Bezawada Gopala Reddy - Misplaced Pages

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Bezawada Gopala Reddy
Reddy in 1944

6th Governor of Uttar Pradesh
In office 1 May 1967 – 30 June 1972
Chief Minister	Charan Singh Chandra Bhanu Gupta Tribhuvan Narain Singh Kamalapati Tripathi
Preceded by	Bishwanath Das
Succeeded by	Shashi Kant Varma (Acting)
4th Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting
In office 10 April 1962 – 31 August 1963
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	B. V. Keskar
Succeeded by	Satya Narayan Sinha
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1962–1967
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	R. D. Reddy
Constituency	Kavali
4th Union Minister of State for Revenue and Civil Expenditure
In office 10 May 1958 – 7 April 1961
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Minister	Morarji Desai
Preceded by	Manilal Chaturbhai Shah
Succeeded by	Bali Ram Bhagat
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 18 August 1958 – 27 February 1962
Preceded by	TJM Wilson
Succeeded by	N. Narotham Reddy
Constituency	Andhra Pradesh
2nd Chief Minister of Andhra State
In office 28 March 1955 – 1 November 1956
Governor	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	Office dissolved (Neelam Sanjiva Reddy as Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh)
2nd President of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee
In office 1955–1956
AICC President	U. N. Dhebar
Preceded by	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Succeeded by	Damodaram Sanjivayya

Personal details
Born	Bezawada Gopala Reddy 5 August 1907 Buchireddypalem, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Andhra Pradesh, India)
Died	9 March 1997(1997-03-09) (aged 89) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Lakshmikanthamma
Relatives	Bezawada Ramachandra Reddy

Bezawada Gopala Reddy (5 August 1907 – 9 March 1997) was an Indian freedom fighter, writer and politician. He was the Chief Minister of the erstwhile Indian state, Andhra State from 1955 to 1956 and later served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1967 to 1972. He was popularly known as "Andhra Tagore" in recognition of his literary works.

Early and personal life

Reddy was born on 5 August 1907 in Buchireddypalem in the Nellore district of present-day Andhra Pradesh (then part of Madras Presidency) to Pattabhiram Reddy and Seethamma. He completed his school education in the same village before furthering his studies at Andhra Jatiya Kalashala from 1921 to 1924 in Machilipatnam. Reddy pursued graduation in D.Litt at Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. Upon his return from West Bengal in 1927, he actively participated in the freedom movement, notably contributing to the Salt March and Quit India Movement. As a consequence of his involvement, he faced arrest and imprisonment at Vellore and Tanjavore jails.

Reddy was married to Lakshmikanthamma, the daughter of the freedom fighter Tikkavarapu Rami Reddy and Sudarshanamma. She was also a student at Shantiniketan and involved in the freedom movement. Reddy's admiration for Rabindranath Tagore's works inspired him to translate many of his books into the Telugu language.

Political career

Member A.I.C.C., since 1931; M.L.A., Madras, 1937–46; was Minister Local Administration, Government of Madras, 1937–39; President Andhra Pradesh, 1955–56; Finance Minister, Madras, 1947; Home Minister, Andhra Pradesh, 1956; Finance Minister, Andhra Pradesh, 1957; M.P. Rajya Sabha, 1958–60, Lok Sabha, 1962; Minister of Revenue and Civil Expenditure Government of India, 1958–61; Minister for Information and Broadcasting 1962–63; resigned under the Kamraj Plan; Chairman, Children's Film Society; President: Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (A.P.); Telugu Bhasha Samiti, since 1947; A.P. Sahitya Academy, since 1957; All-India Chess Federation, since 1959; Governor of U.P. since 1 May 1967.

Death and legacy

Reddy was admitted to the hospital following an accident just 10 days prior to his death. He died on 9 May 1997 at the age of 89, after being discharged from the hospital at his son's residence. An award in his honor was established and is known as the "Dr. Bezawada Gopala Reddy Award", recognising individuals in the fields of Telugu literature and politics for their contributions.