Kapil Narayan Tiwari
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Kapil Narayan Tiwari (4 June 1929 – 21 September 2022) was an Indian activist and politician who served in the
Orissa Legislative Assembly The Odisha Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Odisha state in India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Bhubaneswar, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly comprises 147 Members of Legislative As ...
from 1977 to 1980, representing the Khariar Assembly constituency. Initially elected as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
, Tiwari joined the
Indian National Congress (I) The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement ...
during his tenure in the assembly.


Biography


Education and activism

Kapil Narayan Tiwari was born on 4 June 1929 in the town of
Khariar Khariar (also called Khadial, Rajkhariar and Rajakhariar) is a town and a Notified Area Council in Nuapada District of the Indian state of Odisha. History The region of Khariar was under the rule of the Chauhan dynasty of Patna State which ...
, then part of the
British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...
. After graduating from Raja Artatran High School, Tiwari began attending
Sambalpur University Sambalpur University is a public research university located in Burla, India, Burla town, of district Sambalpur, India, in the States and territories of India, state of Odisha. Popularly known as Jyoti Vihar, it offers courses at the undergradu ...
in the late 1940s, where he became a student leader, serving as vice president of the
students' union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...
from 1948 to 1949. He then began attending Rajendra University, where he was president of the students' union from 1951 to 1952. In the 1960s, Tiwari, who was described as being "an ardent follower of
Ram Manohar Lohia Ram Manohar Lohia ( 23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an Indian political activist of the Indian independence movement and a socialist politician. As a nationalist, he worked actively to protest against colonialism, raising awareness of th ...
", became an activist. In 1965, Tiwari and MP Kishen Pattnaik filed a
public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). It refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and demonstrates the availability ...
with the
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...
, requesting greater resources to deal with a drought in the
Kalahandi Kalahandi district (Pron: Kaḷāhāṇḍi) is a district of Odisha in India. It was a princely state in British India and in post-independence period it merged with Odisha state in India as Kalahandi district comprising current Kalahandi d ...
and
Nuapada Nuapada is a town in western region of Odisha state of eastern India. It is the headquarter of Nuapada district. Nuapada district was carved out of the undivided Kalahandi district on 27 March 1993. It is on the western border of Odisha with C ...
districts, which forced the government to institute several special developmental projects in the area. Tiwari also organized relief centers for people affected by the drought. In 1974, he created the Rairakhol Bhimabhoi Krushak Sangharsa Samiti, an activist group affiliated with the
National Alliance of People's Movements National Alliance of People's Movements is an alliance of Alter-globalization, alter-globalisation activist groups in India. It is an umbrella organisation for various civil society organisations and individuals working towards similar goals. It ...
.


Political career

Tiwari made his first run for the
Orissa Legislative Assembly The Odisha Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Odisha state in India. The seat of the Legislative Assembly is at Bhubaneswar, the capital of the state. The Legislative Assembly comprises 147 Members of Legislative As ...
in the 1974 election, campaigning for the Khariar constituency as an
independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...
. Tiwari was defeated, placing fourth with 8% of the vote. In the 1977 Orissa Legislative Assembly election, Tiwari again ran as an independent for the Khariar constituency, winning with 56% of the vote. Tiwari was regarded as a leader in the socialist movement during his time in the assembly, and he raised awareness of issues such as child trafficking, poverty, starvation, and migration. Tiwari was also recognized for his "great oratory skill". At some point during his tenure, Tiwari joined the
Indian National Congress (I) The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement ...
. Tiwari stood for re-election in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
; however, he was defeated by independent candidate , receiving 31% of the vote compared to Deo's 40%. Another independent candidate,
Duryodhan Majhi Duryodhan Majhi Duryodhan Majhi was an Indian politician. He was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Khariar, Odisha in the 1990, 1995, 2000, 2004 and 2014 as a member of the Biju Janata Dal . Biography Majhi was a member ...
, placed third with 23% of the vote. In the 1985 election, Tiwari ran as an independent candidate in a rematch against Deo and Majhi. In a narrow three-way race, Tiwari placed third with 22% of the vote, while Deo and Majhi received 26% and 24%, respectively. In the 1990 election, Tiwari again for the assembly, standing as a
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 ...
candidate. Tiwari placed fifth with just 6% of the vote.


Death

Tiwari died on 21 September 2022 at the age of 93, having been bedridden for several months. His death was commemorated by
Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (; born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and writer, who served as the 14th List of Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024. His 24-year reign is the List of longest-serving I ...
, the
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 ...
of
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
, who stated that Tiwari had "dedicated efforts to the development and welfare of the people of the undivided Kalahandi district".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiwari, Kapil Narayan 1929 births 2022 deaths Activists from Odisha Independent politicians in India Indian National Congress politicians from Odisha Odisha MLAs 1977–1980 People from Nuapada district Rajendra University alumni Sambalpur University alumni