted and destroyed mid-way before they could reach the Kakinada Collectorate. Such was the audacity of the rich. The families which exerted unchallenged supremacy over the people were the Paida family, M. Satyalingam Nayakar, K. Basivi Reddy in Kakinada, A.V. Jagga Rao in Vizag and G. Appalaswamy in Vijayawada. 

Through re-survey and re-settlement the Government had all records of land revenue by 1870 itself. The Karnams and Munsifs with hereditary powers bestowed upon them, played key roles and not only enriched themselves but also exercised unchallenged power over the people. Those who opposed them either became victims of murder or were dragged to courts on false accusations. At the village level they were the law makers and prosecutors. It is impossible to guess the amount of land revenue collected in 168 villages of Cuddapah when Rs. 22,507/-  itself was paid to the Government in the year 1875. The British gradually transferred to the local Government the responsibility of maintaining the forests, liquor business, tribunal for income tax appeals, selection of police, settlement of inter-community disputes and irrigation. 

The courts were full of cases of corruption. Treasurers were being elected to Temple trusteeship. There was no effective control of crimes. Especially in the Krishna-Godavari delta, thefts were rampant. 

Christian Missionaries slowly started preaching among the Hindus of the lowest rung. Various Christian Missions operated in Rayalaseema, especially in Jammalamadugu and at Vijayawada and Eluru in the Coastal area.The Brahma Samaj branches too extended upto Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Guntur and Machilipatnam.Gajula Lakshmi Narasu Chetty had drawn the attention of the Andhras in 1852 by founding the Madras Native Association. On 16 th May 1894, Mahajanasabha started under the leadership of G. Rangaiah Naidu and P. Anandacharyulu.Kandukuri Veeresalingam had started a branch of Pradhana Samaj, originally founded in Maharashtra. 

During 1851, the British issued a communal G.O. stressing the need for the representation of various castes in jobs like Hujoor Sirastadar, head-clerk to distribute jobs among Brahmins and nonBrahmins. The Brahmins formed only 3.2  percent of the total population. There were 492 graduate Brahmins as against 171 nonBrahmin Graduates in Madras University during the year 1880-81. This was the background of Andhra at the birth of the Congress. 

Between 1885 and 1905, the Congress in the Andhra had existed only in name . Except the All India Congress Conferences held annually, there was no active programme for the Congress in Andhra. Even then, the people in cities only were familiar with the Congress. The villagers were blissfully unaware of it. Local bodies were not efficient in drawing the attention of the villagers. By the time Indians could find a place in  the local bodies, the factional groups in Congress were already active. The local factionalism was reflected in the State level politics also. 

P. Anandacharyulu, who was in the Congress from the very beginning, proved a misfit at municipal affairs in 1891. That was the year when epidemic spread in Madras, killing many. Investigation into the reasons proved that unqualified people were made Health Officers and the contractors had left the work unfinished. Anandacharyulu supported one of the corrupt men Jesu Dasan Pillai, and consequently forced his own departure from the State Politics. Later, he was to get elected to the imperial Council. 

Y.L. Narasimhan and Tanguturi Prakasam belonged to one group in the local politics of Rajahmundry. Nyapathi Subba Rao was their opponent. In the same way, at the State level, Pattabhi Seetharamayya and Mutnuri Krishna Rao were in one group whereas Nyapathi Seetharamayya and Konda Venkatappayya formed the second and Prakasam and Narasimham the third. Tamil Brahmin lawyers and high level officers who favoured the Government were known as the Mailapur group. Nyapathi Subba Rao, Macherla Ramachandra Rao, Puranam Venkata Subbaiah, K. Pera Raju, Kandukuri Veeresalingam joined hands with the Mailapur group and stood as opponents to Prakasam’s group. 

Rayalaseema, especially Ananthapuram district which got divided into two between Timma Reddy and Chinnapa Reddy, witnessed at least two murders in a month. The leading Congressman Gutti Keshava Pillai, a lawyer, helped Chinnapa Reddy with British support. These group politics continued for two decades from 1904 onwards.The Congress was very much elite - oriented in the beginning. 

The people who attended the 1st Congress Session (1885) were -  P. Rangaiah Naidu, Anandacharyulu, Gutti Keshava Pillai, N. Venkata Subbarayudu, S.N. Narasimhulu Naidu, S.V.G, Panthulu and some others representing Machilipatnam, Cuddapah, Barahampuram, Ananthapur and Bellary. 

