Yashodhara Dasappa (1905-1980) was an

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

, social reformer and a Minister in the state of

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 ...

. She was politically aligned with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and served as a Minister in the Karnataka state governments headed by S. R. Kanthi (1962) and

S. Nijalingappa Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa (10 December 1902 – 8 August 2000) was an Indian independence activist, Indian National Congress, Congress Party politician, and lawyer who served two terms as the Government of Karnataka, Chief Minister of Karnat ...

(1969).

Personal life

Yashodhara Dasappa was born on May 28, 1905, in Bangalore to a

Vokkaliga Vokkaliga (also transliterated as Vokkaligar, Vakkaliga, Wakkaliga, Okkaligar, Okkiliyan) is a community, or a group of closely-related castes, from the Indian state of Karnataka. They are also present in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. As ...

family. She was the daughter of K.H.Ramaiah, a well-known social worker. Despite being born in a well-to-do family, she chose to become a social activist and join the

Indian freedom struggle 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. ...

. She was a student of London Mission School and later in Queen Mary's College in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. Yashodara was married to H. C. Dasappa, a former minister in the ministry under

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

and the younger son of the couple, Tulasidas Dasappa, was a Union Minister of state, in the

Charan Singh ministry Charan Singh was sworn in as Prime Minister on 28 July 1979, with outside support by India Congress and Yashwantrao Chavan of Congress (Socialist) faction as his Deputy PM. Just before Singh was to prove his majority in Lok Sabha, Indira Gandhi w ...

. She died in 1980.

Political career

She was reported to have been active in the Indian independence struggle as well as several social movements such as the ''Forest Satyagraha Movement'' of the 1930s which resulted in the imprisonment of over 1200 people, and the ''

Vidurashwatha Vidurashwatha is a village located in the Gauribidanur taluk of Chikkaballapur district in the state of Karnataka, India. Situated near the Karnataka–Andhra Pradesh border and about 6 km from Gauribidanur, it played a significant rol ...

episode'' of 1938 where 35 people were killed in a police firing. For partaking in this movement, she was jailed. Her home was a meeting point for underground Satyagrahi (independence struggle) activity. She wrote and gave many aggressive speeches against the government when it decided to name a building after Hamilton, who was known for his brutality against the protesters agitating for freedom. While serving as a senior minister in the Nijalingappa ministry, she made news by resigning from the post in protest against the lifting of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

in the state of Karnataka. The Government of India awarded her the third highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, in 1972, for her contributions to society.

References

External links

* * Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work 1905 births 1980 deaths Educators from Karnataka Indian independence activists from Karnataka Gandhians Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Politicians from Mysore 20th-century Indian educators Social workers Women Indian independence activists 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Women educators from Karnataka Social workers from Karnataka 20th-century women educators Women members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly {{India-activist-stub

Personal life

Political career

See also

References

External links