Kakani Venkataratnam

Kakani Venkataratnam was a Congress leader from Akunuru, in Gannavaram taluk of Krishna district.¹ He went to jail in 1930, 1932 and 1942.¹² After independence he became a minister in Andhra Pradesh.² He died on 25 December 1972 at Vijayawada, while leading what the Who’s Who calls the “Separate Andhra Movement”.²

Most of the dates here come from the Who’s Who of Freedom Struggle in Andhra Pradesh, published by the state government in 1980.¹

Salt satyagraha and civil disobedience, 1930–1932

He was born on 3 August 1900, the son of Tatayya, and was a farmer.¹ He began his political work as a Congress volunteer at the Kakinada session of the Congress in 1924.¹

He joined the salt satyagraha, and on 27 June 1930 he was sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment.¹ He was held in the Rajahmundry, Tiruchirappalli and Alipuram jails.¹ Sarojini Regani lists him among the leaders arrested during the salt satyagraha.³ He was released on 14 March 1931, after the Gandhi–Irwin Pact.¹

Regani writes that on his release he made a statement about prisoners of the Lahore Conspiracy Case in Rajahmundry jail.⁴ He said they had gone on hunger strike for better treatment and had been forcibly fed.⁴

In the civil disobedience movement of 1932 he was appointed the “third dictator” (acting head) of the campaign.¹ He was sentenced to six months’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 200.¹

The 1930s and Quit India

After his release he worked against untouchability and for the entry of Dalits into temples.¹² He took part in the ryots’ movement in the Munagala and Lingagiri estates.² He was general secretary of the West Krishna District Congress Committee from 1937 to 1940.²

He was detained in the Quit India movement from 10 September 1942 to 4 September 1945, in the Vellore and Thanjavur jails.² Regani also lists him among the Andhra leaders detained in 1942.⁵ In 1947–48 he was among the Andhra leaders who raised support and money for the Hyderabad State Congress.⁶⁷

After independence

The Who’s Who gives his later offices:²

• president of the Krishna District Board, 1949–1953²
• general secretary of the Andhra Provincial Congress Committee, 1953²
• member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, elected in 1955, 1962, 1968 and 1972²
• president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee from 2 April 1967²
• Minister for Agriculture from July 1969, in the governments of Brahmananda Reddy and then P. V. Narasimha Rao²

He was popularly known as “Ukku Kakani” (Kakani, the iron man).² He died at Vijayawada on 25 December 1972.²

Footnotes

1. Sarojini Regani (ed.), Who’s Who of Freedom Struggle in Andhra Pradesh, Vol. II (1980), p. 308 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

2. Regani (ed.), Who’s Who, Vol. II (1980), p. 309 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

3. Sarojini Regani, Highlights of the Freedom Movement in Andhra Pradesh (1956), p. 117 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

4. Regani, Highlights (1956), p. 136 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

5. Regani, Highlights (1956), p. 148 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

6. Regani, Highlights (1956), p. 201 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

7. Regani, Highlights (1956), p. 202 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