In the same year a weekly “Andhra Prakasika” was started by A.P. Parthasarathi Naidu. A.P. Parthasarathi Naidu, Anandacharyulu, Rangaiah Naidu, Nyapathi Subba Rao Panthulu, Keshav Pillai, Sangapalli Ramaswamy Gupta and others from Rajahmundry, Vizag, Gutti, Gudivada, Penugonda and Nellore attended the Second Congress Session in 1886.

The Congress used to appeal to the British Government for many things. It requested them to find place for Indians in the Government. 

P. Anandacharyulu played a prominent role in the Third Session of the Congress in Madras. The Raja of Vizianagaram was on the dias. The Raja of Venkatagiri sent his Diwan as his representative and the Raja of Challapalli announced his support to the Congress. Lawyers with western education and businessmen played a major role in this session. The Vysyas from the Northern Circars notably extended a helping hand to it. A.Sabhapathi Mudaliar - a businessman from Bellary, collected money for the session from various parts of Rayalaseema. The Lingayat businessmen from Rayalaseema had participated actively in the Sessions. The Sardars from Ananthapur also took part and the Congress session included people of all castes. The Sessions had the unopposed support of Arcot muslims and the muslims from other parts also participated with all enthusiasm. Caste politics had not yet become rampant at that time. 45  members from Andhra, including Nyapathi Subba Rao participated in the Allahabad Congress Session (1888).

The 1889 Congress Session of Bombay attracted 151 people from Andhra. The Calcutta Session of 1890 had 22 representatives.Anandacharyulu and 43 others attended the Congress Session of 1891 in Nagpur.Seventeen represented Andhra at the Allahabad Congress Session in 1892.

It was a remarkable fact that 14 Andhras went in those days, when travel facilities were very meagre, to Lahore to attend the Congress Session in 1893. 

The Congress Session was arranged in Madras in the year 1894. Because of the proximity, as many as 336 Telugu people attended it. Konda Venkatappayya was one of the volunteers in the Session. A proper record is not available of the number of Telugu people who attended the Poona Congress Session of 1895. 

After 1890 the political importance of the Congress Sessions began to descend. In the Madras Session, the membership was reduced from 607 to 267. Lethargy found a place in the Congress elite, except appealing to the Government for favours, there was no other activity.

Shankaran Nair presided over the Amethi Congress of 1897. Twenty one members represented Andhra. Anandacharyulu was the Chairman of the Reception Committee to the congress of Madras in 1898. 208 delegates from Andhra participated. The next session was held in Lucknow in 1899 under the Chairmanship of Ramesh Chandra Dutt. Fourteen representatives went form Andhra. It is not known how many attended the Calcutta Congress Session in 1900. Only 143 attended the Madras meetings of 1903 where Lal Mohan Ghosh was the President. Only nine from Andhra participated at the Allahabad Congress Session in 1904. The Banaras Session in 1905 had 29 members from Andhra.

Till 1905 there was no constructive programme or able leadership in Andhra to invite the Congress Sessions to Andhra. Madras was the provincial capital. Through the Congresssmen a little knowledge of the Congress had spread in the towns and villages. But at the national or State level, Andhra had a very small role to play.

Congress and its grouping

For over two decades Narasimham stood as an opponent to Nyapathi Subba Rao and Kandukuri Veeresalingam. But Narasimham had to bow down before the reforms made by the Government. Tanguturi Prakasam, who continued his studies with the help of Narasimham, lost his hold in Rajahmundry. Narasimham’s prominence in the educational institutions was replaced by that of Veeresalingam and Subba Rao who had the help of the British. Narasimham’s position further deteriorated with an enquiry held against him when he was the Municipal Chairman of Rajahmundry.

P. Venkatappayya had a monopoly over the educational institutions of Krishna. The same situation prevailed in the Municipality as well as at the Bar Association where the opposition was led by Pattabhi Seetharamaiah, Mutnuri Krishna Rao and Konda Venkatappayya. Narasimham and Prakasam in Rajahmundry, Pattabhi and Krishna Rao, in Machilipatnam stood to oppose the influence of Subba Rao and Venkatappayya. The disputes in local politics continued at the state level too. Prakasam and Krishna Rao managed to sustain their opposition through newspapers and magazines. They attacked the Mailapur group and criticised conservatism in the Congress.

The decision to divide Bengal into two, taken by Lord Curzon came into force from 10th October, 1905. The movement against this action was intensified, and had its influence in Andhra.

