The Architect of Telugu Prosperity: PV Narasimha Rao!
The Land Ceilings of Andhra Pradesh implemented by PV Narasimha Rao lead to rapid elimination of poverty, ushering in a surge of both economical, social and political prosperity improving the life of an average Telugu! This was a small proven example of PV methods for rapid social and political change. An aspect he implemented in the entire nation eventually. A key part of the growth story of India!
The Land Ceilings Act of Andhra Pradesh was PV’s first implementation of this idea and the changes that it caused shows us the potential of PV’s idea. PV for his efforts in Andhra Pradesh caused him to lose his own Chief Ministership by his own admission in this roman a clef Insider. The Act made the nation’s fifth-largest state by both population and area into a state of prosperity and income equality unprecedented for its size and population!
The Act caused such radical change, that Dalits, OBC’s and anyone from the oppressed landless communities (including many upper castes and Brahmin communities whose sole property was education) had a chance to live a life free of debt, to get educated, to establish small enterprises and get socially elevated!
A paper was written for the Overseas Development Institute, an Independent Think Tank in London by KC Suri with the title “Democratic Process and Electoral Politics in Andhra Pradesh” which proclaims “The Growth of Industry in the State in recent decades has been identified as one of the offshoots of agricultural growth since the 1970s. Higher agricultural productivity and incomes have contributed to the pace of industrial development through the supply of entrepreneurs and investment resources, as well as rising demand for manufacturers.”
Also strongly summing up, “The decade between 1975 and 1985 is considered as a golden era for industrialisation for Andhra Pradesh State.”
This social elevation, in turn, lead to lack of dependence or control of feudal elements on electoral power ushering in an era of rapid growth!
To put it in simple economical data terms, the economical survey conducted in late 1973 to 1974 in United AP tells us that Andhra Pradesh despite being the largest state in Southern India, with a sizeable population, actually ended up having the lowest rate of rural poverty at that time! This was months after PV Narasimha Rao’s implementation of the land ceilings act!
Another simple economical statistic is 48.1% of United Andhra Pradesh’s rural population was below the poverty line in 1991, by 2011 that fell to a mere 11%! If one examines the state of United Andhra Pradesh despite it being the fifth largest state by both population and area managed to rank high in the per capita GDP index, cloaking one of the highest figures of $400,000 in 2019 alone, backtracking the records. One can easily find that since the implementation of the Land Ceilings, the GDP per capita and income equality alone with overall GDP growth rate all have improved in double-digit percentages significantly.
The numbers and statistics post PV’s Chief Ministership speak volumes of his contribution to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana’s economic stories! One can say confidently, no Chief Minister’s decisions lead to such rapid progress in the entire history of the state!
But how did rapid income equality and economical prosperity lead to sweeping social and political changes? And how will they lead to even more upcoming social and political changes, not only in the State of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana but also the Union of India?
It is an undeniable fact that the pursuit of materialistic goods and the socio-economical factors of society shape the depths of change. Political and Social Change is only driven by the catapults of economical change.
In the early hunter-gatherer socio-economical system, where cavemen and woman dwelled in their caves, eventually leading to tribal communes with each tribe member sharing the workload and protecting, where the idea of a house with a roof, let alone law and order, economic equality, and existentialism all seemed a distant alien concept. The ushering in of the Agriculture Revolution and Feudalism societies lead to, a major part of the society having the ability to produce their food, and a house with a roof. With a filled belly and a roof on their heads, laws, philosophy, architecture, poetry, culture, art and rational thought on social and economical and political systems and equality were all factors early men debated and created. The Indus Valley Civilisation, The Ancient Greeks, The Ancient Romans, The Ancient Vedics all contributed significantly to social and cultural improvement!
Therefore history is proof, it is that only economical change that can propel social and cultural prosperity and change! Whilst many great revolutions of the world, like the Russian, French, even the English all fuelled by a rising middle class desperate for change were all propelled by a gun and violence!
The Indian Revolution, far greater in impact and magnitude was propelled by none other than PV Narasimha Rao! Without a single shot fired, without a single drop of blood! PV Narasimha Rao laid the seeds for the Greatest Revolution in this century! The Story of that Revolution will be covered in these series of articles soon!
