P. V. Narasimha Rao

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**P. V. Narasimha Rao**
Prime Minister of India
Image:P V Narasimha Rao BW.jpg
Date of Birth:	28 June 1921
Place of Birth:	Vangara Villege Karimnagar District, Andhra Pradesh
Date of Death:	23 December 2004
Tenure Order:	9th
Political party:	Congress (I)
Took office:	June 21, 1991
Left office:	May 16, 1996
Predecessor:	Chandra Shekhar
Successor:	Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (Template:Lang-te, Template:Lang-hi) (28 June, 1921 – 23 December, 2004) was the ninth Prime Minister of the Republic of India, and led one of the most important administrations in India's modern history that oversaw major economic transformation and checked national security crises.

1 Early life
2 Ascent to Prime Minister
3 National Economic Crisis
4 National Security, and National Unity
5 Later Life and Legacy
6 Quotes
7 Trivia
8 External links

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Early life

A polyglot, Rao could speak 17 languages, including Urdu, Marathi, Hindi, Telugu and English with fluency akin to a native speaker. His mothertongue was Telugu. Along with Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao and Sri Kaloji Narayana Rao, a great human rights activist in India, P.V. edited a Telugu bi-weekly magazine called "Kakatiya" in his early 20's. His father's name was P. V. Ranga Rao. They belonged to a poor Brahmin family from a village called "Vangara(pedda)" in Karimnagar District of Andhra Pradesh, India. He also learned several European languages that are typically not spoken in India, including French and Spanish. Rao studied at Osmania University and the Universities of Mumbai and Nagpur; he held a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in law.

Rao was an active freedom-fighter during India's indpendence movement, and after independence, he joined politics full time. Rao served brief stints in the cabinet (1962 - 1971) and chief ministries (1971 - 1973) for the state of Andhra Pradesh. When the Indian National Congress split in 1969, he remained loyal to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and stayed so during the national emergency (1974-1977). He then rose to the national level in 1972 by serving in several ministries, most significantly home, defence and foreign affairs (1980 - 1984), in the cabinets of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He was the first PM from South India and Andhra Pradesh.

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Ascent to Prime Minister

After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and the general elections of 1991, Rao was chosen to lead the Congress party, and when the Congress won a plurality in parliament later that year Rao was invited to head a minority government. He was the first person outside the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to serve as Prime Minister for five continuous years. He was also the first Prime Minister to lead a minority government for a full term (five years) and the first prime minister from southern India.

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National Economic Crisis

Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister in 1991. India's leftist economic policies had caused economic stagnation. In the early 1990's longtime leftist regimes such as USSR and China were in the process of liberalization. Rao believed India would benefit from undertaking such an economic transformation. He appointed Manmohan Singh (India's PM since 2004) as Finance Minister to accomplish his goals.

Rao provided the much needed political will and support to push economic reforms. India's economy grew by an average of 6.3% between 1991-2000, a growth rate that continues with a predicted rate of 6.7% for 2005 (source: IMF World Economic Outlook). Rao's supporters have claimed that this rate of growth is the result of spending cuts, deregulation, and privatization that began under the Rao government.

Rao picked conservative BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee to represent India in the World Disarmament Conference. Although they were opponents, Vajpayee's hardline pro-nuclear stance was in accordance with Rao's own views. Vajpayee later became the Prime Minister.

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National Security, and National Unity

Apart from the balance-of-payments crisis in 2001, Rao faced two other large challenges during his time in office.

Terrorism

The Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir faced increased terrorist activity during Rao's tenure. It was soon discovered that training camps in Pakistan administered Kashmir for these militants previously directed at evicting the Soviet army from Afghanistan were now producing the same fighters who were infiltrating Kashmir. Pakistan was directly charged with sheltering, arming and supplying infiltrators. Hindu pilgrims and Sikh settlers were attacked, and thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave their homes in the Kashmir valley. Violence rocked and shut downparts of Kashmir, which is heavily depended on tourism, and also struck major cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Similar terrorism spread into the northeastern states of Assam, Tripura and Nagaland.

Rao's government introduced the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), India's first anti-terrorism legislation, and sent the Indian Army into full swing to eliminate the infiltrators, but despite a heavy and largely successful Army campaign, the state descended into a security nightmare. Tourism and commerce were largely disrupted, and the people began living in fear of the terrorists and the Army. Special police units were often accused of committing excesses against prisoners, including torture and excessive detention. Rao was criticized but the state remained stable and largely secure.

Babri Mosque Crisis

The long-agitating VHP activists attacked the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on 6 December, 1992. The site is claimed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama. The destruction of the mosque, which was carried through the international media, unleashed the most vicious communal violence in the nation's modern history. Muslims retaliated with rioting across the country, infuriated by the destruction of the mosque, and incited by some Hindu elements, and almost every major city like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Chennai struggled to hold back mobs.

Although intensive police operations brought the country back to peace. Rao was heavily criticized for this traumatic tragedy.

A strong earthquake in Latur, Maharashtra, also killed 10,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands in 1994-1995.

Despite the tragedies, Rao was applauded for using modern technology and resources to organize major relief operations to assuage the stricken peoples, and for schemes of economic reconstruction.

Rao also energized the national nuclear security and ballistic missiles program, which ultimately yielded in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. It is speculated that these tests were actually planned in 1995, during Rao's own tenure itself. Rao increased military spending, and set the Army on course to fight the emerging threat of terrorism and insurgencies, as well as Pakistan and China's nuclear potentials. Rao also made diplomatic overtures to Western Europe, the United States and China.

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Later Life and Legacy

Rao's government survived a "no-confidence" vote in Parliament in 1994. In 1996 a corruption scandal rocked the government. When general elections were held in May, Rao and Congress were badly defeated, and he lost the prime ministership. He retained leadership of the Congress party until late 1996. After his tenure, Rao was charged in several bribery cases, the most famous among them being the one involving Harshad Mehta, although he was later acquitted on all charges. In late 1996, Rao was ousted as party leader and his political career ended.

Rao rarely spoke of his personal views and opinions during his 5 year tenure. After his retirement from national politics Rao published a novel named The Insider (ISBN 0670878502). The controversial book, which follows the career of a person as he rises through the ranks of Indian politics, resembled events from Rao's own life. Rao, however, denied any connection.

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.

Rao never was an iconic leader. And while his leadership through the economic crisis, terrorism, religious violence and corruption scandals inspired the people to beat the odds, endure the hardship and look at the future optimistically, he was never loved or idolized. And since the fruits of his substantial labors were long to materialize, he was never actually as popular as his more iconic predecessors, who had faced and achieved much less.

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Quotes

When I don't make a decision, it's not that I don't think about it. I think about it and make a decision not to make a decision.
Inaction is also action.
Inaction is the best action.

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