Magazines carried on an anti-British propaganda on a bold footing. ‘‘Krishna Patrika” was the result of the efforts of  Konda Venkatappayya,  (Mutnuri Krishna Rao-Editor) Dasu Narayana Rao and Avutapalli Narayana Rao in 1902. The initiation of a political atmosphere in Andhra became a strong support to the ‘Vandemataram Movement’. The British felt insulted whenever they heard ‘Vandemataram’. The youth adopted ‘Vandemataram’ as a salutation and wore badges with those words. Kantha Sreeram Sastry brought the song to the masses by singing it. The use of indigenous goods, the boycott of foreign goods, and the promotion of native education formed the nucleus of the ‘Vandemataram Movement’. 

Gadicharla Hari Sarvothama Rao and Adipudi Somanatha Rao lent their support to the Vandemataram Movement and participated in the Swadeshi Movement meeting of 24th February 1906 in Madras. Students were encouraged to join the movement by K. Venkata Ramana Rao. The ‘Swadeshi League’ was formed with Nyapathi Subba Rao and Venkata Ramana Rao.

The use of Swadeshi goods was averred at a decision taken in the 1906 Calcutta congress Session. Gadicharla Hari Sarvothama Rao, Munagala Raja, K.V. Lakshmana Rao and Pingali Lakshmi Narayana were the participants. This movement was given impetus by C.Y. Chintamani at the meetings in Nellore, Guntur, Kakinada, Vizag and Vizianagaram. 

It was decided to send a few people to Japan for training in the manufacture of swadeshi goods. Funds were collected in Guntur and Kurnool to meet their expenses in Japan. Malladi Venkata Subba Rao and S. Rama Rao were sent to Japan for training in the manufacture of pencils, glass, watches and clocks. With the benevolent charity of A. Bhaskara Ramaiah, Goleti Janaki Ramaiah and Mamidi Devendram were also sent to Japan at a later stage. Munagala Raja came forward to start a weaving factory at Vijayawada. 

In 1906 the great leader, Surender Nath Banerjee was arrested. Protest meetings were held at Vizianagaram, Kakinada, Rajahmundry and Gooty. Celebrations were started in the name of Shivaji as encouraged by Tilak.Mutnuri Krishna Rao, the editor of ‘Krishna Patrika’ arranged the visit of Bipin Chandra Pal to Vizianagaram, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada and Machilipatnam. Bipin Chandra Pal, an Arya Samajee, inspired the few educated men to join the Swadeshi movement by giving it a touch of spiritualism. The youth gave him a warm welcome wherever he went. Under his inspiration, Kopalle Hanumantha Rao of Machilipatnam took an oath to spread national education.

Pal’s tour was made a success by active members like Bhupathiraju Venkatapathi Raju, V. Jagannathan etc. V. Purnaiah, K. Peraraju, Ganti Lakshmanna, Kanchumarthi Ramachandra Rao, Tanguturi Sree Ramulu, Chilukuri Veerabhadra Rao, Chilakamarthi Lakshmi Narasimha Rao, Gadicherla Hari Sarvothama Rao, Gunneswara Rao, Munagala Raja, Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao, Veerabrahmam, Poddibhotla Veeraiah, Mutnuri Krishna Rao, Kopalle Hanumantha Rao and B.N. Sharma, a rightist, opposed Pal’s views in Vizag and Vizianagaram. Prakasam was the Chairman at Pal’s meeting at Madras.Attili Suryanarayana’s book - ‘The Indian Poverty’, and ‘Bharatha Mathru Sakatam’ by Mangapudi Venkatasharma were famous during those days as they supported the Swadeshi Movement. 

Under the Patronage of Valluri Maharani, Stree Bharatha Sangham (Indian Women’s Association) was formed in Vizag in 1905.College students participated in large numbers in Pal’s meetings. Action was taken against many students and they were dismissed from colleges as they went to examination halls with badges of ‘Vande Matharam’. Such students promoted the Swadeshi Movement. Kopalle Krishna was beaten up for shouting the slogan ‘Vande Matharam’ against Captain Kemp in Kakinada. It led to a fight wherein even the Collector was hurt. Captain Kemp’s building was damaged. Despite the apologies from the prominent citizens of the town, fifty people and five dock workers were arrested.Only after an assurance from the Collector, did the dock workers resume their work. Captain Kemp was made to pay Rs. 100/- to Krishna Rao as compensation. All this was understood as the emotional impact of Pal’s tour. 

Till Bengal was divided and the Vande Matharam movement started, Andhra remained inert. Once inspired, agitations led to several arrests. The Rightists did not appreciate such actions. The disagreement between the Rightists and Leftists surfaced at the Surat Congress session.

In 1907, the Surat Congress session was attended by Gadicharla Hari Sarvothama Rao, Kopalle Hanumantha Rao, Ganti Lakshmanna, Tanguturi Prakasam, Peddibhotla Veeraiah and Peri Narayana Murthy who supported the Leftists. 

