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K. Chengalaraya Reddy

K. Chengalaraya Reddy became the first Chief Minister of Mysore State in 1947, right after India’s independence. He had spent years pushing for exactly this: an elected, responsible government for the princely state. His term lasted less than five years. It still marked a genuine turning point, from royal rule to democratic government, in what is now Karnataka.

K. Chengalaraya Reddy. Photo: Photo Division, Government of India. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

📑 Contents

1A Lawyer Who Pushed for Responsible Government
2Mysore Chalo, and a State That Renamed Itself
3Test Yourself
4A Transition, More Than a Tenure

A Lawyer Who Pushed for Responsible GovernmentNeed to Know

K. Chengalaraya Reddy, full name Kyasamballi Chengaluraya Reddy, was born on 4 May 1902, at Kyasamballi village, Kolar district.
He trained as a lawyer, and in 1930 co-founded the Praja Paksha (People’s Party), which pushed for responsible government in the princely state of Mysore.
In 1934, the Praja Paksha merged with the Praja Mitra Mandali to form the Praja Samyuktha Paksha, or Mysore People’s Federation.
He served twice as president of the Mysore Congress, in 1937-38 and again in 1946-47.
After India’s independence in 1947, he was a leading figure in the “Mysore Chalo” movement, which demanded an elected, responsible government for Mysore State.
He became the first Chief Minister of Mysore State on 25 October 1947, and held the post until 30 March 1952.
Kengal Hanumanthaiah succeeded him as Chief Minister, after Mysore State’s first general election under India’s new Constitution.

Mysore Chalo, and a State That Renamed ItselfGood to Know

He belonged to the Vokkaliga farming community, historically a major political constituency in the Mysore region.
The “Mysore Chalo” movement pushed for an end to direct administration under the Wadiyar dynasty’s princely government, in favour of elected representative rule.
His ministry took office before Mysore State’s first general election under India’s new Constitution.
Mysore State was later reorganised in 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, and renamed Karnataka in 1973.
His government inherited the administrative machinery of a princely state. It had to adapt this into a modern, elected one, in the first years after independence.
He later served as a Rajya Sabha member, from 1952 to 1957, and as a Lok Sabha member for Kolar, from 1957 to 1962.
During this period, he served as Union Minister for Housing and Supplies (1957-61), and later as Union Minister for Commerce and Industry (1961-62).
He served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 1965 to 1971, and died on 27 February 1976.

Test Yourself

A Transition, More Than a TenureGreat to Know

Reddy’s short tenure is remembered less for individual reforms, and more for the transition itself, from princely rule to elected government.
His later Union Cabinet postings and governorship gave him a long national political career. It outlasted his time as Mysore’s Chief Minister by over two decades.
Karnataka’s formal roll of Chief Ministers lists him first. The state itself was not renamed Karnataka until 1973, well after his tenure had ended.

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