Visakhapatnam : 

The centenary celebrations of Andhra Mahasabha – the cultural organization that indirectly kickstarted the movement for a separate Andhra state is around the corner. But there isn’t any plan to celebrate the centenary in a big way in the city. What’s more, not many denizens are aware that it was a native of Visakhapatnam, Sir B N Sarma, who presided over the first Andhra Mahasabha conference in Bapatla on May 26, 1913.

Sir B N Sarma, twice the municipal chairman of Visakhapatnam, rose to become a member of the Imperial Legislative Council and president of the Council of State, was a visionary who envisaged along with stalwarts such as Sir Mocherla Rama Chandra Rao, Nyapathi Subba Rao Panthulu, Desabhaktha Kondavenkatappayya and Bhogaraju Pattabhi Seetharamayya, a Federal India with linguistic provinces.

Prasanna Kumar, former rector of Andhra University, says: “The Andhra Mahasabha was as much a socio-cultural forum as it was political. The founders of Andhra Mahasabha envisaged a pan-Indian federalism, based on linguistic and cultural identity.” Though the idea of Linguistic provinces was brought out in the open in 1917 and a Bill for separate Linguistic provinces introduced in the Imperial Legislative Council by Sir Sarma, it was opposed on the grounds that it would encourage separatist tendencies.

B Sudhakar Reddy, who teaches history at the Andhra University says, “The fact that it was the Telugu political leadership of yesteryears which debated upon the idea of federalism based on linguistic identity is not given due recognition. In fact, the Andhra University was one of the results of this federal movement.”

Analysts say that present day leaders of the region fight shy of acknowledging this face. They point out that the problem with Visakhapatnam was a peculiar one as most of the residents and the politicians are settlers, adding that it was only natural that the top political bosses from Vizag showed no interest in promoting the erstwhile leaders of and from the region.

D N Sinha, a native of Visakhapatnam, observed that the phrase, “A sleepy fishing hamlet barely a 100 years ago,” is often used by people who seem to be unaware of the fact that Vizag was the headquarters of the largest district in British India since 1803 and the de-facto socio-cultural and political centre of entire south Odisha and all of the North Coastal AP. He says, “It is unfortunate that many both wittingly and unwittingly try to paint Visakhapatnam as a city that virtually came out of nothing. More importantly, the efforts of those who made it the City of Destiny have been completely ignored and their names forgotten.”

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / May 02nd, 2013