At the Surat congress, Tilak, Aravind Ghosh and Lala Lajpath Rai led the Leftists against Rosh Bihari Ghosh, Surendernath Banerjee and Firoz Shah Mehta. A bitter fight ensued between the Rightists, who consented to the British reforms, and the Leftists, who wanted to go ahead with the Swadeshi Movement. After this, the Congress was divided. The Congress Rightists remained passive for nearly a decade. 

During the State level meetings in Madras (1907), Nyapathi Subba Rao Panthulu and B.N. Sharma emerged as Rightists whereas K. Sreenivasa Rao and Chilakamarthi Lakshmi Narasimha Rao established themselves as Leftists. The same kind of division swept all the cities in Andhra. Meetings took place in Vizag, Nandigama and Tenali. V.S. Sreenivasa Sastry formed District Level Rightists’ Associations in Krishna, Guntur and Godavari. They were condemned by the Left-oriented papers like Andhra Kesari, Navayuga and Krishna Patrika. Pattabhi Seetha Ramaiah, Kopalle Hunumantha Rao and Narahari Jogaiah expressed their desire for the unity of both the groups.

The Rightist Congress meetings (1908) in Madras were attended by 116 members. Eighteen of them found place in the decision making body. Prakasam was present at the meetings. K. Pera Raju, V.V. Jogaiah and A.C. Parthasarathi Naidu spoke in the meeting. Later, the Vijayawada Association was founded by Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao and Tadanki Venkata Narsayya Panthulu.

The exile of Lala Lajpath Rai was received by the Andhras with anger but the release of Bipin Chandra Pal enthused them and they held meetings here and there to express their joy.

For the first time a National School was founded in Andhra by Nyapathi Subba Rao at Rajahmundry and a National College came up in Machilipatnam. 

The articles published in Swarajya Patrika (1908) under the editorship of Bodi Narayana Rao were used as a pretext by the Government to arrest people. One Mr. Sarkar from Calcutta had already met Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao, Hari Sarvothama Rao, Kaseenadhuni Veeramallayya, Kalapatapu Subba Rao, Mutnuri Krishna Rao, Unnava Lakshmi Narayana, Gunneswara Rao Komarraju Lakshmana Rao and Achanta Lakshmi Pathi emphasized the need for manufacturing bombs for an armed struggle. Danthu Subbavadhani took this opportunity to bring pistols from Calcutta and distribute them. Except for one or two people however, no one dared to make bombs. The Government accused one L. Basavaiah, of distributing anti-Government  pamphlets. 

The Rightists and the Leftists passed resolutions about the MintoMorley Reforms in 1908, each of them expressing their own viewpoints. Separate constituencies were disagreeable to the Leftists but the Rightists welcomed the move. Gadicharla Harisarvothama Rao and Bodi Narayana Rao were arrested on 13th July, 1908, but Pingali Lakshmi Narayana went underground in Pondicherry. 

A.S. Krishna Rao led a 13-member representation from Andhra to the Lahore Congress Session in 1909.The slogan of separate Andhra had been heard as early as 1909. The idea that Telugu language should have a special recognition had started after the Allahabad Congress session when Prakasam, Pattabhi, Mutnuri and Konda opposing the Mailapur Brahmin group’s predominance favoured a separate Andhra. This suggestion was opposed by Nyapathi Subba Rao and Macharla Ramachandra Rao as they were closely associated with the Mailapur Brahmin group.This Mailapur Brahmin group of lawyers had their say in the assembly which only strengthened the ‘Separate Andhra’ movement. By 1917 the Mailapur group too differed with the British. 

Konda and Pattabhi joined Annie Besant’s Home Rule Movement and were paid for that. (Statement of affairs of the Home Rule League, 10th January, 1919 Theosophical Society Archives.) Konda was elected to the Legislative Council for the first time. But from 1920 onwards, the separate Andhra movement received a setback due to Prakasam and Venkatappaiah’s groupism.

The Rightists held meetings at Kurnool, Guntur and Krishna districts during 1909-1910. 

‘Desabhimani Patrika’ said that the Andhras should be united. Challa Seshagiri Rao wrote about the needs of the Andhras and the lack of recognition accorded to them. ‘Andhra’ was published by Jonnavithula Gurunadham from Guntur in 1908.The ‘Youth Literary Association’ started functioning in Guntur. It was there that Nyapathi Subba Rao expressed, for the first time, the need to have a separate Andhra. It sounded strange to the people as he had earlier opposed such a move. 

