30 Glorious Years of Telugu Desam Party

The State Telugu Desam Party today celebrates completion of 30 years in state politics. On this same day N.T. Rama Rao has founded the party in the year 1982 to counter Congress party both at the state and center. He is the first person in the country to bring various political parties on one platform to bring non congress party to power at the Cener.

That was Nandamuri Taraka. Rama Rao, the hero of the masses in his reel life, who later became their hero in real life by unseating the nearly century old and well-entrenched Congress, and forming the first ever non-Congress Government in the State. NTR, as he was fondly called, launched the Telugu Desam Party in March 1982, and within a year - on January 5, 1983, to be precise - the fledgling party dealt a crushing blow to the Congress. He was successful in weaning the Telugus from their unflinching loyalty to Indira Gandhi. The wayward functioning of the Congress in the State and the Andhras' anger over the way the Chief Minister, T. Anjaiah, was insulted in public by Rajiv Gandhi, who was then only the AICC secretary-general, at the Hyderabad airport changed the mood of the public which started looking for an alternative to the Congress. NTR fulfilled that need by espousing the cause of 'aarukotla Andhrula atma gauravam' (self-respect of six-crore Andhras).

Soon after taking over as Chief Minister, NTR kept many of his election promises, which many had then dismissed as populist and earned a place for himself in the heart of Telugus. After his advent, the Telugus elsewhere got their exclusive identity, breaking away from the original tag of  'Madrasis'. While emphasising the importance of Telugu, he, however, held out the assurance that the TDP would also encourage and protect the languages and culture of people from other States.

Apart from introducing the cheap rice scheme of selling the grain at Rs.2 a kilogram for poor people with a monthly income of Rs.500 or less, he fought with the Centre to amend the Hindu Succession Act to ensure equal property rights to women. He introduced educational reforms and laid the foundation for the Telugu Ganga project to provide drinking water to Madras city apart from irrigating the dry lands of Rayalaseema.

Much water has flown under the bridge in these 30 years, political equations within the state and at the center have changed. Now the party under the able guidance of Nara Chandrababu Naidu is trying to uphold the principles and glory of the party. Let's wish, the party which was launched to protect the 'Atma Gouravam' of Telugu people, flourishes further and succeeds in doing so in future also.