Bezawada Gopala Reddy (5 August 1907 – 9 March 1997) was an Indian freedom fighter, writer and politician. He was the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

of the erstwhile Indian state,

Andhra State Andhra State (IAST: ; ), created in 1953, was the official name of the State of Andhra Pradesh until 1956. The state was formed from Telugu-speaking districts of the erstwhile Madras State, which form two distinct cultural regions – Rayalas ...

from 1955 to 1956 and later served as the

Governor of Uttar Pradesh The governor of Uttar Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Uttara Pradēśa kē Rājyapāla'') is the constitutional head of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The governor is appointed by the president of India. The post is preceded by the governor of U ...

from 1967 to 1972. He was popularly known as "Andhra Tagore" in recognition of his literary works.

Early and personal life

Reddy was born on 5 August 1907 in

Buchireddypalem Buchireddypalem is a town in the Nellore district of India. It is the Buchireddypalem Nagar panchayat part of the Kovur (Assembly constituency) Located 15 km from Nellore city, it is located on the state highway connecting Nellore and ...

in the

Nellore district Nellore district, officially known as Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district in Coastal Andhra Region, is one of the 26 districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. According to the 2011 Census, the district's population was 2,963,557 of which ...

of present-day

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 ...

(then part of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

) to Pattabhiram Reddy and Seethamma. He completed his school education in the same village before furthering his studies at Andhra Jatiya Kalashala from 1921 to 1924 in

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...

. Reddy pursued graduation in

D.Litt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

Visva-Bharati University Visva-Bharati (IAST: ''Viśva-Bhāratī''), () is a public central university and an Institute of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which ...

Shantiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: �antiniketɔn is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. Upon his return from West Bengal in 1927, he actively participated in the freedom movement, notably contributing to the

Salt March The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of Non violence, non violent civil disobedience in British Raj, colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 19 ...

and Quit India Movement. As a consequence of his involvement, he faced arrest and imprisonment at Vellore and Tanjavore jails. Reddy was married to Lakshmikanthamma, the daughter of the freedom fighter Tikkavarapu Rami Reddy and Sudarshanamma. She was also a student at Shantiniketan and involved in the freedom movement. Reddy's admiration for

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

's works inspired him to translate many of his books into the

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...

Political career

Member A.I.C.C., since 1931; M.L.A., Madras, 1937–46; was Minister Local Administration, Government of Madras, 1937–39; President Andhra Pradesh, 1955–56; Finance Minister, Madras, 1947; Home Minister, Andhra Pradesh, 1956; Finance Minister, Andhra Pradesh, 1957; M.P. Rajya Sabha, 1958–60, Lok Sabha, 1962; Minister of Revenue and Civil Expenditure Government of India, 1958–61; Minister for Information and Broadcasting 1962–63; resigned under the Kamraj Plan; Chairman, Children's Film Society; President: Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (A.P.); Telugu Bhasha Samiti, since 1947; A.P. Sahitya Academy, since 1957; All-India Chess Federation, since 1959; Governor of U.P. since 1 May 1967.

Death and legacy

Reddy was admitted to the hospital following an accident just 10 days prior to his death. He died on 9 May 1997 at the age of 89, after being discharged from the hospital at his son's residence. An award in his honor was established and is known as the "Dr. Bezawada Gopala Reddy Award", recognising individuals in the fields of Telugu literature and politics for their contributions.

Awards

Reddy received the prestigious Raja-Lakshmi Award for the year 1989, conferred upon him by the

Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation The Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation (Telugu language, Telugu: శ్రీ రాజా లక్ష్మీ ఫౌండేషన్) is an Indian charitable trust that promotes arts, sciences, literature, medicine, journalism, humanities and other ...

, Chennai.

Sources

Rulers"'Sahithi Brindavana Sanchary' Dr. Bejawada Gopala Reddy" from C. P. Brown Academy

References