All the jobs in Andhra fell into the hands of Tamilians or Maharashtrians. A very negligible number of Andhras were in jobs here. When compared to the development facilities available in Tamilnadu, Andhra was lagging far behind. The Tamilians were everywhere, either as teachers or clerks. This made the educated Andhra youth stress the need for a separate State.

The Krishna-Guntur meetings of 1912 in Nidadavolu raised slogans for a separate Andhra which took Kurma Venkatareddy Naidu, Nyapathi Subba Rao and Valluri Surya Narayana by surprise. Unnava Lakshmi Narayana read the resolution and Chilakamarthi Lakshmi Narasimham seconded it. Konda Venkatappaiah was noncommital about it.Eighty two Andhras including B.N. Sharma, D.V. Krishna Rao,C.Y. Chinthamani, G. Raghava Rao, Macherla Ramachandra Rao, A.S. Krishna Rao, V.V. Jogayya and Multuri Adinarayanayya attended the 1910 Allahabad Congress session. 

In 1911, the Congress sessions were held in Calcutta where 72 Andhras participated. G. Sreenivasa Rao, Vavilala Venkateswarulu and V.V. Jogayya voiced their ideas there.

Among the 16 members that attended the Karachi session, only A.S. Krishna Rao spoke.

The Congress had its session, in Madras at the beginning of the first world war in 1914. 256 Andhras attended it. A.P. Pathro, K.Venkata Reddy Naidu, A.P. Parthasarathi Naidu,G. Kesava Pillai, K.R.V. Krishna Rao, A.S. Krishna Rao and  C. Lakshmi Narasimham participated in the discussions.

352  Andhras went to the Calcutta Congress session in  1917. Nyapathi Subba Rao submitted the appeal for a separate Andhra to Annie Besant, the Chairman. Pattabhi Seetha Ramaiah proposed the resolution. Gandhiji and Annie Besant opposed the proposal but Bala Gangadhar Tilak was in favour of it. The resolution was passed. Prakasam was present at the meeting. 

Only 20 members from Andhra could go to Delhi for the Congress session in 1918.

The proposal by Chatti Narasimha Rao to call a State level meeting was agreeable to one and all. A committee was formed with Konda as the secretary and Vinjamuri Bhawanachari, Unnava Lakshmi Narayana, Challa Seshagiri Rao and Jonnavittula Gurunatham as members. It was resolved to hold the Andhra meeting at Bapatla.

The first Andhra meeting at Bapatla, in the summer of 1913, was attended by 800 members. Bayya Narasimheswara Sharma was in the chair. Mutnuri Adinarayanayya, Nyapathi Subba Rao Panthulu, Macherla Ramachandra Rao, Gutti Keshava Pillai spoke against the separate Andhra move. The resolution for a separate Andhra, presented by Vemavarapu Ramadasu Panthulu had to be adjourned.

Valluri Surya Narayana Rao supported the resolution. It was decided that the leaders should go round the State with the proposal. Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao, Bhogaraju Pattabhi Seetharamaiah, Mutnuri Adinarayanayya, Chilakamarthi Lakshmi Narasimham, Mutnuri Krishna Rao and Unnava Lakshmi Narayana were also present at that meeting.The resolution for a separate Andhra was postponed temporarily as per the appeal of Ganti Venkata Ramaiah and Mutnuri Adinarayana. 

Discussions for and against a separate Andhra began to find place in the newspapers.

The people from Rayalaseema and Nellore district opposed the proposal for ‘Separate Andhra’. The rest of the districts were for it. Keshava Pillai, Amancherla Subbu Krishna Rao, Maidavolu Changaiah, Gopalaswami Mudaliar, Doraswami Ayyangar and Nyapathi Subba Rao were among the opponents. The big list of supporters comprised the influential people like Gadicherla Harisarvothama Rao, Konda Venkatappayya, Mutnuri Krishna Rao, Pattabhi Seetha Ramaiah, Valluri  Suryanarayana Rao, S.V. Narasimha Rao, Viduri Pitchaiah, K. Gundu Rao, Despandya Subba Rao, Hatti Siva Rao, Kolachelanu Sreenivasa Rao, NemaliPattabhi Rama Rao, Bezwada Pattabhi Rama Reddy, Ongolu Venkata Rangaiah, Hatti Shankar Rao, C. Yanadi Reddy, Mahanandaiah and Narasinga Rao. 

After the Bapatla meetings, the Committee of Pattabhi, Valluri Suryanarayana, Mutnuri Krishna Rao, and Konda Venkatappayya undertook a tour of Rayalaseema to seek the support of the people in favour of separate Andhra. They gathered a consensus in the Cuddapah, Ananthapur, Penugonda, Gutti, Nandyal, Hindupur and the Chittoor meetings. But on the whole, Rayalaseema was not very much in favour of a separate Andhra. Meanwhile, even at the district level meetings, a consensus was taken. In Rayalaseema and Nellore, people felt that they should not be in a hurry to implement the proposal. But Krishna, Guntur and Godavari districts felt the immediacy of a separate State.

