On 10th December former MEA and Chief Minister of Karnataka Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna passed away at age of 92 due to age-related illness. The last rites will be conducted at Maddur, Native of SM Krishna on Wednesday. The state government has already declared holiday for educational institutes and announced three days of state mourning for veteran politician and former Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Public entertainment programs have been banned across the stating the mourning periods, and the national flag will be flown at half-placed in all government buildings. His family relative Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar is looking for the arrangement for the last rites of the veteran leader. The Prime Minister Narendra paid his condolences to Krishna family and wrote in X:
“Shri SM Krishna Ji was a remarkable leader, admired by people from all walks of life. He always worked tirelessly to improve the lives of others. He is fondly remembered for his tenure as Karnataka’s Chief Minister, particularly for his focus on infrastructural development. Shri SM Krishna Ji was also a prolific reader and thinker.”
Personal Background
S.M. Krishna was born on May 1, 1932, in Somanahalli, Mandya district of Karnataka. He was the son of Mallaiah and grew up in a rural area that later influenced his grassroot approach to politics. During 1950s he pursed his education at Maharaja’s college, Mysore for his bachelor’s, then he attended Government Law College, Bangalore to obtain his degree in law. Later he moved to aboard for is highly education and earned Master of Laws from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, USA, further studied at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Where he forced on international law and diplomacy.
Political Career
Krishna joined Praja Socialist Party (PSP) in 1962 and won a seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, at a young age of 30 years, but he switched to Indian National Congress (INC) and won at Mandya, constituency on 1968 Lok Sabha elections. He was known for his charismatic oratory and firm stance on issues affecting Karnataka and India. Soon he was serving as Minister of Industry and Finance under Indira Gandhi in 1983 later continued under Rajiv Gandhi till 1985. Then he was first deputy chief minister and speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1992, soon became the member of the Rajya Sabha from 1996 to 2006.
Krishna become the Chief Ministry of Karnataka on 1999, succeeding J.H. Patel. His tenure as Chief Minster is regarded as the “Golden Era” for Bangalore development as a global IT hub. His policies attracted major foreign investment and promoted the growth of the Information Technology (IT) and biotechnology sectors in Karnataka.
He known his pro-urbanization approach modernized Bangalore’s infrastructure. Also, famously know for introducing Bangalore International Airport. Later in 2004 he signed and became the Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008 known for his strong administrative skills during this period. Lastly Krishna was appointed as Indian’s Minister of External Affairs on May 22, 2009 under Manmohan Singh government. Where he played importance role in shaping India’s diplomatic relationship, specially with the United States, China, and neighbouring countries.
Surprising, he resigned from the Indian National Congress in 2017, due lack of recognition for senior leaders and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Soon in 2019 a personal tragedy occurred where his son-in-law, V.G. Siddhartha, the founder of Café Coffee Day, died by suicide. Which drew national attention and highlight the personal challenges as public figure. Krishna known as the godfather of D K Shivakumar in politics and he commented
“The loss of S.M. Krishna, my political mentor, has caused immense sorrow. A guiding star of Karnataka’s political landscape has fallen.”
