Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao · Telugu History

Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao founded the Telugu newspaper Andhra Patrika.¹ He made his money from a medicine he invented, Amrutanjan.¹ He used both his paper and his wealth for the national movement and for Telugu letters.² He was born on 15 May 1867 at Elakurru, in Gudivada taluk of Krishna district, and died on 11 April 1938.¹²

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

Bombay, Amrutanjan and the Andhra Patrika

He was the son of Butchayaradhyulu and studied for the B.A. at Madras.¹ After trying several kinds of work, he joined a firm in Bombay.¹ There he invented the medicine Amrutanjan.¹

The Who’s Who says he started the Andhra Patrika, a Telugu weekly, at Bombay in 1908.¹ It moved to Madras in 1914 and became a daily.² In 1924 he started a Telugu literary journal, Bharati.² The Who’s Who says Amrutanjan brought him large profits, which he spent on charity and on supporting scholars.² He became known by the titles Desoddharaka and Vishwadata.²

Non-cooperation and the Simon Commission

Sarojini Regani writes that the Andhra Patrika spread the ideas of the Home Rule movement in the Telugu districts.³ In 1920 the paper gave strong support to the non-cooperation movement.²

On 3 February, the day the Simon Commission reached India, protest meetings were held across the country.⁴ In Madras a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao, who spoke in Telugu.⁴ He said the Commission had come to keep India in slavery.⁴

Salt satyagraha and civil disobedience, 1930–1932

Regani’s account of the salt satyagraha of 1930 names “K. Nageswara Rao Pantulu” among the Andhra leaders who ran it in Madras city.⁵ The salt laws were broken in Madras on 13 April.⁵ She writes that his arrest and that of other leaders led to a complete hartal (closing of shops) in Madras on 22 April.⁶ Regani gives only the initial “K.” in this account.⁵ The link to Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao rests on the Who’s Who, which places him in a Madras jail from 21 April 1930.²

The Who’s Who says he was struck with a lathi (police stick) during the salt satyagraha.² He was sentenced to six months’ rigorous imprisonment from 21 April 1930.² He served it in the Madras, Tiruchirappalli and Vellore jails.²

He joined the civil disobedience movement in 1932.² A fine of Rs. 250 was collected from him.² He was held for six months from 16 January 1932 in the Madras and Vellore jails.²

Later years

In 1934 he was elected to the Central Legislature.² He was a member of the All-India Congress Committee for twelve years.² The Andhra University gave him the title Kalaprapurna.²

Where the sources disagree

The Who’s Who (1980), a state government book edited by Sarojini Regani, and her own Highlights of the Freedom Movement (1956) give different dates for the start of his paper:¹³

The Who’s Who (1980) says the Andhra Patrika began at Bombay in 1908 and moved to Madras in 1914.¹²
Highlights of the Freedom Movement says it was founded in 1914.³

Sarojini Regani (ed.), Who’s Who of Freedom Struggle in Andhra Pradesh, Vol. II (1980), p. 213 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰
Regani (ed.), Who’s Who, Vol. II (1980), p. 214 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸
Sarojini Regani, Highlights of the Freedom Movement in Andhra Pradesh (1956), p. 51 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³
Regani, Highlights (1956), pp. 108–109 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³
Regani, Highlights (1956), p. 116 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³
Regani, Highlights (1956), p. 120 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