The Second Andhra Mahasabha was organized in Vijayawada in 1914. Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao, Ayyanki Venkata Ramanayya and Peddibhotla Veeraiah played a major role in it. Even in these meetings where 1,600 people participated, separate Andhra remained a controversial issue. The resolution was introduced by Mandha Suryanarayana and supported by Vemavarapu Ramadasu Panthulu. Though A.S. Krishna Rao,  N. Pattabhi Rama Rao were for its adjournment, the resolution for a separate Andhra was passed. 

Graduates from all over Andhra had to go outside the State for higher education and proximity prompted many to study in Madras. As all of them could not get admissions there, many had to go to far off universities which involved greater expense. As many as two thousand students were then studying in the Madras universities. Only a few of the remaining nine thousand graduates could afford to study in other states. The Andhra students were disappointed that they could not secure seats in professional and technical institutions. All these grievances made the people desire a separate state. The fact that the separate Andhra movement was, at the outset, meant for only the educated classes should not be forgotten. 

In 1915, the Andhra Maha Sabha took place in Nellore. From the beginning, the people of Nellore were anti-separatists. Because of convenience, neighbourly feeling, business connections with Madras they did not wish for separation. The Nellore meetings went on as though a separate state was not an issue at all at that time. 

The people of Rayalaseema were distrustful of the credibility of the Circars, hence they were unwilling to join them for a separate Andhra. The Tamilians who were in various jobs in Rayalaseema influenced them better than their Telugu counterparts.

In the North, States were being formed on linguistic basis. Bengal and Bihar were divided according to the Language Formula. This division gave an incentive to the separate Andhra demand. The Sindhis also sent out feelers for a separate State. 

A surprising event took place in the third Andhra Mahasabha of 1915  in Vizag. R. Panagal Raja (Rama Rayanim), who was till then a staunch supporter of the British not only chaired the session, but also posed a firm demand for Andhra State which in turn gave moral support to the other separatists. Speeches were made in Telugu. They wanted Telugu to be the medium of instruction in schools. The Telugu papers appreciated the proceedings of the meetings. 

Throughout the year, meetings were held in all districts of Andhra. Till then, the Tamilians in Madras were very influential in the congress. There was a proposal in Guntur for a separate Andhra Congress Committee. The Congress Committee of Guntur with Patri Sreenivasa Rao as the first Chairman and Vishnubhotla Suryanarayana as Secretary came into being and provided a stepping stone for the Andhra Congress. 

At the 1915 Congress Session in Bombay there were 178 members from Andhra out of whom 46 submitted an appeal for Separate Andhra under the leadership of Konda Venkatappayya. Pattabhi and K.R.V. Krishna Rao were present there.Polavaram Raja and K.R.V. Krishna Rao, as Reception Committee Presidents, arranged the 4th Andhra Maha Sabha at Kakinada in 1916. Macherla Ramachandra Rao presided over the meeting. The resolution for a separate Andhra after the 1^st World war was presented by C.V.S. Narasimha Raju and was accepted. A.P. Patro, K. Venkata Reddy Naidu, C.V.S. Narasimha Raju and K. Venkatappayya made speeches upon the resolution and asserted that Indians should be appointed as high army officials and also be admitted in Naval Training Schools. 

It was commonly felt that the Andhras living in Madras were not treated on equal footing with the local people. Andhra Political Association and Andhra people’s Committee were started in April and May 1917 respectively. The people’s  Committee was strengthened under the Chairmanship of B.N. Sharma with V. Ramadasu Panthulu and N. Guruswami Chetty as Vice - Presidents and V. Lakshminarayana and S. Venkatachalam Chetty as Secretaries. 

The 5th Andhra Mahasabha was held on 1st June 1917 at Nellore. Inspite of the local stand against a separate State, the resolution was passed. Ongole Venkata Rangaiah was the Reception Committee Chairman and Konda Venkatappayya presided over the meeting.

The Congress, which was divided into Rightist and Leftist groups in 1907 came under a single banner again by 1916. The Leftists returned from prisons, and exile and from underground. Bengal was once again  united into a single State. The Muslims who were once the supporters of the British came closer to Congress. 

The Congress Session of 1916 in Lucknow, witnessed the propagation of the slogan ‘Home Rule’ by Tilak and Annie Besant. Some of the Andhras became enthusiastic about Annie Besant’s Theosophical Society and opened its branches in some places. 

