On July 8, we remember Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy garu — a leader whose name still carries warmth in millions of homes across the two Telugu states.
Years after he left us, his birth anniversary is not merely a date on the calendar; it is a day when farmers, students, mothers, employees and the poor pause to remember the man who made progress and welfare reach their doorstep.
YSR's greatness lay in a simple conviction: that power is meaningful only when it changes an ordinary person's life.
His 1,500-kilometre padayatra across the length of Andhra Pradesh was not a political stunt but a listening exercise touching village by village. What followed was a rare thing in politics: promises that became programmes.
A doctor by training, he had healed the patients; as a statesman he healed a state's sense of neglect.
Despite serving as Chief Minister for a single term, the transformation the state underwent went far beyond what any Chief Minister in power for decades could have imagined.Almost every major development programme in Andhra Pradesh carries his legacy — SEZs, Irrigation projects, and Infrastructure projects like Airports, Metro Rail, Outer Ring Roads etc.
Since his tenure, pensions now have become a poll promise for every government in both states which was neglected for decades. Welfare schemes such as Aarogyasri gave the poorest families access to surgeries and treatments that were once the privilege of the wealthy.
Fee Reimbursement opened the doors of colleges to lakhs of students whose parents could never have paid. It was once such a scheme that lifted an entire generation into engineering seats, degrees, and careers.
Free power to farmers kept the pumpsets running and the fields green. Through Jalayagnam, he pursued irrigation on a scale few had dared, determined to carry water to the districts.
Indiramma housing, Pavala Vaddi loans for women's self-help groups, subsidised rice, and the 108 emergency ambulance service each one touched a different corner of ordinary life.
YSR's nature of putting people first and politics last brought welfare and progress to every household cutting across party lines, caste, and religion giving people a sense of hope and belonging.
On his birth anniversary, the truest tribute is not in garlanded statues but in the schemes that still function, the students who still study, and the patients who still live because of what he built. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
Marana leni maha nayakudu — YSR, a leader who lives on !
Dheeraj Pola, Phoenix, AZ
