N. G. Ranga | |
|---|---|
 N. G. Ranga on postage stamp - 2001 | |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 21 January 1980 - 13 March 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Kotha Raghuramaiah |
| Succeeded by | S. M. Laljan Basha |
| Constituency | Guntur |
| In office 10 May 1957 – 31 March 1962 | |
| Preceded by | Kotha Raghuramaiah |
| Succeeded by | Kolla Venkaiah |
| Constituency | Tenali |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 18 July 1977 – 08 January 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Kasu Brahmananda Reddy |
| Succeeded by | Roda Mistry |
| Constituency | Andhra Pradesh |
| In office 03 April 1952 – 16 March 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Institution Established |
| Succeeded by | Mudumala Henry Samuel |
| Constituency | Madras |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1900-11-07)7 November 1900 |
| Died | 9 June 1995(1995-06-09) (aged 94) Guntur,Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Spouse | Bharathi Devi |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Occupation | Social, political activist |
AcharyaGogineni Ranga Nayukulu (7 November 1900 – 9 June 1995),[1] also known asN. G. Ranga, was an Indian freedom fighter, classical liberal, parliamentarian and farmers' leader. He was the founding president of theSwatantra Party, and an exponent of the peasant philosophy.[2] He received thePadma Vibhushan award for his contributions to thePeasant Movement. N.G. Ranga served in the Indian Parliament for six decades, from 1930 to 1991.
Ranga was born inNidubrolu village inGuntur district ofAndhra Pradesh to aKamma family.[3][4] He went to school in his native village, and graduated from theAndhra-Christian College,Guntur. He received aBLitt degree inEconomics from theUniversity of Oxford in 1926.[4] Upon his return to India, he started teaching as a professor of economics atPachaiyappa's College, Madras (Chennai).[4][5]
In Oxford, Ranga was influenced by the works ofH. G. Wells,Sydney Webb,Bertrand Russell, andJohn Stuart Mill. Initially attracted toguild socialism in Europe, the progress of the USSR would turn him into a Marxist. Later, the Stalinist oppression of peasants and forced collectivization in the 1930s drove Ranga away from the Marxist fold.[4]
Ranga metMahatma Gandhi in Madras and was so impressed that he joined thecivil disobedience movement in 1929. He became part of mainstream politics with his entry in the central assembly in 1930. He opposed theSimon Commission report and participated in the firstRound Table Conference in London.[6]
Based on methodology of the British Labour Party's political school, he went on to establish similar schools in Andhra to turn peasants into politically conscious citizens. The first Andhra Farmers’ School was opened in 1934 at his native village Nidubrolu.[3]
Ranga joined the freedom movement inspired byGandhi's clarion call in 1930. He led theryot (peasant) agitation in 1933. He wrote a book,Bapu Blesses (బాపూ దీవెనలు), about his discussions with Gandhi.[7]
In the course of theIndian freedom struggle, he led the historic Ryot Agitation of Andhra in 1933. His pro-peasantry advocacy was reflected in his support of the farmers’ agitation against thezamindari oppression at Venkatagiri. He convinced Gandhi to support the movement, despite opposition from other members of Congress. The peasant movement gradually intensified and spread across the rest of India. All of these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of theAll India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at theLucknow session of theIndian National Congress in April 1936, withSahajanda Saraswati elected as its first president and Ranga as a general secretary. The Kisan Manifesto, which was released in August 1936, demanded the abolition of the zamindari system and the cancellation of rural debts.[3]
Ranga continuously organized farmers of the region. Along with his wife,Bharathi Devi, he associated himself with theSatyagraha (1940) and theQuit India Movement (1942), and also played a decisive role in connecting peasants with the national liberation movement.[8] He was elected as a member of theConstituent Assembly in 1946 and became a member of the Provisional Parliament of India until after the first elections under the new constitution in 1952.[9]
Ranga wrote multiple books, one of them beingBapu Blesses, regarding his discussions withGandhi. Ranga's academic publications were mostly written about the conditions of peasants and laborers in the countryside. Known as Rythu Ranga and Coolie Ranga, he fought against both the colonial and socialist Indian state to ensure dignity for farmers.[citation needed] He wrote other books on diverse subjects like the credo of world peasantry, economic organization of Indian villages, and the Indian adult education movement.[7]
Ranga published 65 books in English,[7] including:[9]
He also published 15 books in Telugu, including:
In 1951, in a closely contested presidential election of theAndhra Pradesh Congress Committee, Ranga was defeated byNeelam Sanjiva Reddy. Due to ideological differences, Ranga andTanguturi Prakasam resigned from Congress and organized theHyderabad State Praja Party, which was further split into theKrishikar Lok Party (KLP) for peasants, under the leadership of Ranga as the president. KLP contested the1951 Lok Sabha elections, winning one seat. KLP also contested the1952 Madras Legislative Assembly election and won 15 seats.[10] In the1955 Andhra State Legislative Assembly election, Congress, Praja Party[vague] and KLP formed an alliance and KLP won 22 seats. After the election, on the request of Nehru, Ranga merged KLP with the Congress party. He was elected to Congress in the1957 general election from Tenali Lok Sabha constituency.[9]
Ranga's differences withNehru were visible from the beginning. As part of theKumarappa Committee on land reforms, he did not support land ceiling measures. Ranga was also opposed to the whole socialist apparatus of theFive-Year Plans andPlanning Commission. He refused to join Nehru's cabinet when offered a ministerial berth. In response to Nehru's advocacy of cooperative farming, Ranga mobilized lakhs of peasants inMachilipatnam to oppose the abolition of property rights by the state. The 1959 Nagpur Resolution of INC was the final straw. The socialists in Congress proposed cooperative farming to emulate Mao's collectivization drive. The threat to property rights in an increasingly socialist India galvanized a disparate set of anti-Congress leaders to come together and form theSwatantra Party. Ranga became the party's first president.[3]
As a Swatantrite parliamentarian, Ranga's advocacy of liberty was most visible during the debates over the proposed17th amendment in 1964. The amendment would empower state governments to acquire land from ordinary farmers without paying for it. Ranga's rousing speech in Parliament against the bill led to its defeat. Ranga's concern for farmers’ welfare was recognized by Nehru, who said, "As long as Rangaji is in Parliament, the Indian peasants could sleep without any worry." On the question of his opposition to Nehru, Ranga clarified: "It was for the freedom of the peasants and in defense of dharma. I’ve visualized the resulting implications of his anti-farmer policies. Knowing fully well that opposing Pandit Nehru can be politically dangerous to me, I performed my duty in defense of my convictions."[3]
The dissident parties, theCongress (O),Jan Sangh and theSamyukta Socialist Party, formed an alliance withSwatantra Party called the National Democratic Front and fought against the Indian National Congress led byIndira Gandhi in the1971 Indian general elections. After facing the massive defeat of his Swatantra party in the elections, Ranga rejoined theIndian National Congress and supportedIndira Gandhi, to advance his goal of uplifting peasants.[3]
Ranga worked as a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC 1975–85), and Deputy Leader of Congress Parliamentary Party (1980–1991).[4]
He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting aworld constitution.[11][12] As a result, for the first time in human history, aWorld Constituent Assembly convened to draft and adopt theConstitution for the Federation of Earth.[13]
Ranga died on 9 June 1995.[14] Prime MinisterP. V. Narasimha Rao said that when Ranga died, the country lost an outstanding parliamentarian who was a champion of public causes and rural peasants. The Andhra Pradesh government declared a 3-day state mourning period.[15][verification needed]
His ancestry is from Gogineni palem divi taluk Krishna district and his father Tehsildar.
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