Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma (24 December 1891 – 7 January 1963) was an Indian historian, who worked at the Andhra University.[1] He was born at Miniminchilipadu Agraharam, a village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh to Bhadrayya and Nagamma.
Somasekhara Sarma couldn't continue his education beyond matriculation due to poverty. He started his career as a menial employee in Kannemera Library in Madras (now called Chennai) where he could have interactions with intellectuals like Lakshmanrao Komarraju and Chilukuri Veerabhadra Rao.
Then he went to Rajahmundry to work for Deshamata, published by Chilakamarthi Lakshminarasimham.
He worked for Andhra Patrika magazine from 1924 to 1940.
He taught research in history at Andhra University from 1940 to 1946.[2]Template:Rp
Works
- A Forgotten Chapter of Andhra History (History of the Musunūri Nāyaks), Andhra University, 1945.[3]
- History of Reddi Kingdoms (circa. 1325 A.D. to circa 1448 A.D.), Andhra University, 1946.[1]
- Template:Transliteration (in Telugu), Vishalaandhra Book House.[4]
- Template:Transliteration (in Telugu), Published by Andhra Pradesh Government, 1976.[5]
The two books Forgotten Chapter and History of Reddi Kingdoms deal with the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Kakatiya Empire, the former covering the history of Musunuri Nayakas and the latter the history of Reddi kingdom. Some of his other works in Telugu include Template:Transliteration novel, Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration skteches.[6]
Reception
Sarma is a well known Telugu historian and after his death the Government of Andhra Pradesh published a commemoration volume in his memory.[2]
Sarma hypothesised that the Reddi kings were subordinate to the Musunuri chiefs during their inception: Template:Blockquote The theory was criticised by historian M. Rama Rao, who noted that the founder of the Reddi line, Prolaya Vema Reddi, predated Musunuri Kapaya Nayaka.[7] He concludes: Template:Blockquote
Modern historian Cynthia Talbot has warned against taking the inscriptional evidence at face value.[8] Template:Blockquote She also opined that Musunuri Kapaya Nayaka being a lord of 75 subordinates was a formulaic device.[9]
Legacy
Template:Quote box Recognizing his valuable contribution to the field of historical research, he was invited in 1940s to join in Andhra University by Dr. Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy, then Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University.[2]Template:Rp He discovered some copper plate grants and the Vilasa grant of Prolaya Nayaka got deciphered by him and N. Venkataramanayya.[10] His research work on history is considered as a major contribution to Indian history by many historians. For example, his work on the Telugu history after the fall of Kakaitya empire resulted in rectification of some versions of Indian history based on Firishta and considered to be an original and greatly significant contribution.[2]Template:Rp
The Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma Historical Research Foundation was established in Visakhapatnam in honour of Sarma. It awards annual memorial awards in his name to acclaimed historians of Andhra.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 History of the Reddi Kingdoms (circa. 1325 A.D. to Circa 1448 A.D.). Andhra University.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Sri Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma Commemoration Volume{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Government of. Andhra Pradesh(1976)
- ↑ Excerpts from worldcat database
- ↑ Andhra Desa Charitra Sangrahamu{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Visalaandhra Book House
- ↑ Template:Transliteration{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Andhra Pradesh Government(1976)
- ↑ Who's Who Of Indian Writers{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Dalcassian Publishing Company(1961)
- ↑ [{{{url}}} The Fall of Warangal and After].
- ↑ Pre-colonial India in Practice: Society, Region, and Identity in Medieval Andhra. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ [{{{url}}} Political intermediaries in Kakatiya Andhra, 1175-1325].: For instance, Rudrama Devi was mentioned to have had 75 subordinate chiefs, Prataparudra 77 subordinates, Velugoti chiefs 77 subordinates, Induluris 72 subordinates, etc.
- ↑ Epigraphia Indica{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Archeological Survey of India(1987)
- ↑ Historian felicitated. The Hindu(2015-12-09). Retrieved 2023-05-16.