Basavarajeshwari Jahagirdar (17 February 1923 – 19 February 2008) was an Indian politician. She was three-time Member of Parliament representing the Bellary in

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. She also served as Minister of State for Women and Child Development from 1991 to 1996.

Early life and background

Basavarajeswari was born on 17 February 1923 in Hanumapura, a village in Bellary district's Rayagada

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

of the erstwhile

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(in present-day

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

). She was born into a family of zamindars and was the eldest of eight children of Veerareddy and Timmamma. She completed her education at Government Girls High School in Bellary, before finishing her education upon completion of pre-university course.

Personal life

Basava Rajeswari married Sharana Basavaraj on 22 May 1948 and the couple has four sons and four daughters.

Positions held

* Member of All India Congress Committee (AICC) for two terms. * Secretary of District Congress Committee,

Raichur Raichur, also pronounced as Rāyachūru (formerly Raichore), is a city and headquarters of eponymous Raichur district in the Karnataka state of India. Raichur, located between Krishna River, Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers. History Ancient His ...

Political career

Ms. Basavarajeshwari, whose political career lasted 40 years, was the Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development in the P.V. Narasimha Rao Ministry. She also served as a Deputy Minister between 1962 and 1967 and was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council for one term. She won the Bellary Lok Sabha seat three times in a row. She began her career as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1957 from Lingasugur in

Raichur district Raichur District is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north, Bijapur district, Karnataka, Bijapur and Bagalkot district in the n ...

, and was re-elected for the second term when she held the post of Deputy Minister for five years. She was later elected as the Member of the Legislative Council (1977–84). She won the Bellary Lok Sabha seat thrice in 1984, 1989 and 1991 and was inducted into the P.V. Narasimha Rao Ministry P.V. Narasimha Rao Ministry. As the Union Minister, Ms. Basavarajeshwari represented the country at the World Women's Conference held at Beijing in China. She kept a low profile after she was denied the Congress ticket to contest in the Lok Sabha elections from Bellary in 1996 and floated a trust, for which she was the chairperson. It started several educational institutions, including an engineering college, schools, a polytechnic and an ITI. In 2004, Ms. Basavarajeshwari joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

and campaigned for the party not only in Bellary but also in the neighbouring districts.Congress leaders made me quit: Basavarajeshwari
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basavarajeshwari 1923 births 2008 deaths India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1991–1996 Lok Sabha members from Karnataka People from Ballari district Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Karnataka Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Mysore MLAs 1957–1962 Mysore MLAs 1962–1967 Mysore MLAs 1967–1972 Mysore MLAs 1972–1977 Women members of the Lok Sabha Members of the Karnataka Legislative Council