MV Ramana Reddy leaves a void in Rayalaseema

Kurnool: The demise of Dr. MV Ramana Reddy (1944-2021) on Wednesday has left a void in the public life of Rayalaseema as he had left an indelible mark in campaigns for the region's development. His relentless fight against the establishment and in support of the cause of the region’s development were unparalleled.

Dr Reddy launched the Rayalaseema Vimochana Samithi to liberate Rayalaseema from the clutches of poverty and drought. He believed that lack of political will was the root cause of the region's ills.

His friends and colleagues remember the fighting spirit that Dr. Reddy possessed which, they noted, had a "contagious effect" on the people around him.

Dr. MV Mysura Reddy, a long-time colleague who fought along with MVR for reaching Krishna waters to Rayalaseema has this to say: "MVR was a good strategist and had the vision to develop the parched lands of Rayalaseema. While he carried on his campaign with his own outfit, the Rayalaseema Vimochana Samithi, at another level, myself and Dr. YSR formed the Kadapa district development committee to achieve the objective."

Mysura fondly remembered MVR and said the game-changing Padayatra to Pothireddypadu in the late 1980s was a defining moment in the history of the region. “It was aimed at bringing Krishna waters to Rayalaseema. “Indeed, I miss a good colleague,” Dr Mysura reminisced.

MVR who was elected as an MLA from Proddutur in Kadapa district on TDP ticket became an eyesore to the party within no time, recalled Sanjeeva Rayudu, a contemporary. Reddy floated Rayalaseemaa vimochana Samithi in 1983 and took up a fast unto death near the Hyderabad Secretariat, seeking a legitimate share of river water for the Rayalaseema region. “It attracted the nation's attention as the prominent journal, India Today, had carried a cover page article on the agitation. That was a game-changer,” he said.

From then on, for MVR, there was no looking back. Kundu Porata Samithi president Venugopal Reddy said his outfit too was the result of MVRs fighting spirit. He recalled the MVR legacy and said the setting up of Joladarasi reservoir in the region was also thanks to the MVR’s strategy and power of persuasion.

PEOPLE’S DOCTOR:

Dr. MV Ramana Reddy, a medical graduate from Kurnool Medical College, has been hailed as the “people's doctor” in his hometown of Proddutur. MVR was moved by the exploitation of daily labourers, hamalis and rickshaw pullers and he formed a trade union to secure fair wages for them. He earned a place in their hearts. He also went to jail and fought the related cases that were foisted on him.

As a writer, MVR engaged the minds of the people with empathy and a sense of retribution. His book Rayalaseema Kanneti Gadha (A tearful story of Rayalaseema) has effectively highlighted the scenario of discrimination against Rayalaseema by those in power and this laid the foundation for future movements to secure Rayalaseema’s rights.

A Praveena, a resident of Venkataramana colony, said she received a set of books from MVR last month including Chivaraku Migiledu, his last of publication, a translation of Maxim Gorky's Mother. MVR, who spoke to her in his final days, said he would pen more books if his health permitted. “MVR will be remembered for his Tookiga Prapancha Yatra, translations from RK Narayan's Talkative Man, A Tiger for Malgudi, Gone With the Wind of Margaret Mitchell, etc.”

A resource person on irrigation and water issues, Reddy's agitation got for Rayalaseema a thermal power plant at Muddanur. A contemporary of Dr. YSR and Mysura Reddy, he was the torchbearer for the region. MVR passed away while at a private hospital in Kurnool on Wednesday.

CM Jagan expresses deep grief over demise of MVR

Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the demise of Dr MV Ramana Reddy, former MLA, writer, editor, historian and protagonist of Rayalaseema region’s developmental causes.

“Dr Reddy, a founder member of Virasam (Revolutionary Writers Association), wrote with a powerful poetic idiom and published literary and political magazines like Kavitha and Prabhanjanam,” the chief minister noted and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family.

Malla Venkata Ramana Reddy was the founder president of the Rayalaseema Vimochana Samiti and had campaigned for the formation of a separate Rayalaseema state. He had resigned from the state assembly in 1985 following differences with NT Rama Rao over this issue. He had also staged protests focusing on the problems of the backward region and for the separate statehood for the Rayalaseema then.

A scholar, Ramana Reddy was a member of the ultra-left-wing writers' forum, Virasam, that had campaigned for the causes of the Rayalaseema people.