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The NTR phenomenon reconsidered


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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264280328_The_NTR_phenomenon_reconsidered

The NTR phenomenon reconsidered
Jürgen Neuss, Freie Universität Berlin
Introduction
When on January 18, 1996 the former chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
NANDAMURI TARAKA RAMA RAO (NTR) died, India lost one of her most controversial and illustrious
politicians. Despite the fact that, at the beginning of his political career in 1982, almost nobody
had taken him and his party, the Telugu Desham ("Telugu land") seriously, he had established
himself not only on the political stage of his home state but also in national politics. This paper
attempts a descriptive analysis of NTR's role and significance in both state and national politics
from the Telugu Desham's inception in 1982 until its split in 1995 stressing aspects different from
those earlier studies have been concerned with. Thus my suggestions should be regarded as
an addition to rather than a criticism of the views expressed in various valuable earlier works.
It may be worth mentioning here that especially ATUL KOHLI's contributions to the subject
represent in-depth studies of the reasons for NTR's success (KOHLI 1988 and 1990).
By the time he entered politics, NTR was the most popular and highest paid moviestar of
Andhra Pradesh. Between 1949 and 1982 he had acted in 292 movies. By playing different
Hindu gods and mythological heroes in many of his films, he had acquired an almost divine
image especially among the rural population of Andhra Pradesh.1 The extraordinary degree of
popularity NTR achieved is best attested to by the fact that he has popularly been called 'anna'
("elder brother").2 NTR was an actor par excellence not only with regard to Indian Popular
Cinema but also, and this is to be taken literally, on the political stage. He had the ability to
convert his extreme popularity into votes, and his experience in film making paired with his acting
skills into political advantages.
But his popularity and skills did certainly not account for his success alone as has often
been suggested, especially by Congress(I) related sources. Instead, the support of certain
powerful socio-economic groups must in my opinion be regarded as the basis for NTR's
success. The conjunction of NTR's personality and the strategies adopted by the party made the
Telugu Desham appear as the long-awaited alternative to the political establishment, largely
dominated by the Congress(I), which by the early eighties had critically weakened its electoral
base.3 In about nine months N.T. RAMA RAO and his aides were able to dislodge the Congress(I)
 
1 NARAYAN 1983: 76 ff. ELDER/SCHMITTHENNER (1985: 383) tentatively call this phenomenon "fictive
personification": "By blurring his identity with those of the heroic characters he has portrayed on the screen, Rama
Rao has acquired considerable legitimacy. He has used this legitimacy most effectively, perhaps, in those rural
sectors of Andhra Pradesh where traditional, folklore blurring of actors with their parts has occured - where people
who play the parts of heroes or villains in village presentations are regarded by others and regard themselves as
acquiring the attributes of the villains and heroes they play."
2 ELDER/SCHMITTHENNER (1985: 378) give the following explanation for this phenomenon which they label
"fictive primary relationship": "...mass media audiences (including film audiences) will occasionally list the names
of entertainment figures among four or five "best friends". (...) ...such fictive primary relationships can provide film
stars who enter politics large banks of voters predisposed to vote for them because by now they are "old friends"."
The same phenomenon is described by DICKEY (1993: 351), but she gives an explanation which takes more of the
specific Indian socio-religious context into account and thus appears more convincing: "...Nor is it a contradiction
to think of a leader like MGR simultaneously as a family member, since in South India this is precisely the
relationship most frequently perceived between worshipers and gods in the devotional bhakti tradition, where
divinities are worshiped and implored as parents, children and siblings, as well as lovers and friends."
3 For a review of the Congress(I) rule in Andhra Pradesh see INNAIAH 1981, RAO 1983: 14-73 and VAKIL
1984. Unfavourite sentiments against the Congress(I) rule even find a literary expression in Burrakatha samples
cited by BERNSTORFF 1971: 370.
 
