Raja Bahadur Venkata Rama Reddy made education affordable in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Raja Bahadur Venkata Rama Reddy dreamt of providing quality education to the students in order to empower them to secure government jobs. At the time, students from neighbouring districts and rural areas had no option but to come to Hyderabad if they wished to pursue their studies.

In order to provide these students with affordable facilities for their residence, Reddy established a hostel. He collected Rs 80,000 in the form of donations from the Rajas, Zamindars, and other wealthy members of the Reddy community, and established the Reddy Hostel in 1917 at Abids. Though it was named the Reddy Hostel, no discrimination was on the basis of caste or religion was practised. Former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, communist stalwart Ravi Narayan Reddy, and former OU Vice-Chancellor Baddam Yella Reddy are known to have stayed at the hostel while pursuing their higher education.

Reddy had a great love for books. By 1939, the Reddy Hostel library boasted a collection of 11,000 books, second only to that of the government-run Asfia Library.

He also had a clinic and dispensary opened within the hostel itself, to ensure that the resident students were cared for in all aspects. He set up a youth forum for students to conduct weekly debates and discussions.