Rao Bahadur
Rai Bahadur (in North India) and Rao Bahadur (in South India), R.B., was a title of honour bestowed during British Raj, British rule in India to individuals for outstanding service or acts of public welfare to the British Empire, Empire. From ...
Sir Bayya Narasimheswara Sarma,
KCSI ) (1867–1932) was an Indian
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
, zamindar and estate landholder,
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and member of the Viceroy's Executive Council.
Biography
Sarma was born in 1867 to Bayya Mahadeva Sastry, a Vaidik
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
inamdar in
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 ...
,
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 ...
, now in
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 ...
and had his early education in the Hindu High School, Visakhapatnam. He graduated with first class in his B.A from the Rajahmundry Government College, then under
Madras University. He won the Metcalfe scholarship for his academic ability.
Narasimheswara Sarma studied law at Madras University and joined the
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
during its
Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
session in 1887. He began his career as a lawyer as a member of the Visakhapatnam bar in 1891. He was municipal chairman of Visakhapatnam twice and he did good work to improve the town. As a result of his success in public life, he was nominated to the council of the presidency of Madras in 1906 and developed a keen interest in politics. He was responsible for The Madras Estates Land Act (1908), which gave rights to tenant farmers in estates and streamlined estate and inam revenue administration, though he himself was a holder of zamindari and inam lands. He was the first president of the
Andhra Mahasabha held at
Bapatla in 1913. In 1914 he went to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
as a member of a Congress delegation along with
Jinnah, S.Sinha,
Lajpat Rai, Mazhar- ul- Haque and Samarth, where he delivered speeches in Kensington hall and also spoke before groups of British parliamentarians appraising them of
Indian problems and the need for political reform. He quit active legal practice at a very young age as he felt it would be contradictory to his position in public life. He became a member of the imperial council in 1916. In 1918 he put forth a resolution in the imperial council recommending linguistic provinces . This was opposed vehemently, ironically by Jinnah. He was a champion of
indianization of services and strove hard for the development of industry, agriculture and education and took great pains to develop a well regulated banking system in the country. He strove hard for the amelioration of indentured labor in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
, etc. He was considered one of the foremost authorities in land tenures, revenue and estate matters in the country. He stressed the need for the development of a national capital city and took great interest in the development of
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
. He fought with the British establishment for release of adequate funding for the development of Delhi, a fact acknowledged by
Lutyens and
Baker in their book ''Indian Summer''.
Narasimhesvara Sarma was a
theosophist from his early days. However, in the beginning, he was opposed to
Annie Besant. But when Besant launched the
Home Rule Movement, he supported her. Sarma also joined the national education board set up by her . He co-authored with B.N. Basu the Memorandum of nineteen which put the Indian perspective of reforms to the government. He was a committed moderate in his political views and was conservative in his personal life to which many took affront. He was highly respected for his personal philanthropy and many institutions received benefactions from him.
When the
Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms
The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms or more concisely the Mont–Ford Reforms, were introduced by the colonial government to introduce self-governing institutions gradually in British India. The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, the Sec ...
were passed in 1919, Sarma differed from the Tilak group of Congressmen and Besant and supported the moderate view that the reforms were a step in the right direction and should be given a chance. He was one of the few members of the Indian Congress to give a speech in the
Imperial Legislative Council
The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of British Raj, British India from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Government of India Act 1858 by providing for the addition of six additional members to the Governor General ...
supporting the reforms while still in the Congress, the other moderates already having left and formed the liberal party. He opposed the recall of
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.
The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
Lord Chelmsford, on behalf of the moderates for which he was criticized.
He was made a member of the viceroy's executive council in 1920 from which he retired in 1925. He held the portfolios of revenue, agriculture, public works, finance and education during his tenure. His Indian colleagues in the council were sir T.B.Sapru and Sir Mohd. Shafi. He was knighted in the 1923 Birthday Honours List as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI).
London Gazette, 2 June 1923
/ref> In 1924 he was made president of the council of state. when the 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 ...
was formed, he presided over its first general body meeting. He was also president of the railway rates commission, a post which he held till his death in 1932.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarma, B N
Indian independence activists from Andhra Pradesh
20th-century Indian lawyers
Indian Theosophists
Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Indian knights
1867 births
1932 deaths
People from Visakhapatnam district
Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India
Academic staff of Andhra University
19th-century Indian lawyers
Indian National Congress politicians
Members of the Council of the Governor General of India
Andhra movement