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Kalastavadi Puttaswamy (1917 – 1978) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, politician and educationist. A member of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
(INC), he was elected to the
Karnataka Legislative Assembly The Karnataka Legislative Assembly (formerly the Mysore Legislative Assembly) is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature ...
for a then record seven times, having won every assembly election from 1952 until his death in 1978. Puttaswamy held multiple cabinet portfolios under the chief ministership of S. Nijalingappa and
Veerendra Patil Veerendra Basappa Patil (Kannada: ವೀರೇಂದ್ರ ಪಾಟೀಲ್; 28 February 1924 – 14 March 1997) was a senior Indian politician and was twice, the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He became Chief Minister for the first time fr ...
. Born in 1917 in
Arakere Arakere may refer to: * Arakere, Arsikere, a village in Arsikere taluk, Hassan district, Karnataka, India * Arakere, Shrirangapattana Arakere is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 2377900 Arakere, Mandya, Kar ...
,
Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...
, Puttaswamy studied law and began legal practice in Mysore in 1942. During this time, he was also actively involved in the Indian nationalist movement. An association with INC leader Sahukar Chennaiah gradually led Puttaswamy to take an interest in electoral politics, and was elected to the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
post-independence in 1948. Four years later, he was elected to the Mysore Legislative Assembly from
Shrirangapattana Srirangapatna or Srirangapattana is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated around 984 CE. Later, under the British ...
on an INC ticket. Subsequently, he successfully contested the
Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...
, Chamundeshwari and Chamaraja seats in the assembly. As an educationist, Puttaswamy founded the Vidyavardhaka Sangha in Mysore.


Early life

Puttaswamy was born in 1917 to an agriculturist family of
Vokkaliga Vokkaliga (also transliterated as Vokkaligar, Vakkaliga, Wakkaliga, Okkaligar, Okkiliyan) is a community of closely related castes, from the Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. As a community of warriors and cultivators they have historical ...
s, as the first son of Kalastavadi Lingegowda and Lingamma. He was born in
Arakere Arakere may refer to: * Arakere, Arsikere, a village in Arsikere taluk, Hassan district, Karnataka, India * Arakere, Shrirangapattana Arakere is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 2377900 Arakere, Mandya, Kar ...
of the erstwhile
Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...
(in present-day
Mandya district Mandya district is an administrative district of Karnataka, India. The district Mandya was carved out of larger Mysore district in the year 1939. Mandya is the main town in Mandya district. As of 2011, the district population was 1,808,680 ...
of
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 ...
, India). Kalastavadi is a village off the Mysore–
Srirangapatna Srirangapatna or Srirangapattana is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated around 984 CE. Later, under the Britis ...
road where Lingegowda was born before he settled in Arakere. However, he went by the name Kalastavadi Lingegowda, and the prefix stuck to his son's name too. Puttaswamy completed his primary education in Arekere before moving to Mysore, where he completing his
matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...
. He later enrolled at Maharaja's College for intermediate and
bachelor of arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
(honours) studies. During this time, he became actively involved in the
independence movement Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...
, and participated in the 1938 flag satyagraha in Shivapura. After securing a degree in law from
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
, Puttaswamy returned to Mysore in 1942 to begin his legal career. The following year, he married Jayalakshamma, who was a relative of a
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
(INC) leader Sahukar Chennaiah. This alliance would later bring Puttaswamy closer to key political circles in the Mysore region.


Career

Puttaswamy's legal practice began under H. C. Dasappa, a senior politician and lawyer during the time. He later established independent practice while also serving public offices as a politician. He was urged to enter electoral politics by Chennaiah. This led to him contesting successfully the Mandya District Board elections in 1946. In 1948, he was elected to the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
from Mysore. Four years later, he was elected to the
Mysore Legislative Assembly The Karnataka Legislative Assembly (formerly the Mysore Legislative Assembly) is the lower house of the Karnataka Legislature, bicameral legislature of the South India, southern Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in ...
from
Shrirangapattana Srirangapatna or Srirangapattana is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated around 984 CE. Later, under the British ...
with an INC ticket. At the next election, he contested
Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...
and won, which he would retain in 1962. He contested the Mysore seat owing to his popularity on the back of his successful campaign to the presidency of the
Mysore City Corporation Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) is the administrative body responsible for civic amenities and infrastructural assets of Mysore, Mysuru in Karnataka, India.
(then a
municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
). By 1962, Chennaiah had left the INC to co-found the
Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...
while Puttaswamy stayed. Puttaswamy's re-election to the assembly and the formation of the INC government led to his appointment as cabinet minister. He was handed the municipal administration portfolio in the Nijalingappa cabinet. Between 1965 and 1967, he held the cooperation and housing portfolios. In 1967, he entered the assembly from Chamundeshwari, and was appointed the minister for housing and health in the fourth Nijalingappa cabinet. In his final stint as cabinet minister, between 1968 and 1971, he held the labour, law and parliamentary affairs portfolios in the Veerendra Patil ministry. Ahead of the 1972 election, Puttaswamy joined the
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
faction of the INC following the party's split, and retained his assembly seat from Chamundeshwari. For the 1978 election, he successfully contested the Chamaraja seat with a ticket of
Congress for Democracy The Congress for Democracy (CFD) was an Indian political party founded in 1977 by Jagjivan Ram. It was formed after Jagjivan Ram, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, and Nandini Satpathy left the Indian National Congress of Indira Gandhi and denounced ...
, a party formed by
Jagjivan Ram Jagjivan Ram (5 April 1908 – 6 July 1986), popularly known as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as a minister with various portfolios for over 30 years, making him the List of longest-serving members of the ...
. In the process, he was elected to the assembly for the seventh time. However, a month after being elected, Puttaswamy died from
cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...
, on 30 April 1978.


Vidyavardhaka Sangha

In 1948, Puttaswamy founded the Vidyavardhaka Sangha, intending to provide affordable education, in Mysore. Initially, an industrial training institute was established in its premises, before the educational institute was started. In 1974, her served as principal of its law college. An engineering college, the Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, and nine other institutions exist today governed by the Vidyavardhaka Sangha.


Personal life

Puttaswamy and Jayalakshamma had three children together: daughter Prameela, and sons Chandrashekhar and Vishwanath. Chandrashekhar is a physician, while Vishwanath serves as secretary of the Vidyavardhaka Sangha. Vishwanath previously served as the first mayor of the Mysore City Corporation, from 1983 to 1984.


References


External links


Vidyavardhaka College Of Engineering
* VVCE {{DEFAULTSORT:Puttaswamy, Kalastavadi Politicians from Mysore 1917 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Indian lawyers University of Mysore alumni State cabinet ministers of Karnataka Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Members of the Constituent Assembly of India 20th-century Indian educational theorists Mysore MLAs 1952–1957 Mysore MLAs 1957–1962 Mysore MLAs 1962–1967 Mysore MLAs 1967–1972 Mysore MLAs 1972–1977 Karnataka MLAs 1978–1983 People from Mysore district Kannada people Date of birth unknown Members of the Mysore Legislature