 
 
 
 
2
from power even though its uninterrupted rule in Andhra Pradesh had never been seriously
challenged so far. The lack of opposition unity must be regarded as the main reason for the
unchallenged position of the Congress(I) in Andhra Pradesh.
The subsequent rule of NTR and the Telugu Desham continued until 1989 when the party
was in turn clearly defeated by the Congress(I). But in the seven years of power NTR had firmly
established himself as a political force in the state as well as on the national level, so that he was
able to regain power in 1994. This victory proved the fact that the Telugu Desham had likewise
been established as the most important political party in the state besides the Congress(I).
When NTR's son-in-law NARAVIRAPALLI CHANDRABABU NAIDU initiated the split of the party
and the resulting merciless end of NTR's political career in 1995, it became clear that the Telugu
Desham was no more dependent on NTR's personality and charisma. As NAIDU managed to
bring his faction to power and to remain as the state's chief minister up to the present day he
emerged as the political heir of NTR.
The formation of the Telugu Desham
First public speculations of NTR's intention to enter politics were ignited some time around
October 1981 by Telugu film magazines. According to NARAYAN (1983: 6) NTR had said in an
interview that "Yes, the Telugu people have been kind to me for more than three decades. They
have given me their affection, patronised my films, made me rich and famous. It is my duty now
to repay this debt in whatever way I can. I would like to do something for them. Beginning with
my next birthday, I would like to devote 15 days every month to social service." This statement
made Jameen Raitu, a Nellore newspaper, ask in a headline "Is NTR entering politics?"
This swift interpretation of 'social service' as 'politics' may be taken as a hint to the fact that
NTR must already have had contacts to the political establishment. Several sources support this
assumption and the fact that NARAVIRAPALLI CHANDRABABU NAIDU married NTR's daughter
BHUBANESHVARI in 1982 proves it. INNAIAH (1984: 17) even asserts that "...it was actually Mr.
Chandrababu Naidu who persuaded Mr. Rama Rao to jump into politics." NTR's political
contacts are further corroborated by NARAYAN (1983: 7) with regard to NTR's reaction to the
subsequent public debate about his plans: "Rama Rao now began thinking seriously about
politics. He went to Hyderabad to talk it out with his intimate friends in politics and films."
Moreover NTR had been living and working in Madras where he must have become quite
familiar with the close association of politics and film industry.4 On March 21, 1982 he
announced at a press conference that he planned to launch a political party. From this time
onwards the Telugu Desham is usually referred to by the press and others as the sole idea of
NTR, a rather simplistic view which cannot be agreed upon. It is a well documented fact that
since February 1982 NTR had negotiated with a Congress(I) politician, NADENDLA BHASKARA
RAO5, who two days later on March 23 announced his resignation from the state assembly as
well as the Congress(I) (NARAYAN 1983: 7). On March 28, the steering committee of the new
party was formed at a meeting at N. BHASKARA RAO's residence in Hyderabad. This committee
consisted of 13 members and chose NTR as president of the new party.
While these are the first visible signs of NTR's political career, we may however assume
that the idea of forming a new political party in Andhra Pradesh must already have been thought
of very thoroughly. The following remarks confirm that the preliminary organizational steps taken
by NTR and his confidants must have been based on a well-considered plan. With the selection
 
4 The association of politics and entertainment media in Tamil Nadu is being discussed in ELDER/
SCHMITTHENNER 1985: 378 ff., DICKEY 1993 and RÖSEL 1995; a monographic account of the subject represents
BASKARAN 1981.
5 At that time N. BHASKARA RAO was a Congress(I)-MLA, who had been expelled from the cabinets of two
former chief ministers, MARRI CHANNA REDDY and TANGUTURI ANJIAH, who both doubted his loyalty. IT,
30.04.1982: 55, 15.02.1983: 49.
 