Gadicharla took up the responsibility of Home Rule movement in Andhra. Branches of the Theosophical Society in Andhra were also used by him to carry on his work as the Secretary of the Home Rule League. He opened branches in Kakinada, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam and Guntur.

Annie Besant’s tour of Chittoor, Kakinada and Rajahmundry towns resulted in some Rightists (K.R.V. Krishna Rao, Mocherla Ramachandra Rao) joining the League. In an year’s time as many as 52 branches opened all over Andhra. National College was started in Madanapally to promote Annie Besant’s activities. Several meetings were held in Godavari, Krishna, Ganjam and Guntur districts. Andhra Mahasabha gave its support to the movement. The Government brought pressure upon the students not to attend the league meetings. Telugu newspapers objected to the Government’s attitude. Funds were raised for the movement. Annie Besant’s arrest led to protest meetings in the cities of Andhra. 

Some suggested a Satyagraha infavour of Annie Besant, but others felt it wise to keep quiet in view of the Montague-Chelmsford Reform Committee. These controversies came up in the newspapers. Andhra Patrika and Andhra Prakasika were anti-Satyagraha where as Desabhimani was for it. The need for Satyagraha was the content of the meeting at Rajahmundry, Guntur and Machilipatnam. E.N. Sharma, V.S. Sreenivasa Sastry, N. Subba Rao Panthulu, M. Ramachandra Rao Panthulu, P. Siva Rao, P. Venkatapathi Raju, V.P. Madhava Rao, Gollapudi Ramanayya, Chatti Narasimha Rao, P. Suryanarayana Rao and Sree Ram were led by Gadicharla to lend support to the Satyagraha. Annie Besant was arrested on 16th June, 1917  and released in September. She once again went round Andhra. 

At a meeting of the Krishna District Congress on 26th January, 1918 , it was decided to send Pattabhi to England to safeguard the Montague Reforms.

The special feature of the Andhra Mahasabha on 31st March, 1918  in Vijayawada, under Bhupathi  Raju Venkatapathi Raju was the assent given by the Rayalaseema leaders for a separate Andhra.

Resolutions for the separate Andhra were being passed at Vijayawada, Vizag and Cuddapah.

Tilak came forward with a substantial proposal at the Congress Session in Bombay that they should be willing to join the War if the Government accepted Home Rule. Konda Venkatappayya, Oruganti Venkatappayya and Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao were the supporters of Tilak’s proposed move. There was bitter dissension  over the Montegu-Chelmsford Reforms between two groups in Andhra Mahasabha in Guntur. One group led by B.N. Sharma  presented a resolution  welcoming the Reforms with certain  modifications. The other group was for total rejection of the Reforms. 97 members voted in favour of the resolution and 76  against, and the resolution was passed.

At the end of the First World War, the Andhra Congress met on 8th December, 1918, and decided to send Tilak to represent India at the Congress meet for peace in London. 

The formation of a separate Andhra Congress Committee was an encouragement for the strong desire for separation form Madras. Separate Andhra Congress was formulated inspite of the antagonism of Gandhi and Annie Besant as it was approved by the Calcutta Congress Session, 1917. 

The first Andhra Congress Meet took place in Vijayawada, on 20 th January, 1918 with Nyapathi Subba Rao in the Chair. He was made the first President of Andhra Congress by the 185 representatives present. One can see the paradox of politics in the fact that the same man, who was opposed to separate Andhra, was made the first President of State Congress. Konda Venkatappayya was the first secretary, Kasinathuni, C.R. Parthasarathy Ayyangar, P. Shiva Shankaran Pillai were elected as Joint Secretaries. The branches of Ganjam, Vizag, Godavari, Krishna, Nellore, Kurnool, Ananthapuram, Dharmavaram, Rajahmundry and Vijayawada were affiliated to it.

The politics in Andhra commenced mainly as Brahmin and nonBrahmin groupism. The Brahmins, especially the Madras and Maharashtra Brahmins were predominant in jobs. Even here, the educated Telugu Brahmins found fewer job opportunities. Hence, they were all against Tamil Brahmin supremacy. The non Brahmins who entered politics much later found the political field totally dominated by the Brahmins and they felt the urgency of an ‘anti-Brahmin move’. The friction was limited to the upper-classes only. 

The British were always cautious with the Brahmins though they had employed them in a number of jobs. They were not only happy with the anti-Brahmin movement but also extended their support to the movement as a check against the Brahmins. They encouraged them against one another as theirs was a divide and rule policy. They also offered more jobs to the non-Brahmins.

