P. V. Narasimha Rao

He was married to Satyamma and had eight children with her—three sons and five daughters. His wife died in 1970, leaving him a distraught widower for the rest of his life.

He was a scholar who spoke 17 languages and had a profound interest in literature. He was a prolific reader and wrote fiction in Telugu, Marathi, and Hindi. He had also once served as the chairman of the Telugu Academy in Andhra Pradesh (1968–74)

He suffered a heart attack on 9 December 2004 and died 14 days later on 23 December 2004, at the age of 83.

He was born on 28 June 1921 in a village in Warangal District, now in Telangana. He was adopted at the age of three by P. Ranga Rao and Rukminiamma, who hailed from agrarian families. His full name was Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao.

After completing his schooling he enrolled at the Arts college at the Osmania University from where he earned his Bachelor’s degree. He continued his studies at the Hislop College where he completed a Master’s degree in law.

Freedom struggle was at its peak during the 1940s, and Rao, a passionate patriot trained to be a guerrilla fighter to revolt against the Nizam who ruled Hyderabad at that time.

He fought a grueling war against the Nizam, risking his life as he strained to evade getting killed by the Nizam’s army. Even on 15 August 1947—the day India became independent—he was fighting in a forest.

He survived the war and joined politics after independence. He served in the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly from 1957 to 1977. He was a staunch supporter of Indira Gandhi.

From 1962 to 1973 he held various ministerial positions in the Andhra Pradesh government, serving as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from 1971–73.

He was elected to Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) in 1977. He handled diverse portfolios in the cabinets of both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, including that of foreign minister (1980–84, 1988–89).

He is best remembered for bringing about economic reforms in the country while serving as the Prime Minister. Working along with the Finance Minster, Manmohan Singh, he introduced several measures including cutting government regulations and red tape, abandoning subsidies and fixed prices, and privatizing state-run industries, which ultimately revitalized the economy of India.