Basappa Danappa Jatti () (10 September 1912 – 7 June 2002) was the fifth
vice president of India
The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...
, serving from 1974 to 1979. He was acting
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...
from 11 February to 25 July 1977.He also served as the
Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Jatti rose from a being a Municipality member to India's second-highest office during a five-decade-long chequered political career.
Early life
Jatti was born in a
Kannada speaking Lingayat
Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and ''Veerashaivism'' have been ...
family at Savalgi in
Jamkhandi Taluk of
Bijapur district in present-day
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
on 10 September 1912. His parents were Dasappa Jatti and Sangamma. Jatti studied at the Bijapur Government High School and obtained a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree from
Rajaram College
Rajaram College, Kolhapur ( Marathi: राजाराम महाविद्यालय, कोल्हापूर) is a government college affiliated to Shivaji University in Kolhapur. It offers junior college-level courses such as 11th ...
and a degree in law from the Sykes Law College,
Kolhapur
Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'.
Kolhapur is ...
. Jatti practiced as a lawyer for a while in Jamkhandi before being elected to the Jamkhandi municipality in 1940 and going on to become its president.
He was elected to the Jamakhandi State Legislature, becoming a minister and subsequently its Chief Minister.
Early political career
In 1940, he entered politics as a Municipality member at Jamkhandi and subsequently became the President of the Jamkhandi Town Municipality in 1945. Later, he was elected as a member of the Jamkhandi State Legislature and was appointed a minister in the government of the princely state of Jamkhandi. Finally, he became the 'dewan' (
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 terri ...
) of Jamkhandi state in 1948. As dewan, he maintained cordial relations with the Maharaja, Shankar Rao Patwardhan, and brought about the accession of the small principality to the Indian Union. On 8 March 1948 after Jamkhandi was merged with Bombay state, he returned to legal practice and continued with it for 20 months.
Later, Jatti was nominated as a member of the
Bombay State Legislative Assembly to represent the merged area, and within a week of his nomination, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the then Bombay Chief Minister,
B. G. Kher. He worked in that capacity for a couple of years. After the 1952 general elections, he was appointed Minister of Health and Labour of the then Bombay Government and held that post till the reorganization of states. His autobiography, 'I'm my own model', is very popular.
Chief minister of Mysore state
Jatti became a member of the
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
Legislative Assembly after the reorganization and was Chairman of the Land Reforms Committee, which paved the way for the 1961 Mysore Land Reforms Act (which abolished the tenancy system and absentee landlordism). He was the Chief Minister and
Kadidal Manjappa
Kadidal Manjappa (1908–1992) was the third Chief Minister of Karnataka (then, Mysore State) for a short period of time in 1956 (19 August 1956 – 31 October 1956).
He hailed from the village of Kadidal in the nature rich Tirthahalli taluk o ...
was the Revenue Minister when the Bill was adopted. In 1958, when
S. Nijalingappa stepped down as Chief Minister of the state, Jatti was elected leader of the party in the face of a stiff challenge from Congress veteran T. Subramanya. He became the
Chief Minister of Mysore in 1958 and continued in that office until 1962.
In the
assembly election of 1962 to the Mysore Legislative Assembly, Jatti was reelected from Jamkhandi. He however was forced to resign as Chief Minister since he did not command the support of a majority of elected legislators of the Congress Party and was succeeded by
S. R. Kanthi.
Later political career
Jatti subsequently was
Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry
Puducherry (formerly known as "Pondicherry") is a Union Territory of India. Governance and administration of the territory fall directly under federal authority.
Chief Commissioner (1954 1963)
After the ''de facto'' transfer of French sett ...
from October, 1968 to November, 1972. Jatti was appointed
Governor of Orissa in November, 1972. On March 1, 1973 the ruling Congress government led by
Nandini Satpathy
Nandini Satpathy (9 June 1931 – 4 August 2006) was an Indian politician and author. She was the Chief Minister of Odisha from June 1972 to December 1976.
