Rao, Chandra Rajeswar

Rao, Chandra Rajeswar 

Born June 6, 1914, in Manga-lapuram, the present state of Andhra Pradesh. Figure in the Indian and international labor movement.

Rao, a Telugu by nationality, comes from an affluent peasant family. He received a medical education at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi and at a medical college in Vishakha-patnam. He joined the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1931 and was secretary of the CPI committee of Andhra Province from 1943 to 1952. He became a member of the party’s Political Bureau in 1950 and a member of the Central Executive Committee in 1958. Rao was general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPI in 1950 and 1951, vice-chairman of the All-India Kisan Sabha (Peasants’ League) in 1954 and 1955, and secretary of the National Council of the CPI from June to December 1964. In December 1964 he was elected general secretary of the National Council of the CPI.

Rao is the author of works on the current political and economic problems of India and the international communist movement. He was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1974.