Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

Born in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, he was jailed for participating in the Quit India Movement. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1946 as a Congress party representative. Reddy became the deputy chief minister of Andhra State in 1953 and the first Chief Minister of And Rao Pradesh in 1956. The Indian National Congress Party was founded by Reddy in 1958.

About Neelam Sanjiva Reddy in brief

Summary Neelam Sanjiva ReddyNeelam Sanjiva Reddy was the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Born in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, he was jailed for participating in the Quit India Movement. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1946 as a Congress party representative. Reddy became the deputy chief minister of Andhra State in 1953 and the first Chief Minister of And Rao Pradesh in 1956. He later retired from active politics but returned in 1975, responding to Jayaprakash Narayan’s call for \”Total Revolution\” against the Indira Gandhi Government. He died in 1996 and his samadhi is at Kalpally Burial Ground, Bangalore. In 2013, the Government of Andra Pradesh commemorated Reddy’s birth centenary. The Nagarjuna Sagar river valley project was renamed in his honour. The Srisailam project was also named after Reddy. The Indian National Congress Party was founded by Reddy in 1958. He worked with Prime Ministers Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Indira Gandhian. He had a son and three daughters with his wife Neelam Nagaratnamma. The couple had one son and one daughter with his second wife, Giani Zail Singh, who died in 1982. He is survived by his three daughters and a son-in-law, Ravi Agrawal, who was a member of the Rajya Sabha and served as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1967 to 1969. He also had two children with his third wife, Rani Nritya Reddy, who served as a Member of Parliament from Madras.

The Reddy family is still living in the same village, Anantsapur, where he was born on 19 May 1913. He studied at the Theosophical High School at Adayar in Madras and later enrolled at the Government Arts College at AnantAPur, an affiliate of the University of Madras, as an undergraduate. He dropped out of college in 1931 and was closely associated with the Youth League and participated in a student satyagraha. He joined the Indian struggle for independence from the British Raj following Mahatma Gandhi’s visit in July 1929. He served time with activists T Prakasam, S. Satyamurti, K Kamaraj and V V Giri till 1945. In 1951, in a closely contested election, Reddy won President of the Andhra. Pradesh Congress Committee defeating N G Ranga. He became its first Chief minister from 1 November 1956 to 11 January 1960. He held that office for over five years. In 1960, he resigned as Chief Minister after being elected as the first Indian National National Congress President. In 1962, he became Chief Minister for Sri Kalahasti Dhone and Srisuram multipurpose river valley projects were initiated during his stint as chief minister. He resigned on being elected President of Indian National. National Congress in 1960.