Bantwal Vaikunta Baliga (1895–1968) was a Konkani lawyer who played an active role in Indian governance and politics. He was actively involved in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

’s struggle for freedom and worked several times with

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. He was elected as MLA and subsequently became the Law Minister and Speaker of the

Mysore State Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later India, Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's c ...

Assembly. His term as Speaker spanned from March 1962 to June 1968. He is remembered for his parliamentary acumen, knowledge of legislative business, and understanding of parliamentary procedure. As the Speaker he was known to be very strict in conducting the House proceedings. He was also the founder president of Karnataka Library Association. The

Vaikunta Baliga College of Law Vaikunta Baliga College of Law (Formerly called as the Udupi Law College) was established in the year 1957 by late Dr.T.M.A.Pai. The college was named after Late Sri B.Vaikunta Baliga, a legal luminary and then minister of Law, Government of Myso ...

was established in the year 1957 and is named after Late Sri. Bantwal Vaikunta Baliga, a legal luminary and then minister of Law, Government of Mysore. He was born on 10 April 1895 at

Bantwal Bantwal () is a taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. It is located East of Mangalore city center. BC Road-Kaikamba of Bantwal is one of the fastest developing areas in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Along with BC ...

, sixteen miles from

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...

. He did his early schooling in th
Venkataramana school
and the Basel Evangelical Mission school in Mangalore. After clearing his intermediate examinations in Arts from St. Aloysius College, he went to Madras for higher education and passed from the Pachaiyappa's College Chennai and the University Examinations securing MacDonald Gold Medal for the year 1916-17. He studied Law at the Law College at Madras and set up practice in Mangalore. He joined the Canara Banking Corporation Ltd., (later become

Corporation Bank Corporation Bank was a public-sector banking company headquartered in Mangalore, India. The bank had a pan-Indian presence. Presently, the bank has a network of 2,432 fully automated CBS branches, 3,040 ATMs, and 4,724 branchless banking units ...

) as a Director in about 1926 and continued as a Director till 1957, resigning the Directorship consequent upon the acceptance of a seat in 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 ...

Cabinet. He was also the Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canara Public Conveyance Company, Limited. He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canara Mutual Assurance Company, Limited, till it was nationalized. He was the Inaugural President of the Academy of General Education at Manipal which later became Manipal Academy of Higher Education. He delivered the Inaugural Convocation address at

Kasturba Medical College Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, together known as KMC, are two private medical colleges in coastal Karnataka, India, established in 1953.Gauranga Gauranga is another name for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (or Gauranga Mahaprabhu), the 16th century Bengali avatar and founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The term ''Gauranga Mahaprabhu'' references Lord Chaitanya possessing the golden complexion of Sri ...

days or Kashi Vidyapeet of old. One need not get disheartened by the small beginnings of the institution. It is pregnant with possibilities. Great things have all come out from small and humble beginnings." He was an Honorary Life Member of th
Kanara Chamber of Commerce
for services rendered in establishing the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and was the President of the Chamber for one year. He was a member of the Council of the Management of the

Canara High School Canara High School is an educational institution in Mangalore which was founded by Ammembal Subba Rao Pai in 1891. He is also popular as the founder of Canara Bank, now a major nationalized bank in India. Since 1944, when a sister school was op ...

and the associated group of institutions. He was the Vice-President and later, the President o
Iswarananda Mahila Sevashram
at Mangalore, an organization which worked towards the upliftment of women. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Investment Trust, Ltd.(now defunct), and the President of Deenabandhu Seva Sangha (now defunct), Mangalore; a member of the District Board and the Leader of the Congress Party in 1942 and resigned membership and came out of the Board. He was elected a member of the Madras Legislative Assembly and was a member of the Hospital Advisory Committee in Mangalore and a member of the Development Board of South Kanara. He Amended the bill for the Reorganisation of states in 1956 in the

Madras Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members of whom are democratically elected using the First-past-the-post system. The presiding officer of the Assembl ...

. He was elected Legislative Assembly from the

Mangalore City The Mangalore City Corporation is the municipal corporation responsible for overseeing the local administration of the Indian city of Mangalore and it's suburbs, which are a major urban area and the most important port city of karnataka state. ...

in the 1957 General Elections and was minister for Labor and Legal Affairs from April 1957 to May 1958; was again Minister for Law and Labor from February 1961 to March 1962. He was re-elected to the Mysore Legislative Assembly General Elections from Belthangady Constituency in 1967. He died while he was the Speaker of Mysore State assembly on 6 June 1968. His death was condoled at the

Baliga married Sharada (nee Karkal Gowri Rao). They had 4 sons and 5 daughters. One of his sons Ram Krishna Baliga, was the Founder of the Electronic City in Bangalore.

References

*http://www.kla.kar.nic.in/assembly/elib/pdf/eresources/Vaikunta%20Baaliga.pdf Inaugural Convocation Address Kasturba Medical College {{DEFAULTSORT:Baliga, Bantwal Vaikunta 1895 births 1968 deaths Karnataka politicians 20th-century Indian lawyers People from Dakshina Kannada district Indian independence activists from Karnataka Madras MLAs 1952–1957 Mysore MLAs 1952–1957 Mysore MLAs 1957–1962 Mysore MLAs 1962–1967 Mysore MLAs 1967–1972