Narla Venkateswara Rao

Narla Venkateswara Rao or V. R. Narla (1 December 1908 – 13 March 1985)^[2] was a Telugu language writer, journalist, and politician from Andhra Pradesh, India. He was a Rajya Sabha member twice from 3rd April 1958 to 2nd April 1970 and wrote a satakam in Telugu along with several other books.

Narla was born in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. He had two brothers, Narla Gowri Shankar Rao and Narla Tata Rao, and a sister, Laxmi Bai. At six, he returned to Andhra and became a graduate. During the late 1960s, Narla moved to Hyderabad which became the main publishing centre of Andhra Jyothi daily.

His career as a Telugu journalist began when he became the editor of Andhra Prabha of the Indian Express Group.

He wrote a series on Suryadevara Sanjiv Dev of Tummapudi village in Guntur district. He was at the forefront when journalists fought Chief Minister Brahmananda Reddy's efforts in 1969 to impose constraints on the Andhra Jyothi Daily by introducing a bill in the State Assembly to curb the freedom of the press.

As a conscientious journalist, Narla was upset when the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution were suspended and 'internal emergency' imposed in 1975 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As a gesture of protest, he sought to keep the editorial column of Andhra Jyothy (of which he was editor) blank. However, Andhra Jyothy's management did not allow him to do so, for fear of a government crackdown on the protest, such as the forced closure of the newspaper.

To avoid the resultant confusion and uncertainty, Narla then went to the US to be with his seven children and their families. He returned to India after cessation of the 'emergency' period and then resigned as editor of Andhra Jyothy. This was not the first time Narla had resigned from his job to assert his right as editor against management interference in his work. During the late 1940s, he submitted his resignation as editor of Andhra Prabha while supporting the journalists who were resisting the efforts of the proprietor, Ramnath Goenka, to disperse the newspaper establishment from Madras to the districts to defeat government regulations on pay scales of the staff. Ultimately, Goenka persuaded Narla not to press his resignation. Narla also felt increasing contempt for the Congress Party for its demagogic attitude to public life. As a member of the Rajya Sabha, he was a witness at close quarters to the functioning of corrupt politicians. This alienated him further from the goings on in public life.

Narla authored a Telugu play, Seetha Josyam (prophecy of Seetha), published by the Sahitya Academy. The play attracted much interest among religious and literary circles. However, Narla vehemently resented criticism of the play by the official journal of the Sahitya Academy, on the grounds that being the mouthpiece of the publishers it should not voice criticism of the work. This was likewise his basis for rejecting the Sahitya Academic Award, a decision which caused a sensation in literary circles. Narla's monographs on Vemana, Veerasalingam and Gurajada Appa Rao were translated into several Indian languages.

After giving up newspaper editorship, Narla took to writing plays on serious themes with lengthy prefaces – along the lines of George Bernard Shaw's works. One such play, Narakam lo Harischandra (Harischandra in Hell), was dedicated to his longtime friend and journalist Innaiah Narisetti. Another play by Narla was based on the mythological story of Draupadi, who was the common wife of the five Pandava princes. Narla could not complete his characteristic lengthy preface for the play, which was originally titled Panchali (wife of five persons).

Paatha Kotha, (Old and New), a collection of essays by Narla, was selected as one of the best books in modern Telugu literature. It was also published posthumously by his family members through the New Student Book House, Vijayawada. The volume houses an incomplete essay on Purana Vairagyam. Finally, Narla was working on a project of one thousand verses in Telugu – Narla Maata (Narla's word). Each verse ended with the refrain, Navayugaala Baata Naarla Maata ("the path of the new age and Narla's word"). These verses were satirical, critiquing society and stressing human values.

Narla married Sulochana Devi in 1938. All his seven children are medical doctors practicing in the US. Narlas's eldest son, Mohan Das, is a professor in cell biology working in New York City. His second son, Durga Das, and his younger brother, Lakshman Das, are also doctors living in the US. Narla himself preferred to live in India.

Narla had a library consisting of approximately 25,000 books. After his death, his wife presented his library to the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University in Hyderabad. Ambedkar University maintains an annual programme of memorial lectures in his name.

An award, Narla Venkateswara Puraskar, was instituted in his name by B.R. Ambedkar Joshua Phule Periyar Literature Foundation.^[3] He participated in many debates in the parliament.^[4]