Paturi Rajagopala Naidu | |
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Personal details | |
Born | April 5, 1920 Diguvamagham, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh |
Died | September 21, 1997 | (aged 77)
Children | Galla Aruna Kumari |
Paturi Rajagopala Naidu, better known as Rajanna (5 April 1920 – 21 September 1997), was an Indian freedom fighter, parliamentarian, and kisan (farmer) leader. He was the political guru of Nara Chandrababu Naidu. He was an exponent of the peasant philosophy, and considered the father of the Indian Peasant Movement after Swami Sahajanand Saraswati.
Raja gopala Naidu was born in Diguvamagham village in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh. He went to school in his native village, and graduated from the Andhra-Christian College, Guntur. He received a B.Litt. in Economics from the University of Oxford in 1926. On his return to India, he took up teaching as Professor of Economics at Pachaiyappa's College, Madras (Chennai).
Rajagopala Naidu quit the Congress Party and founded the Bharat Krishikar Lok Party and the Swatantra Party, along with N.G.Ranga who was a trenchant critic of the cooperative farming idea. Ranga became the founder-president of the Swatantra Party, while Rajagopla Naidu became as secretary and held that post for a decade. In the general elections held in 1962, the party won 25 seats and emerged as a strong Opposition. Rajagopla Naidu rejoined the Congress (I) in 1972 along with N.G.Ranga
Rajagopala Naidu has one daughter, Galla Aruna Kumari.