The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Underrated PM

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Saturday, Dec 25, 2004

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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Underrated PM

Sir, — As the nation bids adieu to P.V. Narasimha Rao, one cannot help regretting that during his lifetime he never got the recognition due as the man who saved India from the brink of bankruptcy. Rao remains the most underrated Prime Minister India has ever had.

Nalini Vijayaraghavan,
Thiruvananthapuram

Sir, — If India is today seen as an economic power even by the developed countries, the credit should go to Rao. He should be honoured with the nation's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously.

G. Ramachandran,
Tiruchi, T.N.

Sir, — On an occasion in 1963, when he was the Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information, he attended a function at the USIS Library in Hyderabad. His admission that he was not very well informed despite being Information Minister had his audience in splits.

Nir Paos,
Hyderabad

Sir, — A few weeks before he was nominated to become Prime Minister, I saw Rao seated alone at the Mumbai airport, reading a book on computers and mnagement. He was not using the VIP lounge. I went straight to him, introduced myself and we got talking.

During the conversation, I mentioned his decision to issue a government order declaring all students "passed" without examinations when he was the Andhra Pradesh Education Minister. He smiled and said: "There are occasions when even wise men take foolish decisions and fools take wise decisions. The difference is that in the first category it is done consciously, and in the second, it is done subconsciously." A meeting to be cherished.

Vedamurthy. S,
Pennsylvania

Sir, — Rao was an Indian in every sense of the word. Though he hailed from Andhra Pradesh, he spoke Hindi better than many politicians from the Hindi belt. His Urdu was also chaste and sweet. During his five-year tenure as Prime Minister, he solved many a tricky issue with tact.

V.M. Khaleelur Rahman,
Ambur, T.N.

Sir, — A visionary with a passion for literature, Rao imbued Indian politics with a tinge of philosophy. It is hard to find such men now.

M. Somasekhar Prasad,
Badvel, A.P.

Sir, — A polyglot, poet, scholar, philanthropist, father of India's economic reforms. Rao was all this and more.

M. Farida Begum,
Kurnool, A.P.

Sir, — India was lucky to have Rao as Prime Minister at a critical juncture, when it was almost bankrupt. He broke the monotony of the `permit raj' and set the economy on the path to success. However, sadly, the author of the country's "economic revolution" has not been suitably honoured.

Shashi Kelkar,
Bangalore

Sir, — Rao's translation of Viswanatha Satyanarayana's celebrated Telugu novel, Veyi Padagalu (thousand hoods) into Hindi as Sahasra Phan is testimony to his literary prowess.

B.V. Kumar,
Secunderabad

Sir, — Although the demolition of the Babri Masjid occurred during his tenure, Rao managed to ensure that the fabric of secularism remained untattered.

S.M. Basha,
Kurnool, A.P.

Sir, — The vacuum created by Rao's death cannot be filled. Though he was a good orator he preferred to talk less.

B. Vishwanatha Rao,
Hyderabad

Sir, — In spite of his contributions to the nation as well as the Congress, this one-time insider in the party unfortunately died an outsider.

Bh. Subrahmanyam,
Vizianagaram, A.P.

Sir, — Rao was a visionary who led the country ably through turbulent times.

We have lost a great leader, an intellectual and above all an outstanding statesman.

S. Sudhir Kumar,
Athens, Ohio

Sir, — There were some unfortunate instances during his tenure but he never lost his poise.

Shyam Varadarajulu,
Birmingham, Alabama

Sir, — Rao suffered a lot towards the end of his life. The media and the general public will do well not to dwell too much on his follies. Let us look at the positives in his life.

Madhu Singh,
Ambala, Haryana

Sir, — He had several achievements to his name, the most memorable being the initiation of the economic reforms process. And every successive Government has been reaping the benefits of his bold step.

S.L. Narayanan,
Puvanur, T.N.

Sir, — Not only did he drag India into the world spotlight, the former Prime Minister was also a great statesman.

He did his bit in combating the rise of the Hindutva forces and provided the nation security and stability at a crucial time.

Anandasubramanian C.P.,
New Britain, U.S.

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