Alapati Dharma Rao (21 September 1930 – 7 May 2003) was an Indian politician.

Early life

Dharma Rao was born in Annvarapu lanka, Kollipara Mandal,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, one of ten children in an agricultural household. He had to walk about everyday to attend his school in the nearby village. He studied his primary education at Chilumur in Sri Rama Rural Gurukul then attended Hindu College (Guntur) between 1952 and 1954. Later he read law at

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

. Dharma Rao married A. Nirmalananda Kumari and had four daughters: A. Prabhavati; Nagalla Padmavati; Narravula Sailaja and Koritala Devaki Devi.

Early career

In 1957, Dharma Rao was registered as a lawyer at the

Tenali Tenali is a city in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality, and the headquarters of Tenali mandal and Tenali revenue division. The city is renowned for art, culture, drama, and hence, it is called "Andhra ...

Bar Association and started his practice. He was one of the Correspondents of Chilumuru Sri Rural College and also worked as

Tanuku Tanuku is a Town in West Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Tanuku mandal . Tanuku is a fourth largest Town in the West Godavari District after in Bhimavaram, Tadepalligudem, and Palakollu i ...

Magistrate. In 1978, Dharma Rao became the President of the Tenali Bar Association. Later Darma Rao became the chairman of the Nannapaneni Venkat Rao Sugar Factory (Jampani). He also became the Correspondent of V.S.R & N.V.R College. Subsequently he became the President of Tenali Co-Operative Urban Bank twice. Dharma Rao was a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

throughout this period. In 1980s, leprosy was rampant in and around Tenali regions. There were no hospitals and proper medical treatments leaving the infected to their fate. Dharma Rao established a charity organization GRETNALTES (Greater Tenali Leprosy Treatment and Education Scheme Society). GRETNALTES was started in a small room by Dharma Rao using his own money. He purchased an acre of land to construct the centre. The site has since expanded to cover six acres with around 200 staff.

Political career

In 1985, Dharma Rao abandoned his law practice and contested for the first time in the Assembly Elections where he was elected as an MLA for the Duggirala constituency. In 1989 he was elected at the Assembly Elections for the Vemuru Constituency receiving 54.90% of the vote. Under the rule of

Marri Chenna Reddy Marri Chenna Reddy (13 January 1919 – 2 December 1996) was an Indian politician active in several states. He was the 6th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from 1978 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1990. He also served as the governor of Uttar Prades ...

, he took up the positions of

Deputy Speaker Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain ...

and Incharge Speaker. He became Transport Minister under the rule of Kotla Vijay Bhaskar Reddy for a brief stint. Then he took up the position of

Home Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

and later Higher Education Minister. Dharma Rao and Prime Minister P V Narsimha Rao were fairly good friends and participated together in some endeavours. In 2002, INC appointed Dharma Rao as the chairman for the Drought Committee of Andhra Pradesh. He prepared a report stating there were more than 3.5 million people who had lost employment and 6,900 villagers suffering through no access to drinking water, raising alarm among the politicians.

Last days

Dharma Rao's health deteriorated and he died while undergoing treatment at Medwin Hospitals in Hyderabad on 7 May 2003. In 2007, a statue was unveiled in Tenali in a ceremony attended by Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

References

Elected Members and Key People

Dhrma Arapati Rao (Deceased)

External links

* http://www.timescontent.com/tss/showcase/preview-buy/16895/News/Alapati-Dharma-Rao.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20140209081810/http://www.aplegislature.org/formerdyspeakers * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Alapati Dharma Home ministers of Andhra Pradesh Deputy speakers of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly 2003 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from Andhra Pradesh 1930 births