https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Kandukuri_VeeresalingamKandukuri Veeresalingam - Revision history2026-07-31T21:29:04ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Kandukuri_Veeresalingam&diff=299056&oldid=prev>Pranesh Ravikumar at 14:44, 16 January 20222022-01-16T14:44:53Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{more citations needed|date=June 2017}}<br />
{{Family name hatnote|Kandukuri|lang=Telugu}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} <br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| honorific-prefix = [[Rai Bahadur]]<br />
| name = Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu<br />
| image = Kandukuri Veeresalingam.jpg<br />
| caption = Kandukri Veeresalingam Panthulu<br />
| birth_name = Kandukri Veeresalingam Panthulu<br />
| birth_date = 16 April 1848<br />
| birth_place = [[Rajahmundry]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] (now in [[Andhra Pradesh]], India)<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1919|05|27|1848|04|16}}<br />
| death_place = [[Madras]], [[British India]] (now [[Chennai]], Tamil Nadu, [[India]])<br />
<ref name="importantindia">{{cite web|last1=Arnab|first1=Sengupta|title=Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu (Andhra Social Reformer)|url=http://www.importantindia.com/9572/kandukuri-veeresalingam/|website=ImportantIndia.com|publisher=Important India|access-date=20 June 2016|date=18 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819083845/http://www.importantindia.com/9572/kandukuri-veeresalingam/|archive-date=19 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
| occupation = [[Social reformer]], writer<br />
| nationality = Indian<br />
| spouse = {{marriage |Bapamma Rajyalakshmi| 1861}}<br />
}}<br />
'''[[Rao Bahadur|Rai Bahadur]] Kandukuri Veeresalingam Pantulu''' (16 April 1848 {{ndash}} 27 May 1919) was a social reformer and writer from the [[Madras Presidency]], British India. He is considered as the father of the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] Renaissance movement. He was one of the early social reformers who encouraged the [[Female education|education of women]] and the remarriage of [[widow]]s (which was not supported by society during his time). He also fought against [[Child marriage in India|child marriage]] and the [[dowry]] system. He started a school in [[Dowlaiswaram]] in 1874.<ref name="iloveindia">{{cite web|last1=Editor|first1=ILoveIndia|title=Kandukuri Veeresasilngam Biography|url=http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/kandukuri-veeresalingam-biography.html|website=iloveindia.com|publisher=iloveindia|access-date=20 June 2016}}</ref><br />
, constructed a temple known as 'Brahmo Mandir' in 1887 and also built the 'Hithakarini School' in 1908 in [[Andhra Pradesh]]. His novel ''Rajasekhara Charitramu'' is considered to be the first [[novel]] in [[Telugu literature]].<ref name="Das1991">{{cite book|author=Sisir Kumar Das|title=A History of Indian Literature 1800–1910 (Western Impact: Indian Response)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHklK65TKQ0C&pg=PA209|access-date=18 April 2018|year=1991|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-7201-006-5|pages=209–210}}</ref><br />
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He is often considered as the [[Raja Rammohan Roy]] of Andhra. He was also known by the title Gadya Tikkana, or ‘the [[Tikkana]] of Prose'.<ref name="vepachedu">{{cite web|last1=Vepachedu|first1=Srinivasa Rao|title=Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Father of Andhra Renaissance|url=http://www.vepachedu.org/veeresalingam.html|website=Vepachedu.org|publisher= Vepachedu Srinivasa Rao|access-date=20 June 2016}}</ref><br />
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== Early life ==<br />
Kandukuri veeresalingam was born in a [[brahmin]] family<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-05-27|title=Kandukuri, A Great Reformer, Remembered On His Death Centenary{{!}} Countercurrents|url=https://countercurrents.org/2019/05/kandukuri-a-great-reformer-remembered-on-his-death-centenary/|access-date=2022-01-16|language=en-US}}</ref>[[Rajahmundry]], [[Madras Presidency]], to Subbarayudu and Poornamma. When he was six months old, he suffered from [[smallpox]], a dangerous disease during that time, and when aged four his father died. He was adopted by his paternal uncle, Venkataratnam. After studying in an Indian street school, he was later sent to English medium school where his talent was recognised. His good nature and studiousness earned him the best student award in his school. He completed his [[matriculation]] in 1869 and got his first job as a teacher in Korangi village.<ref name="iloveindia"/><br />
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== Literature ==<br />
