Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu b. 23 August 1872 – d. 20 May 1957) was an indian politician and Freedom Fighter and the first chief minister of the Indian province Andhra state. He was also known as Andhra Kesari . Early life
He was born to Subbamma and Venkata Narasimham, in a family in a village called Vinodarayuni Palem (or Vinoda Rayudu Palem) 26 km from Ongole in Andhra Pradesh. When he was 11, his father died and his mother had to run a boarding house at ongole, a profession that was looked down upon at the time.
Andhra Kesari appellation and struggle for independence
When the Simon Commission visited India, the congress party decided to boycott it with the slogan "Simon, go back". There were a host of reasons for this boycott, the most important being that the commission did not have a single Indian in its ranks. The commission was greeted with demonstration of black flags wherever it went. When the commission visited Madras on 3rd February 1928, the police did not allow protests in some sensitive areas of Madras. Nevertheless, the crowd grew large and restive near the Madras High Court at Parry's Corner and the police resorted to firing with a view to control it. However, a young man, named, Pardha Saradhi was killed on the spot. The police warned the people that they would shoot if anyone tried to come near the body. At this, Prakasam grew enraged and tore open his shirt, baring his chest and daring the police to shoot at him. Understanding the situation, the police gave way to him and other supporters[citation needed]. After this incident, people respected him with the epithet of "Andhra Kesari" (Lion of Andhra).
Chief Minister of Madras Presidency
In 1946, after the Congress' victory in elections in Madras Presidency Prakasam became the chief minister on 30th April 1946, as he and Kamaraj, a Tamil leader, were against Rajaji — the choice of leaders such as Gandhi and Nehru — becoming the chief minister. However, the government lasted for only 11 months, as it was felt that Prakasam was not accommodating enough to various varying interests.
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, a future President of India and a staunch follower of Prakasam became the chief minister. Though retired from politics, Prakasam was active in touring the state. On one such visit to Ongole, he suffered from severe sunstroke. He was admitted in a Hyderabad hospital and died on 20 May 1957.
