Kurma Venkata Reddi Naidu

Indian lawyer, diplomat, and politician (1875–1942)

Rao Bahadur Sir Kurma Venkatareddi Naidu KCSI (also known as K. V. Reddi Naidu; 1875–1942) was an Indian politician, lawyer, diplomat, and professor who served as the Prime Minister of Madras Presidency. He also served as the Governor of Madras Presidency one of the only two Indians in history to have held the post. He was the only person to have held both the posts of Prime Minister and Governor of the Madras Presidency. As a prominent leader of the Justice Party, he formulated policies that promoted social equality, abolition of untouchability, and social reform. Kurma Venkatareddi Naidu hailed from a prominent Kapu family in Godavari district. He studied at Madras Christian College and the Madras Law College. Before being called to the bar in 1900, he was a Professor of Physics at the Government Arts College, Rajahmundry. He practised as an advocate in Rajahmundry and Eluru. After serving on various local and district boards between 1901 and 1919, he joined the Justice Party and was a part of T. M. Nair's delegation to the United Kingdom in July 1918. Later, when a Justice Party government was formed in Madras, Naidu served in the cabinet of A. Subbarayalu Reddiar and the Raja of Panagal as Minister of Development and later as Minister of Industries from 1920 to 1923. After returning from South Africa, Naidu took up various positions with the Indian Government. He was a Law Member of the Council of State in 1933 1934 and a member of the Governor's Executive Council, Madras, 1934 1937. in Godavari district and belonged to a Telaga Kapu family. His father, Kurma Bapanna Naidu, won a name for himself as a Police Inspector. His mother, Venkata Ratnamma was reputed to be a pious and simple lady.

Naidu served on local and district boards in Rajahmundry and Eluru between 1901 and 1919. He was a member of the Justice Party right from its inception. He was a part of the Justice Party delegation to England along with Dr. T. M. Nair and Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar in July 1918. In 1919, he led the non Brahmin deputation to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms. Naidu was an active partyman and when the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms were passed in 1919, Naidu formulated a set of activities that the Justice Party should follow. Social legislation has to be undertaken and inequitious laws that, for ages, maintained an invidious distinction between Brahmins and non Brahmins, with regard to marriage, adoption and inheritance and the like, must be altered. Outside the sphere of politics, the work before us is equally onerous. Social reconstruction must be taken in hand at once. Social equality must be established. The strain of untouchability shall be removed. The dictates of priestcraft must be silenced. Paracheries must be purified. Agraharams must be humanized. The hold of humiliating customs and rituals must be unloosed. The portals of temples must be thrown broad open. The contents of sealed scriptures should be brought to light.

In December 1920, when the Justice Party was elected to power in Madras Presidency, Naidu won a seat in the Madras Legislative Council and served as the Minister of Development. He also served as the Minister of Industries in the government of the Raja of Panagal from 1921 to 1923, when he was dropped in favour of T. N. Sivagnanam Pillai. He remained neutral when a vote of no confidence was passed against the government of the Raja of Panagal. In 1924, when the Muddiman Committee came to India to assess the implementation and progress of dyarchy, K. V. Reddi Naidu explained its progress thus:

blockquote|I was a Minister of Development without the forests. I was a Minister of Agriculture minus Irrigation. As a Minister of Agriculture I had nothing to do with the Madras Agriculturists Loan Act or the Madras Land Improvement Loans Act The efficacy and efficiency of a Minister of Agriculture without having anything to do with irrigation, agricultural loans, land improvement loans and famine relief, may better be imagined than described. Then again, I was Minister of Industries without factories, boilers, electricity and water power, mines or labor, all of which are reserved subjects

In 1928, Naidu was a member of the Indian delegation to the League of Nations, Geneva.

In January 1929, Naidu succeeded V. S. Srinivasa Sastri as British India's Agent to the Union of South Africa. In January 1930, he came under severe criticism from the South African Indian Congress (SAIC) for not having done enough to protect the interests of the Indians migrants. Naidu's term came to an end on 3 August 1932 and he was succeeded by Kunwar Maharaj Singh.

Naidu was the Prime Minister of Madras Presidency from 1 April 1937 to 14 July 1937. The 1937 assembly elections were held and the results declared in February 1937. Despite being the majority party in the assembly and the council, the Indian National Congress was hesitant to form a Government because of the veto powers given to the governor. The Governor of Madras, Lord Erskine, decided to form an interim provisional Government with non members and opposition members of the Legislative Assembly. V. S. Srinivasa Sastri was first offered the Prime Ministership of the interim government but he refused to accept it. Then Erskine formed an interim government with Kurma Venkata Reddi Naidu as Prime Minister on 1 April 1937. However the ministry was short lived as the Congress was persuaded to form the government. On 14 July, Naidu resigned and Rajaji became Prime Minister. Naidu remains the shortest serving Prime Minister of the Presidency era and (factoring in the Presidency's successor states of Madras and Tamil Nadu), remained the shortest serving ever until V. N. Janaki overtook his record in 1988 almost five decades later. Council of ministers in K. V. Reddi Naidu's interim provisional cabinet (1 April 14 July 1937):
MinisterPortfolioKurma Venkata Reddi NaiduPrime Minister, Public, Revenue and LegalA. T. PanneerselvamHome and FinanceM. A. Muthiah ChettiarLocal self governmentP. Kalifulla Sahib BahadurPublic WorksM. C. RajahDevelopmentR. M. PalatEducation and Public health

Before being called to the bar in 1900, Naidu was a Professor of Physics at the Government Arts College, Rajahmundry.

Naidu lived in Madras in a palatial mansion on Boag Road, T. Nagar. The house later came under the ownership of film star Sivaji Ganesan. In April 1942, Venu Gopalaswamy was appointed the Registrar of Andhra University which he held till his retirement in February 1964. Nalla Reddi Naidu, son of one of Venkatareddi Naidu's cousins, served as the first Member of Parliament of Rajahmundry from 1952 to 1957.