Damodaram Sanjivayya (14 February 1921 – 7 May 1972) was an Indian politician who served as the second

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

from 11 January 1960 to 12 March 1962.Life Hyderabad : Memorial for Sanjeevaiah
''The Hindu'' (21 April 2005). Retrieved on 23 September 2011. Sanjivayya was the first

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

Chief Minister of an Indian state. He was also the first Dalit leader to become

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

president.

Early life

Damodaram Sanjivayya was born in a Mala Dasu family in Peddapadu village of Kallur Mandal in

Kurnool district Kurnool district is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after the districts are reorganised in April 2022. It is located in the north western part of the state and is bounded by Nandyal d ...

. His father died when he was young. He studied at the Municipal School and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Law from

Madras Law College Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), ...

in 1948. Even while a student, he actively participated in the

Indian freedom movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement to ...

Career

Sanjivayya was a minister in the composite

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

. He was a member of the provisional parliament 1950–52. In 1962, Sanjivayya also became the first

leader from Andhra Pradesh to become Pradesh Congress Committee president. He was Minister of Labour and Employment under

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; born Lal Bahadur Srivastava; 2 October 190411 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as Minister ...

between 9 June 1964 and 23 January 1966.

Chief Minister

Sanjivayya was the first Dalit Chief Minister of an Indian state. He wrote a book on labour problems and industrial development in India, which was published in 1970 by Oxford and IBH Pub. Co., New Delhi. He introduced pension system for widows, elderly people and established Lalitha Kala Academy in Andhra Pradesh. He was the youngest chief minister ever in India, he introduced the office of Anticorruption Bureau , he completed the irrigation projects like Gajuladinne in Kurnool dist., Vamsadhara, Pulichintala and varadarajula swamy project near Atmakur in Kurnool dist.

Personal life

In 1950 Sanjivayya married a Dalit teacher, Krishnaveni. They had no children. Sanjivayya wrote literary articles and poetry in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

in his free time.

Honours

* His statue was erected opposite Public Gardens in Nampally, Hyderabad. * A park, Sanjivayya park on the banks of

Hussain Sagar Hussain Sagar (alternatively referred to as Tank Bund; ) is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1562. It is spread across an area of and is fed by the Musi River (India), River Musi. A large mo ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

was named in his honour. His grave is also located inside the park. * Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University,

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

one of the premier legal institutions in the country has been named in his honour. * India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour (5.00) on 14 February 2008.

Early life

Career

Chief Minister

Personal life

Honours

References

See also