Aluru Venkata Rao

Aluru Venkata Rao (Kannada: ಆಲೂರು ವೆಂಕಟರಾವ್) (12 July 1880 - 25th Feb 1964) was one of the most eminent leaders of the Karnataka Ekikarana movement. He had a very strong impact on the Ekikarana movement which was fighting for a separate state encompassing all Kannada speaking areas of Mysore, Bombay Presidency and Nizam's Hyderabad. Even though the first strains of this movement had started as early as in 1856 and the Karnataka Vidyavardhaka Sangha had been established in 1890, the movement took a dramatic turn with the arrival of Aluru Venkata Rao on the scene. The single most important event that spurred the movement into a frenzy was the publishing of Aluru's magnum opus, Karnataka Gatha Vaibhava in 1912. Such was the impact of his work on the masses that he came to be known as the Kannada Kula Purohita or the 'High priest of the Kannada kula(family) '