BIOGRAPHY

V.Venkatappa was born on 17th June 1898; his father was Sri Patel Venkategowda and his mother, Shrimati Lingamma. He married Shrimati Yashodamma, and died on 20th April 1980 (aged 82).

EDUCATION

He attended Channapatna Government School, then Bangalore National School, and an intermediate school at Tumkur.

Early activities

In 1920, he led a Scout Farewell (as Scout Master) in the presence of Mysore Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar.

From 1918 to 1950, he ran a student hostel in Channapatna (for village students). He organized all Mysore Patel conferences in 1920. In 1924, he joined the Congress and participated in the freedom movement, undergoing imprisonment. He was a member of the Mysore People’s Federation between 1925 and 1937, and a member of the Mysore representative assembly between 1927 and 1936.

He was a member of the Bangalore District Board between 1927 and 1940, holding the office of President of the Bangalore District Board between 1929 and 1935.

In 1924, he joined Congress and participated in the freedom movement and underwent imprisonment. In 1924, he was a special invitee to the Belgaum Congress Conference. In 1927, he attended the Madras Congress conference as a member of the Mysore representative assembly.

In 1937, when Mahatma Gandhi visited Mysore state, his English speech was translated to Kannada by V.Venkatappa (at Channapatna). This is documented in the book “LIFE HISTORY OF GANDHIJI”.
Member of the legislative council from 1937 to 1948.
Member of the Constitutional Reforms Committee in 1938.
On 12th April 1938, he took a leading part in the Shivapura Flag Satyagraha and was arrested, serving a 3-month jail sentence.
Member of the Mysore constituent assembly between 1948 and 1949, and first elected President of the Mysore representative assembly in 1949. He was first Speaker of the Mysore legislative assembly between 1950 and 1952, and a member of the legislative assembly between 1952 and 1957.
In 1954, he was President of the “Vokkaligara Students Union” at Gokale institute and he built “Gandhi Smaraka Bhavana” at Channapatna. He valued writers, poetry, authors, and artists.
Member of Mysore legislative Council from October 1957.
Education Minister during Nijalingappa’s cabinet from April 1957 to April 1958. During this period, he introduced the UGC scale for teachers and approved the construction of “Manasa Gangotri – Mysore University”.
Chairman of Mysore Legislative Council from 1958 to 1960.
While chairman of the legislative council, he participated in the Common Wealth Conference held in Australia in 1960.

Re-elected to the legislative council from 1966 to 1972.

Karnataka’s Assembly June 18th Marks 74 years (2026)

The first Assembly had 99 elected and one nominated members

V Venkatappa.jpg 14-05-1952 to 18-06-1952

First meeting of Mysore Legislative Assembly

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 18, 1952, the compact Mysore Legislative Assembly (as it was called then) met at the Assembly Hall of the Old Public Offices that now houses the Karnataka High Court. As against the current Assembly strength of 224 elected members and one nominated member, the first Assembly had 99 elected members and one nominated member. While June 18 marks 70 years of the Legislative Assembly in post independence period, the history of the Assembly in Karnataka goes back to 1881 when the first Mysore Representative Assembly was formed.

Mysore Legislative Assembly debates, available in the Karnataka Legislature library, chronicles how the first session unfolded.

The Rajapramukh and the erstwhile ruler of Mysuru Princely State Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar appointed V. Venkatappa as the interim Speaker to administer oath to the members and conduct election to the post of the Speaker.

A House Fit For a Princess

Bengaluru House at Basavangadi.

The which stretches across a 140X180 plot, belonged to Princess Vani Vilas. The House was brought by V Venkatappa, who was the richest man in Old Mysore state. He owned 2000 acres of coconut Plantation and since he was the only son, inherited the whole property. An ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He spent a lot of time translating the Mahatma's speeches into kannada and repeating them to the masses when Mahatma Gandhi came to mysore in '37 and '39.

References

https://kla.kar.nic.in/council/members/exmembers/VVenkatappa.htm

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/karnatakas-assembly-turns-70-tomorrow/article65523380.ece

https://www.karnataka.com/govt/list-of-speakers/

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