Rani Kumudini Devi (23 January 1911 – 6 August 2009) was an Indian politician and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

er who served as the Mayor of Hyderabad from 1963 to 1964. 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 ...

, she was the first female mayor of Hyderabad. She also served as a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly ( Telugu: ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ శాసన సభ, ISO: ''Āndhra Pradēś Śāsana Sabha'') is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state, Andhra Pradesh. ...

representing

Wanaparthy Wanaparthy is a town in the Wanaparthy district of Telangana, India. Wanaparthy Samsthanam was founded in 1512 AD, after the Kakatiya kingdom declined. In 1817 AD, the Suguru estate's capital was transferred to Wanaparthy Province in 1817 AD ...

from 1962 to 1972.

Early life

Rani Kumudini Devi was born on 23 January 1911 in Wadepally of

Warangal district Warangal district (formerly Warangal Rural district) is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district shares boundaries with Mahabubabad, Jangaon, Hanamkonda, Mulugu and Bhupalpally districts. As of June 2021, Hanamkonda tenta ...

in present-day

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

. Her father, Pingle Venaktaramana Reddy, was a nobleman who would later become the Deputy Prime Minister of

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

. As a child, she moved to

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 ...

along with her family, and completed her early education at St. George's Grammar School. Her parents encouraged Devi to take part in activities generally dominated by boys, such as riding bicycles and horses, and playing sports.

Career

She established the Sivananda Rehabilitation Home, a treatment centre for

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

patients in 1958.

Mayor of Hyderabad

She was elected the Mayor of Hyderabad in 1962. The same year, floods struck Hyderabad as the Musi river overflowed, and Devi was in charge of the civic response. She appealed to Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

for funds, who released ₹20,000. She also prepared a flood-prevention plan for the coming years.

Later career

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, she was re-elected as the

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) for

. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

, she assisted in the settlement of Bengali refugees who were camped around the Nagarjuna Sagar. She was active well into her nineties, raising funds for the Sivananda Rehabilitation Home. In 2002, she established the Ramdev Rao Hospital, an 80-bed general hospital named after her husband. She died on 6 August 2009 at the age of 98.

Personal life

She was married to J. Rajaramdev Rao of Wanaparthy in 1928, and had four children. Devi was friends with

Dürrüşehvar Sultan Hatice Hayriye Ayşe Dürrüşehvar Sultan (; 26 January 1914 – 7 February 2006), after marriage named Durru Shehvar Durdana Begum Sahiba, Princess of Berar; was an Ottoman princess by birth and an Indian princess by marriage. She was the on ...

, and the two women rode horses and played tennis together.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Rani Kumudini Mayors of Hyderabad, India 2009 deaths 1911 births 20th-century mayors of places in India Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1967–1972 Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1962–1967 Women mayors of places in Telangana