The Brahmins Constituted only 3.2 percent of the Andhra population when the Congress was born. But one cannot be oblivious to the fact that more Brahmins were educated and occupied jobs, and acted as agents to the British and also had an upperhand in the National Movement. They were the people who sacrificed their comfort for the nation. Most of them left legal practice for the freedom fight. It was but natural that the British were wary of them. 

As early as 1815, the British had to issue orders that both Brahmins and Non-Brahmins should have equal job opportunities because of the differences that existed between them. In jobs like Huzoor Sirastadar and English Head-Clerk, the Brahmins and NonBrahmins were to be employed alternately. But this order was not executed due to unforeseen circumstances. The British found, on investigation, that G. Venkata Ramanaiah, a Niyogi introduced as many as 49 of his relatives into jobs in the Revenue Department. The British once again tried to enforce their order in 1890 but with little success. Only Brahmins were successful in competetive examinations and occupied all the jobs during 1893-95. The British did not want Brahmin monopoly in the services and they started taking a number of non-Brahmins too into service.

The Government once again ordered all the Collectors in 1912 to strictly adhere to their orders passed in 1851. (The 1-1/3 millions among the total population of 41.5 millions, thus forming 3%). 72% of the 8821 graduates in Madras were Brahmins. In the competitive examinations for services between 1892 and 1904, 94% of the Brahmins were selected, out of 16 jobs 15 went to the Brahmins. A new slogan saying that Competitive examinations should be conducted separately for the Brahmins and non-Brahmins.

The posts offered to the Indians were very low as the British held all the key-posts. The education, bank services, clerks to Government, Deputy Collectors, Sub-Judges, Munsifs, Tahsildars, Head-Clerks, Sirastadars were all Tamil Brahmins. It was but natural for the Telugu Brahmins to protest against such domination.

At the inception of the Congress, there were 492 Brahmin Graduates against 171 non-Brahmin graduates in the Madras University. Muslims, Christians and Foreigners comprised 107 graduates.

The number of graduates increased in 1890. The Brahmin graduates were 1461, non-Brahmin 445, and others 263. Between 1901  and 1911, Brahmin graduates were 4074, non-Brahmins 1035, and others 551.

In the services too, there were 17 Brahmin Engineers, 4 nonBrahmins. There were 77 Bramhin Deputy Collectors in the Accounts Section as against 30 non-Brahmins.

By 1913, in the post of District Munsifs, there were 93 Brahmins, whereas there were only 25 non-Brahmins. Key posts like Secretary to the Government, Revenue Board Secretary were held by the Brahmins. One of the two Collectors was a Brahmin. 

This difference of Brahmin and non-Brahmin in jobs had reached its climax in 1917. There were 135 Brahmin and 60 non-Brahmin Tahsildars. 214 deputy Tahsildars were Brahmins and only 65 were non-Brahmins. For 16 Brahmin head-clerks only 5 non-Brahmins were there. 28 Brahmins worked as Sirastidars in District Courts and also in the sub-Courts. There were only 10 nonBrahmins.

Non-Brahmins did not include Muslims and Christians. The nonBrahmin communities like Velama, Kamma, Balija, Kapu, Reddy, Vysyas participated in the non-Brahmin movement. Even these were from among the affluent and the middle classes only. 

The Madras Colleges had separate hostels for Brahmins and non-Brahmins. The Government had, in principle accepted the argument of A. Venugopal Chetty, as IPS member that there should be reservations for non-Brahmins. 

The Brahmin and the non-Brahmin dispute was mounting when Annie Besant switched over from theosophy to politics. She was full of appreciation for Hindu culture and Aryan tradition. She exalted the puranas and Manu Dharma Shastra. Her presence in Madras and the support of Brahmins to the Theosophical Society were the contributing factors. Telugu people started resenting her as she was against the promotion of Congress and a Separate State for them. Some Telugu and Tamil non-Brahmins joined hands against Brahmins. 

In 1912, the Dravidian Association was found in Madras, under the Chairmanship of C. Natesa Mudaliar. These developments were a prelude to the birth of the Justice Party. The ‘Dravida’ literature of 1915 , and the establishment of non-Brahmin hostels in 1916 also contributed to it. Thirty members under Thyaga Raja Chetty, met in Victoria Hall, Madras on 20th November, 1916 and named themselves as the South Indian People’s Association which was the initiation of the Justice Party. After a month, they founded the India Liberal Federation and released an anti-Brahmin Manifesto. Andhra Prakasika, under A.P. Parthasarathi Naidu’s editorship helped in promoting this movement. 

more in next blog .....on the nizam rule and political strategy of cong .....