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Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (June 28, 1921 - December 23, 2004) was the ninth Prime Minister of the Republic of India. He was often nicknamed Chanakya by the media.
After beginning his political career as an active freedom fighter, Rao served brief stints in the cabinet and chief ministries for the state of Andhra Pradesh. He then rose to the national level by serving in several ministries, most significantly home, defence and foreign affairs, in the cabinets of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He was the first PM from South India and Andhra Pradesh.
After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and the general elections of 1991, Rao was invited to head a minority government. He was the first person outside the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to serve as Prime Minister for five continuous years. He was also the first prime minister to lead a minority govt for full term (five years).
Rao's initial years in the office were turbulent due to severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves and an utterly stagnated Indian economy and political unrests. He used these difficult financial times to push forward several long-standing economic reforms. Rao provided the much needed political will and support to his able financial minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and finance secretary Montek Singh Ahluwalia in pushing economic reforms. The Indian economy began to bloom within days of discarding several of the old protectionist measures as the GDP and economy grew by an average of 5.5%, a growth rate that was sustained over the entire decade for the first time in Indian economy. Rao's advocacy of further economic reform lessened by mid-1993. Rajiv Gandhi's gruesome assassination created a deep sense of insecurity and panic. Rao effectively steered the country out of that mode and put India on the threshold of 21st century.
After his tenure, Rao was charged in several bribery cases, the most famous among them being the one involving Harshad Mehta, although he was later acquitted on all charges.
A polyglot, Rao could read and write in 17 languages. He translated Jnanpith Award winner Viswanatha Satyanarayana's Telugu novel Veyi Padagalu (literally Thousand Hoods) into Hindi as "Sahasr Phan". Rao studied at Osmania University and the Universities of Mumbai and Nagpur, acquiring Bachelor's and Master's degrees in law.
Rao rarely spoke of his personal views and opinions during his 5 year tenure. After his retirement from Indian politics Rao published a novel named The Insider. The controversial book, which follows the career of a person as he rises through the ranks of Indian politics, resembled events from Rao's own life. Rao, however, denied any connection.
Rao suffered a heart attack in December 2004 and died at the age of 83.
Quotes - "When I don't make a decision, it's not that I don't think about it. I think about it and make a decision not to make a decision."
- Inaction is also action.
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