The Visalaandhra Movement, which aimed to unite the Telugu-speaking regions of Andhra and Hyderabad into a single state, stands as a crucial chapter in modern Telugu history.
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Mamidipudi Venkata Rangayya was the first to propose this idea, while the Communist Party officially demanded the formation of Visalaandhra as early as 1946.
Puchalapalli Sundarayya became the main voice of this movement. Through the Visalaandhra daily newspaper he started, and his book Visalaandhra lo Prajarajyam, he provided strong ideological support to the cause. Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao spread awareness among the people through pamphlets.
In 1951, during the Congress session held in Bangalore, Ayya Devara Kaleswara Rao raised the need for forming Visalaandhra, but Nehru did not make a decision. Even so, newspapers like Visalaandhra, Kakatiya, Andhra Patrika, and Andhra Janata strongly carried the movement forward.
Prominent Hyderabad Muslim leaders such as Mir Muhammad Ali Khan and Makhdoom Mohiuddin also extended their support to Visalaandhra. In 1954, the Andhra Socialist Party, Hindu Mahasabha, and Mahila Sanghams endorsed the movement in their meetings.
Although the Communists won a majority of seats in Andhra and Telangana during the 1952 elections, they could not form the government. However, the belief that merging the two Telugu-speaking regions would give the Communists power, added further political momentum to the movement.
This movement reflected the unity of the Telugu people and ultimately paved the way for the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh.
📢 Which event in the Visalaandhra Movement do you feel had the greatest impact?
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