Acclaimed social worker and Gandhian B.V. Parameswara Rao, who sacrificed what could have been a lucrative career as a nuclear scientist in the US, for the development of his native village in Andhra Pradesh, is no more. Rao passed away at a a private hospital in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Sunday. In recognition of his efforts and social work, Rao was selected as THE WEEK's Man of the Year in 1987.
Screengrab of THE WEEK's cover story on Parameswara Rao that was published in 1988
Migrating to the US was a coveted dream for thousands in the 1960s and 70s, but here was a man who, despite securing a PhD in nuclear science from the US, returned to his village Dimili to work for the upliftment of the illiterate and the downtrodden. Associate professorship in Pennsylvania State University, job offers from two American companies, top job at India's atomic energy establishment—he sacrificed them all to pursue his inner calling.
Back in his village, he focused on community mobilisation, and set up the Bhagavatula Charitable Trust (BCT) in 1976, which became a catalyst of change in the region. Rao was also the man behind the idea of setting up a school, which is still running. Rao's efforts soon saw results. Within two decades, the vast acres of barren land on the rocky hill slopes of Panchadharla Hills transformed into lush green farmlands. Vakapadu, once ravaged by tidal waves from Bay of Bengal became a famous prawn-breeding and salt-producing hub and the once-impoverished 50-odd villages in Visakhapatnam's Elamanchili finally had better conditions of living.
At a time when women empowerment was still considered a western idea, BCT mobilised hundreds of women who were trained as health workers to attend to primary problems in the region. They also trained women in basic financial literacy, thus improving the living standards of their families. The trust, under Rao's guidance, undertook more than 1,000 projects aimed at adult literacy, model education methods, training women in livelihoods and rehabilitation to differently-abled, in the subsequent years.
Though Rao always maintained a low profile, his works received wide recognition, including from the World Bank and the government of India. Interestingly, Rao was once air-lifted from a remote village in Visakhapatnam to Delhi as he was invited for lunch with the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Rao lived a life true to Gandhian principles, quite rare in the current times. In his condolence message, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy remembered the nuclear scientist as a person who worked relentlessly for the upliftment of the rural community.