Veeresalingam was a scholar in Telugu, Sanskrit, and Hindi. Considering literature as an instrument to fight against social evils, his writings also reflected the same. He wrote plays such as ''Prahlada''(1886) , ''Satya Harischandra'' (1886).<ref name="iloveindia"/> He published a novel ''Rajashekhara Charita'' in 1880, originally serialised in ''Viveka Chandrika'' from 1878. Generally recognised as the first Telugu novel, it is inspired by ''[[The Vicar of Wakefield]]'', a novel by the Irish writer [[Oliver Goldsmith]].<ref name="Das1991"/><br />
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His works include:<br />
* First novel in Telugu 'Rajasekhara Charitra'<br />
* 'Viveka Vardhini' a journal for women education in 1887.<br />
* 'Satihita bodhini' a monthly magazine for women.<br />
* First drama in Telugu and first book in Telugu on sciences & history.<br />
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== Brahmo Samaj ==<br />
Kandukuri Veeresalingam was inspired by the principles of [[Brahmo Samaj]] leaders like [[Raja]] [[Rammohan Roy]], [[Pandit]] [[Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar]], & [[Keshab Chandra Sen]]. He started his own Brahmo Mandir in [[Rajahmundry]] near bridge in 1887.<ref name="iloveindia"/><br />
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== Social reformer ==<br />
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=== Welfare of women ===<br />
One of the greatest reforms of Veeresalingam was to promote women's education, which was considered to be a taboo in those days. In 1876, he started a journal called ''Viveka Vardhini'' and published articles about women's issues of that era. The magazine was initially printed at Chennai (then [[Madras]]), but with his writings gaining popularity, he established his own press at Rajahmundry.<br />
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Remarriage of widows was not appreciated in the society during those days, and he opposed this by arguing that widows were not prohibited from remarrying by quoting verses from the Hindu [[Dharmaśāstra|Dharma Sastra]] to prove his point. His opponents used to organise special meetings and debates to counter his arguments, and even resorted to physical violence against him when they failed to stop him. Undeterred, Veeresalingam started a Remarriage Association and sent his students all over Andhra Pradesh to find young men willing to marry widows. He arranged the first widow remarriage on 11 December 1881. For his reformist activities, Kandukuri gained attention all over the globe. The Government, in appreciation of his work, conferred on him the title of Rao Bahadur in 1893. Later he established a widow home. <ref name="vepachedu"/><br />
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==Politics==<br />
Kandukuri Veeresalingam served as one of the members of the first Indian National Congress (INC) meeting in 1885.<ref name="iloveindia"/><br />
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== Personal life ==<br />
Kandukuri Veeresalingam was married to Bapamma Rajyalakshmi in 1861. At the time of marriage, he was 16 years old, and his wife was 9.<ref name="iloveindia"/><br />
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== Death ==<br />
[[File:Kandukuri Veeresalingam 1974 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|India post department issued a stamp in memory of Veeresalingam]]<br />
Veeresalingam died on 27 May 1919 at the age of 71. His statue has been unveiled on the Beach Road in Vishakhapatnam.<ref name="iloveindia"/> In his memory, the [[India Post|Indian Post]] department issued 25 [[paisa]] postage stamp in 1974.<ref name="Mintage World 2019">{{cite web|title=Father of renaissance movement in Telugu|website=Mintage World|date=10 May 2019|url=http://www.mintageworld.com/media/detail/9453-father-of-renaissance-movement-in-telugu|access-date=26 June 2019}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{commons category|Kandukuri Veeresalingam}}<br />
* {{Gbooks-author|Kandukūri Vīrēśaliṅgaṃ}}<br />
* [https://archive.org/details/sweeyacharitramu024219mbp Sweeyacharitramu, Part-1, An autobiography of Kandukuri Veeresalingam on archive.org]<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{Indian Independence Movement}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Veereshalingam, Kandukuri}}<br />
[[Category:1848 births]]<br />
[[Category:1919 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Brahmos]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu revivalists]]<br />
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]<br />
[[Category:Telugu writers]]<br />
[[Category:Writers from Andhra Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:People from Rajahmundry]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian educational theorists]]<br />
[[Category:19th-century Indian educational theorists]]<br />
[[Category:Activists from Andhra Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Indian women's rights activists]]</div>>Pranesh Ravikumar