Page 108 - Demo

Though MANSAS was the principal vehicle of his philanthropy, PVG Raju donated several of his palaces to public causes in a 'donation spree' during the early sixties. The Sainik Schools were conceived in 1961 by VK Krishna Menon, the then Defence Minister, as a system of public schools to rectify the regional and class imbalance amongst the officer cadre of the Indian Military. As a consequence, they were to be located in all parts of the country. The idea immediately struck a chord in PVG Raju and he resolved to establish one of these schools in Vizianagaram. On inquiry with the Defence Ministry, he learned that preference would be given to locations where land and infrastructure were readily available. He determined that the most suitable site would be the Alaka Appala Kondayamma Vijayram Palace, built in 1911 by his grandfather Maharaja Vijayram Raj as his country residence. The problem however was that the palace had been bequeathed to his uncle, the famous Sir Vizzy of cricketing fame. PVG Raju entered into a family settlement for the palace with the surrounding 206 acres and gifted it to the Government of India in September 1961. He made the donation in the name of Sir Vizzy, who was then appointed an honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army.Since the property was in good repair the Sainik School was started almost immediately in January 1962 with the first batch of students. Over the years the school has flourished and has produced many distinguished alumni, both in the defence services and other fields of endeavour. PVG Raju was intimately involved with Andhra University as its Pro-Chancellor. In fact, his forebearers, along with other royal families from the Kalinga-Andhra region, were 98