Aluru Venkata Rao

2021-12-29T08:28:22Z

2409:4071:2002:1F96:0:0:AF:8A1:

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{short description|Indian historian}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Aluru Venkata Rao
| image = AluruVenkataRaoPic.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1880|07|12}}
| birth_place = [[Bijapur]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1964|02|25|1880|07|12}}
| death_place = [[Dharwad]], [[Karnataka]], [[India]]
| nationality = Indian
| education = B.A L.L.B
| alma_mater = [[Fergusson College]]
| occupation = {{hlist|Writer|historian|journalist}}
| years_active =
| known_for = [[Unification of Karnataka]]
| notable_works =
}}
'''Aluru Venkata Rao''' (also sometimes referred as '''Aluru Venkata Raya''') (12 July 1880 – 25 February 1964) was an Indian historian, writer and journalist. He is revered as Karnataka Kulapurohita (''High priest of the Kannada family'') in the [[Karnataka]] region for his contribution towards the cause of a separate Karnataka state. He became famous for undertaking a [[Unification of Karnataka|Karnataka Ekikarana]] movement in support of the formation of a state for the [[Kannada]]-speaking population of [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]], [[Bombay Presidency]] and the [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam's Hyderabad]].

Rao started a newspaper, ''Jaya Karnataka'', and stated that the sole aim of the newspaper was to strive for Karnataka’s statehood.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/who-is-alur-venkat-rao/article7272770.ece|title=Who is Alur Venkat Rao?|newspaper=The Hindu|date=2 June 2015}}</ref>

==Early life==
Venkata Rao was born on 12 July 1880 to Bhima Rao, a [[sheristadar]] in revenue department. They were of orthodox [[Madhwa Brahmin]] family in [[Bijapur]], [[Karnataka]]. He studied for a B.A and L.L.B at [[Fergusson College]], where he came in contact with [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]], [[Senapati Bapat]] and [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]]. Rao was a close friend of Tilak and translated his ''[[Shrimadh Bhagvad Gita Rahasya|Gita Rahasya]]'' into Kannada.<ref name="datta">{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC&pg=145 |publisher=Sahithya Akademi|year=1987|first=Amaresh |last=Datta|page=145|isbn = 9788126018031}}</ref><ref name="garg">{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjDcd0cTFxQC|page=351|author=Ganga Ram Garg|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=1992|isbn = 9788170223757}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7vQtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT155|title=Travels of Bollywood Cinema: From Bombay to LA|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|author=Anjali Gera Roy, Chua Beng Huat|isbn=978-0-19-908862-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Karnataka Government and Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UM3LjKo8Uo8C|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2007|page=39|author=Harish Ramaswamy|isbn = 9788180693977}}</ref>

==Works==
Rao began by contributing articles to newspapers such as ''Chandrodhaya'', ''Karnataka Patra'', and ''Rajahamsa, Karnataka Vritta'' In 1906 he began to work as an editor for a monthly magazine, ''Vagbhushana''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of India and her states: Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Volume 8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nPhtAAAAMAAJ&q=Vagbhushana+alur+venkata+rao|page=40|first1=Verinder |last1=Grover |first2=Ranjana |last2=Arora|year=1996|isbn = 9788171007271}}</ref> In November 1922, he started ''Jaya Karnataka'', a monthly magazine that published articles on a variety of topics.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sri Lankan Fishermen: Rural Capitalism and Peasant Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4PXyAAAAMAAJ&q=founded+Jayakarnataka|publisher=Sterling Publishers|first1=Paul |last1=Alexander |first2=Rangaswami |last2=Parthasarathy|year = 1995|page=207|isbn = 9788120718074}}</ref> About 27 books written by Rao have been published, the first of which was ''Vidyaranya Charitre'' in 1907. His other works include ''Karnataka Gatha Vaibhava'', ''Karnataka Veeraratnagalu'', ''Karnatakathva Sutragalu'' and ''Karnatakathva Vikasa''.<ref name="garg"/> In 1907 he organised a conference of Kannada writers and the next year started the Karnataka Grantha Prasarada Mandali. In 1930 he presided over the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana held at [[Mysore]]. In accordance with the wishes of Tilak, he translated the former's work ''Gita Rahasya'' from [[Marathi language|Marathi]] to [[Kannada]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/karnataka-state-of-diverse-cultures-but-language-is-the-binding-factor/article7827860.ece|title=Karnataka: State of diverse cultures, but language is the binding factor|work=[[The Hindu]] |first=Muralidhara |last=Khajane |date=1 November 2015 |accessdate=2017-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=A Handbook of Karnataka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tHFuAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Gazetteer Department|author=Suryanath U. Kamath|page=46|year=1996}}</ref> He independently interpreted [[Bhagavad Gita]] and authored the books ''Gita Prakasha'', ''Gita Parimala'', ''Gita Sandesha'', ''Gita Kusuma Manjari'' in [[Kannada]].

==Karnatakada Kulapurohita==
Rao was overjoyed when Karnataka was unified on 1 November 1956. He went to [[Hampi]] and performed [[Puja (Hinduism)|pooja]] to the goddess [[Bhuvaneshwari]] in the [[Virupaksha temple]] and gained the name Karnatakada Kulapurohita. He was sad that the name of Karnataka did not find a place in the list of states mentioned in the national anthem and wrote about its inclusion to the Prime Minister and [[President of India]]. He was honoured in the capital of [[Bangalore]] on the eighth anniversary of the state's formation in 1963.<ref name="datta"/>

Rao died on 25 February 1964 at his residence in Dharwad, and was survived by four sons and a daughter.<ref>{{cite newspaper |title=Kannada savant |newspaper=The Indian Express |date=26 February 1964 |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society (Bangalore, India) |volume=80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7x5uAAAAMAAJ|publisher=The Society|year=1989|pages=193–195}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=September 2018}}

==Bibliography==
Rao wrote books many books, including:
* ''Vidyaranya Charitre'' (1907)
* ''Kannadigara Bhramanirasana'' (1915)
* ''Karnataka Gatha Vaibhava'' (1917)
* ''Karnatakatwada Sutragulu'' (''Aphorisms of Karnatakawada'' )(1950)
* ''Karnatakatwada Vikasa'' (''Evolution of Karnatakatwa'') (1957)
* ''Gita Rahasya'', a translation of Tilak's Marathi work into Kannada (1918)
* ''Nanna Jeevana Smritigalu'', his autobiography (1941)
* He wrote six books on [[Madhva Sampradaya|Madhwa philosophy]]<ref name="datta"/>

==Legacy==
* As a tribute to Rao, the [[Government of Karnataka]] changed the name of Albert Victor Road to Alur Venkata Rao Road (A V Road) in Bangalore.<ref>{{cite news|title=The mystery behind naming Bengaluru's AV Road revealed|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/the-mystery-behind-naming-bengalurus-av-road-revealed/articleshow/47538221.cms|work=[[The Economic Times]]|year=2015}}</ref>
* A CD on his life and works, produced in Kannada and English, was released on his 49th death anniversary by [[Central Institute of Indian Languages]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Death anniversary of Alur Venkata Rao|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/death-anniversary-of-alur-venkata-rao/article4457173.ece|year=2013|work= [[The Hindu]]}}</ref>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Aluru Venkata}}
[[Category:History of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Kannada-language writers]]
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1964 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bijapur, Karnataka]]
[[Category:Madhva Brahmins]]

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Aluru Venkata Rao