Rai Raya Rai Venkata Rao (born T. Venkata Rao, also spelt Venkatta Row; died 1843), was an Indian administrator and statesman who served as Diwan of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. A ...

18211829 and 183839. He was the father of R. Raghunatha Rao, brother of

R. Ranga Rao Rai Ranga Rao was (born T. Ranga Rao, also spelt Ranga Row) was an Indian administrator and statesman who served as Diwan of Travancore 18371838. He was the father of Sir T. Madhava Rao Raja Sir Tanjore Madhava Rao, KCSI (20 November 182 ...

and paternal uncle of

Sir T. Madhava Rao Raja Sir Tanjore Madhava Rao, KCSI (20 November 18284 April 1891), also known as Sir Madhava Rao Thanjavurkar or simply as Madhavarao Tanjorkar, was an Indian statesman, civil servant, administrator and politician who served as the Diwan of T ...

Early life

He was born in Coombaconum in the

Thanjavur Maratha Kingdom The Thanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by the Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was Marathi. Venkoji was the founder of the dynasty. Maratha conquest of Thanjavur Followi ...

to Gundopanth Kumbhakoni in a Thanjavur Marathi Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family. He was educated in the Madras Presidency and on completion of his education, joined the service of the British.

Public life

Venkata Rao served as the Head Sheristadar to the Chief Commissioner of Mysore 183438 and as Assistant Chief Commissioner of Mysore 184042. In 1842, he was appointed Diwan of Hyderabad and served till 1843, when he returned to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

due to ill-health.

Diwan of Travancore

In 1819, Venkata Rao joined the Travancore state service as an assistant to Colonel McDowall, the

British resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of ind ...

. He impressed the Queen-regent of Travancore by his abilities, and was soon appointed ''Diwan Peishkar'' or Governor of one of the divisions of the Travancore kingdom. During his tenure as ''Diwan Peishkar'', Venkata Rao repaired and refurbished the

Padmanabhaswamy Temple The Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the state of Kerala, India. The name of the city of 'Thiruvananthapuram' in Tamil and Malayalam translates to "The City of Lord Ananta" (The Ci ...

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

and modified the dress codes of the

sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

s. In 1821, the Diwan, Reddy Row, accepted a

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

of two villages from the queen; the resulting scandal forced him to resign. Venkata Rao who was related to Reddy Row was selected to replace him, with the support of the British resident. On taking office, Venkata Rao immediately waived taxes. He set up his base at

Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

and organised a number of irrigation works. The Kadinangulam backwaters were created during his tenure.

Honours

Venkata Rao was given the title "Rai Raaya Rai" in 1838 in recognition of his services to the Crown.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, R. Venkata 1843 deaths Diwans of Travancore People from Thanjavur district Year of birth missing