Damodaram Sanjivayya (14 February 1921 – 7 May 1972) was an Indian politician who served as 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 terri ...

United Andhra Pradesh United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...

from 11 January 1960 to 12 March 1962.Life Hyderabad : Memorial for Sanjeevaiah
''The Hindu'' (21 April 2005). Retrieved on 23 September 2011. Sanjivayya was the first Dalit Chief Minister of an Indian state.

Early life

Damodaram Sanjivayya was born in a Mala family in Peddapadu village of Kallur Mandal in

Kurnool district Kurnool district is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the North western part of the state and is bounded by Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana in the north, Raich ...

. His father died when he was in young age. He studied at the Municipal School and he took a Bachelor's degree in Law from

Madras Law College Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is also referred to as Government Law College or GLC, Chennai. It was established in ...

. Even being a student, he actively participated in the

Indian freedom movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

Career

Damodaram Sanjivayya was Minister in the composite Madras State. He was the member of the provisional parliament 1950–52. In 1962, Sanjivayya also became the first Dalit leader from Andhra Pradesh to become All India Congress Committee president. He was Minister of Labour and Employment under

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...

between 9 June 1964 and 23 January 1966.

Chief Minister

Sanjivayya was the first Dalit Chief Minister of an Indian state. He wrote a book on Labour problems and industrial development in India, in 1970 published by Oxford and IBH Pub. Co., New Delhi. He introduced pension system for widows, elderly people, he established Lalitha kala academy in Andhra pradesh, he was the youngest chief minister ever in India, he introduced the office of Anticorruption Bureau , he completed the irrigation projects like Gajuladinne in Kurnool dist., Vamsadhara, Pulichintala and varadarajula swamy project near Atmakur in Kurnool dist.

Honours

* His statue was erected opposite Public Gardens in Nampally, Hyderabad * A park,

Sanjeevaiah park Sanjeevaiah Park is a public greenspace and park in the heart of Hyderabad, India. Built on along the banks of Hussain Sagar lake, the park is named after Damodaram Sanjivayya, an erstwhile Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The park is manag ...

on the banks of

Hussain Sagar Hussain Sagar (alternatively referred to as Tank Bund; ) is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad, Telangana, built by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1563. It is spread across an area of and is fed by the River Musi. A large monolithic statue of the Gau ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

was named in his honour. His grave is also located inside the park. *

Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) is a National Law University located at Sabbavaram, Anakapalli district, Andhra Pradesh, India constituted by the DSNLU Act, 2008. It offers 5 year integrated B.A LLB. (Hons.) course to e ...

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

one of the premier legal institutions in the country has been named in his honour. * India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour (INR 5.00) on 14 February 2008.

Early life

Career

Chief Minister

Honours

References

See also