Moturi Satyanarayana was born in a Kamma family in Dondapadu village near Gudivada in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.

After his primary education, he studied English, Telugu, and Hindi at the National College in Machilipatnam, achieving a high proficiency in them.

A major mission in his life would be to efficiently promote the growth of Hindi in South India between 1936 and 1961.

After the Indian Constitution was drafted, Moturi was nominated by the President of India as a Rajya Sabha (Upper House) member.

When a family member asked the nonagenarian Moturi about the secret of his longevity, his brief response was: "Listen more, eat less."

However, some people criticise his decision to support Hindi, and not English, as the official language of India.

The awkward provisions in the Indian Constitution and a later push by pro-Hindi hardliners led to "language riots" in the 1960s in southern states such as Tamil Nadu, where more than 60 people died.