 
 
 
 
3
of Telugu film magazines to break the news, NTR chose a medium which was in direct contact
with his 600 fan clubs all over Andhra Pradesh.6 Thus the visible history of the Telugu Desham
begins with the utilization of NTR's fan clubs which represented an already existing, extensive
organizational network to transport the message of NTR's political aspirations to larger parts of
the population all over Andhra Pradesh. Apart from the publicity factor, the fan clubs' response
could be taken as a preliminary indicator for NTR's political prospects.7
The subsequent phase of the formation of the party was ushered at the convention of
Tirupati on May 29, where the Telugu Desham was formally founded. By the time NTR set out
on his first campaign tour for the forthcoming state assembly elections about two weeks later,
much of the strategy for the campaign and the means to reach as much of the electorate as
possible had already been worked out and the necessary access to mass media been organized
for. The extent of NTR's campaign and the complexity of the media used to cover and support
it is impressive and deserves closer examination, as it unveils the massive support for the
Telugu Desham by certain socio-economic groups.
The main element of the campaign was NTR's unprecedented tour of almost all the districts
of Andhra Pradesh in a refitted Chevrolet bus of his Ramakrishna Cine Studios8. Between June
14, 1982 and January 3, 1983 NTR covered a distance of 35,000 km in 70 days, while an
estimated 30 million people listened to his speeches which he delivered from the top of his van.9
These speeches revealed that the Telugu Desham hardly had any political programme worth
mentioning, but that it had a message which branded the Congress(I) as the enemy of an
imaginary Telugu nation.10 Though this artificial nationalism based on linguistic principles was
the central motif of the Telugu Desham's agitation to unite the electorate against the
Congress(I), the Telugu Desham's campaign was in the first place centered on N.T. RAMA RAO
and his presence on all planes of mass media available.
As we have seen, NTR's political campaign had been started by film magazines and
immediately been picked up by the general press. In a more organized manner it had been
supported by the network of his fan clubs (ELDER/SCHMITTHENNER 1985: 375) which later also
helped during his campaign tour, for example by distributing the party manifesto11, audio tapes
etc. Simultaneously, six new movies starring NTR had been released in 1982 in order to expose
NTR's film image as a political message to the urban population (NAIDU 1984: 132). To reach
the more educated and intellectual circles of society the largest-selling Telugu-daily Eenadu
 
6 For further information on the role of fan clubs in politics (with regard to MGR in Tamil Nadu) see
DICKEY 1993: 342, 357 ff.
7 RAO (1983: 306, 308, 317) reports that NTR's fan clubs transformed themselves into a 'Yuva Sena'
("Youth Army") to participate in his political campaign.
8 NTR's success made this new style of campaigning a fashion for politicians all over the country. IT,
30.11.1989: 78 ff.
9 An analysis of the motifs and imaginery used by NTR in his campaign is found in NAIDU 1984, a work
which contains a couple of valuable suggestions regarding NTR's unmatched appeal to rural audiences.
10 Historically there never existed a 'Nation of the Telugus'. Telugu is basically the name of the
predominantly spoken language of Andhra Pradesh. Thus NTR postulates a nation on a purely linguistic basis. The
problems of equating 'linguistic group' with 'nation' are obvious. For a brief description of the peculiarities in Andhra
Pradesh with regard to this question see SHARMA 1967: 96 ff. Taking the movements for autonomy in Telengana
(1968-69) as well as in (Coastal) Andhra (1972-73) into account, this Telugu nationalism appears even more
artificial. These movements are discussed in INNAIAH 1981: 100-112 and 121-127; RAO 1983: 251-266 and RAO
1993: 188 ff.
11 The party manifesto, "Telugu Desam Pranalika", is given as appendix III in NARAYAN, 1983: 125 ff. and
in SHATRUGNA 1984 104 ff.; For a review see: EPW, 05.03.1983: 333.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
("This land")12 covered his campaign on a daily basis.13 Thus almost all relevant groups of
society from villagers up to urban intellectuals were addressed by NTR's campaign.
The support-base and election strategy of the Telugu Desham
The broad access NTR had to the media reveals the massive support from NTR's own
community, the Kamma, or rather a class "which is predominantly (but by no means exclusively)
Kamma by caste and agrarian in its origins..." (EPW, 10.11.1984: 1901). Despite its continuously
growing economic influence, this class had never been adequately represented in state politics
(KOHLI 1988: 996 and 1990: 61 ff). Not only is the Eenadu owned by RAMOJI RAO, a Kamma14,
but it is also this community which is strongly engaged in film production, distribution and
exhibition.15 This also accounts for the fact that the first treasurer of the party was a Madras-
based filmproducer, TATINENI PRAKASA RAO, whose own words reveal the support of the film
industry for the Telugu Desham: "It is never difficult to find money for a good cause. With more
than 125 Telugu films made every year we can get producers to advertise in a party weekly we
plan to start and contribute directly for various welfare programmes." (IT, 15.02.1983: 49).
With this support base and NTR himself belonging to the same background, it is natural
that the new party adopted strategies which had proved successful in Tamil Nadu politics whose
well-established intertwined relation with the Madras-based film industry is well-known (infra Fn.
4). And with MARUDUR GOPALAN RAMACHANDRAN (MGR) as a living example for the art of
exploiting extreme popularity for political advantages as his colleague and friend, NTR had a
blueprint for his own conversion from actor to politician. That he was familiar with the ideas of
MGR and that he had understood his tactics is attested to by NTR's own words: "He [MGR] has
achieved his objective. He has been able to successfully project himself as the hero standing
on the side of suffering people." (IT, 30.04.1982: 55).
It is therefore not astonishing that basic ingredients to the party programme as well as main
strategies of the Telugu Desham were adopted from Tamil Nadu politics and then adjusted to
the political and social realities of Andhra Pradesh16. While the differences in the environment
 
