Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Biography: Birthday, Early Life, Career, Personal Life, Achievements, Death

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Biography: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy is remembered as the sixth President of India and a seasoned statesman and administrator. Since he had been actively involved in the freedom movement since his youth, Reddy held several eminent positions before and after India’s independence. It is assumed that political leaders in our country play an unfair game when they occupy the position of the speaker and vote for parties on the same ticket.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Biography

Early Years

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was born to a prosperous farmer family in the Andhra Pradesh village of Illuru, Anantapur district. His early formal education was received at Theosophical High School in Adyar, Madras. Later, he enrolled at the Government Arts College in Anantapur to pursue higher education. Reddy’s life was profoundly affected by Mahatma Gandhi’s 1929 visit to Anantapur, which altered the trajectory of his life. As a consequence, he abandoned his studies in the middle of the semester and gave away his foreign clothing, only to dress in khadi.

Political Profession

Following Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Anantapur in July 1929, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, a massive nationalist spirit, joined the liberation struggle against the British. In 1931, he left college to actively partake in the freedom movement, which is significant. During that time, he was a member of the Youth League and a participant in Student Satyagraha.

He was elected secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Provincial Congress Committee in 1938 and served in that capacity for ten years. One may recall that he was also imprisoned for his involvement in the liberation movement. During the Quit India movement headed by Mahatma Gandhi, Reddy was imprisoned and spent the majority of his life between 1940 and 1945 in prison. During his incarceration from August 1942 until 1945, Reddy spent time with activists T Prakasam, S. Satyamurti, K. Kamaraj, and V V Giri. During his release in March 1942, he was arrested again in August and sent to the Amraoti jail.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was elected as the Congress representative to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1946 and assumed the position of secretary of the Congress Legislative Party. He was also a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly. From April 1949 to 1951, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy served as Minister of Home and Forest.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy served as the second Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from March 12, 1962 to February 20, 1964. Thus holding this position for over five years. Reddy was the MLA for Sri Kalahasti and Dhone when he assumed his second term as chief minister. The Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam multipurpose river valley project was initiated during his administration. In honour of Reddy, the government of Andhra Pradesh renamed the Srisailam project Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Sagar.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Achievements

From January 1966 to March 1967, Reddy served as the Union Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, Shipping, and Tourism in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Andhra Pradesh’s Hindupur constituency. On March 17, 1967, he was selected as the speaker of the Lok Sabha, which garnered him immense respect and admiration.

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Personal Life

On 8 June 1935, Reddy married Shrimati Nagarathnamma. The couple welcomed one son and three daughters into the world.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Death

After completing his term as president of India, Reddy returned to his village of Illuru and resumed farming. He died in Bangalore on June 1, 1996, at the age of 83.