Early life
Nandini Satpathy nee Panigrahi was born on 9 June 1931 to Kalindi Chara ...
resigned after it lost its majority in the
legislative assembly. Although the leader of the opposition,
Biju Patnaik
Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha.
Early life
His parents lived in Bellaguntha, Ganjam dist ...
, staked his claim to form the government and demonstrated the support of a majority of legislators, Jatti chose to
prorogue
Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a parliament, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a dissolution of parliament. The term is also used for the period ...
the assembly session on the advice of Sathpathy and on March 3, 1973 recommended
President’s rule in the state. Jatti, with the aid of advisors administered the state during the period of President’s Rule which continued until Mach, 1974. He resigned as Governor in August, 1974 to contest in the
Vice Presidential election of 1974. In the election, Jatti defeated the opposition candidate
N.E. Horo winning 521 votes in the
electoral college against 141 polled by Horo. Jatti was declared elected on 27 August 1974 and sworn in as the
Vice President of India
The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...
on August 31, 1974.
Following the death in office of
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of India from 1974 to 1977.
Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the ...
on February 11, 1977, Jatti was sworn in as the
Acting President of India the same day. Following the defeat of the Indian National Congress in the
General Elections of 1977, Jatti asked Indira Gandhi to continue as
caretaker Prime Minister and, on the recommendation of the
Cabinet, revoked the
Emergency
An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
on March 21, 1977. Jatti swore in
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...
as Prime Minister on March 24, 1977. In April, 1977, the
new government recommended the dismissal of governments and the dissolution of
legislative assemblies in states ruled by the Congress Party. Although Jatti initially hesitated to accept the Cabinet’s recommendation, he agreed to it a day later and dismissed governments in nine states. Jatti was succeeded by
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (; 19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence ...
as
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...
on 25 July 1977 following his unopposed election to the presidency in the
presidential election of 1977.
Public offices held
* 1945–48: Minister for Education in the erstwhile princely state of Jamkhandi
* 1948 : Chief Minister (dewan) of Jamkhandi
* 1948–52: Parliamentary Secretary in the
B. G. Kher Government in erstwhile
Bombay State
* 1953–56: Deputy Minister for Health and Labour in the
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...
Government in Bombay
* 1958–62: Chief Minister of Mysore state
* 1962–68: Cabinet minister, Government of Mysore
* 1968–72: Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry
* 1972–74: Governor of Odisha
* 1974–79: Vice-President of India
* Acting President for six months in 1977
Religious activities
A deeply religious man, Jatti was the founder president of the "Basava Samithi", a religious organisation which propagated the preachings of 12th-century saint, philosopher and reformer of
Lingayat
Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and ''Veerashaivism'' have been ...
community
Basaveshwara.
The Basava samithi established in 1964 has published many books on Lingayatism and Sharanas and has got the 'vachanas' of sharanas translated into various languages.
He was also involved in various organisations concerned with social activities.
Death and legacy
He died on 7 June 2002.
He was hailed as a man who set an example of selfless service and stood for value-based politics.
He was once called an ordinary man with extraordinary thought, and he named his autobiography, ''I'm My Own Model''.
His centenary celebrations were held in 2012.
See also
*
List of Chief Ministers of Karnataka
The chief minister of Karnataka, formerly known as the chief minister of Mysore, is the chief executive officer of the government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnataka is the state's ''de j ...
*
Governors and Lieutenant-Governors of states of India
*
List of Governors of India
Notes
References
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jatti, Basappa Danappa
1912 births
2002 deaths
Chief Ministers of Karnataka
Governors of Odisha
History of Mumbai
20th-century Indian lawyers
Kannada people
Lingayatism
Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry
People from Bagalkot district
Presidents of India
Vice presidents of India
Acting presidents of India
Chief ministers from Indian National Congress
People from Jamakhandi
Mysore MLAs 1952–1957
Mysore MLAs 1957–1962
Mysore MLAs 1967–1972
Members of the Mysore Legislature
Indian National Congress politicians