12 In 1983 Eenadu had a maximum circulation of 347 000 copies. IT, 15.11.1983: 104.
13 "From the start of his campaign he [NTR] was supported by the influential Telugu newspaper, Eenadu
('This Day'), edited by another Kamma, Ramoji Rao. Even though, after the election, Eenadu adopted a stance
somewhat independent of N.T. Rama Rao, during the election campaign, Eenadu provided him with maximum
coverage aimed at literate Telugu speakers throughout Andhra Pradesh." ELDER/SCHMITTHENNER 1985: 381.
INNAIAH (1984: 19) further reports that "Rama Rao came into contact with Mr. Ramoji Rao, the chief editor of
Eenadu and held discussions about the future plans and programmes of the party." Given the extent of coverage
(see INNAIAH 1984: 34) there had necessarily a dialogue to be maintained between the Telugu Desham and the
Eenadu. The link between these two organisations was a man named YELLAMANCHI SEKHAR, a post-graduate in
political sciences and former chief reporter of Eenadu. He had been associated with the Telugu Desham since March
1982 (IT, 15.02.1983: 49) and was responsible for drafting speeches for the politically inexperienced NTR during
the campaign (INNAIAH 1984: 41).
14 "...it is further true that the one man who almost singlehandedly led his campaign - Ramoji Rao, editor
of the largest circulated Telugu daily Eenadu which functioned as a pamphlet for NTR both at the time of his
election and during the recent crisis - is a very typical representative of the pushing commercial enterprise of this
class..." EPW, 10.11.1984: 1901.
15 "He [NTR] represents in more than one way the considerable hold his community has on what is
possibly the most popular avenue of investment in Andhra Pradesh - film production and film distribution." EPW,
08.05.1982: 764. "...for all the surplus that is generated by the delta agriculture goes in exactly two directions:
agro-based industry and film production, distribution and exhibition." EPW, 10.11.1984: 1901.
16 These necessary adjustments include for instance the careful selection of party candidates which
SHATRUGHNA/NARAYANA considered another decisive factor for the Telugu Desham's victory. See EPW,
24.12.1983: 2204 f. (reprinted in a revised and more detailed form as SHATRUGHNA, SRINIVAS, NARAYANA 1984),
 
 
 
 
 

 

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