H.Siddhaveerappa

Hanagavadi Siddhaveerappa (12 June 1906 – 28 April 1981) was an Indian barrister and politician from the State of Karnataka. He was a leader of the Indian National Congress and held multiple portfolios in the government of Karnataka including Home, Agriculture, Industries, Health, Information, and Municipal Governance. He also served as leader of the opposition in the Mysore Legislative Assembly between 1970 and 1971.

Early life Siddhaveerappa was born on 12 June 1906 in Hanagavadi, a village in Harihar taluk, in hitherto Chitradurga district (now part of Davanagere district) of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore (now in Karnataka). His family belonged to the Hindu family of Lingayats. He was the eldest of three children to his farmer father Gurusiddappa. The family grew up in poverty and led a hand-to-mouth existence.

Siddhaveerappa completing his schooling in Davanagere before moving to Mysore to pursue a degree in Maharaja's College, Mysore. He involved himself in student politics during this time and was elected secretary of the student union of the college. He went to secure a law degree from Fergusson College in Pune. Later, he began practice in Davanagere, usually taking up criminal more than civil cases. During this time, in the early 1940s, he also worked toward welfare of the local farmers, helping them with procuring farming implements among others. He retired from political life that year, and spent the rest of his life in Davanagere and Bangalore. Siddhaveerappa died on 28 April 1981 in Bangalore, aged 74.