Burgula Ramakrishna Rao

Burgula Ramakrishna Rao Biography

Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was a leading politician from Hyderabad who lived during the period, 1899-1967. He was the first elected Chief Minister of the erstwhile Hyderabad State, and also the first Governor of the newly formed state – Kerala in 1956. He later served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh too. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao is also known for his struggles against the Nizam in the princely State of Hyderabad. He also played his part in the library movement of Andhra Pradesh.

Rao was born in a Telugu Brahmin family in Padakallu village of Mahbubnagar district in 1899. Burgula is his native place. He graduated from Fergusson College, Pune, and also took LLB from Bombay University in 1913. He started his professional career as a lawyer in Hyderabad before he became active with social work. He actively participated in freedom struggle movement and took part in Quit India Movement. He joined hands with Swami Ramanand Tirtha and many other leaders to fight against Nizam, and played a significant role in the merging of Hyderabad to Independent India.

After the merger, he was a member of Vellodi Cabinet, and served as Revenue and Education Minister. In the first state assembly elections held in 1952, he got elected from Shadnagar constituency and took over the power as the first Chief Minister of Hyderabad state. He was also the last CM of Hyderabad who served a term of 5 years, before Andhra Pradesh was restructured merging with Telangana. He is known for several historic land reforms during his tenure as Chief Minister of the state. He then served as Governor of Kerala during the period, November 1956 to July 1960, and also served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh till 1962.

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Updated: July 09, 2016