Rani Kumudini Devi

Rani Kumudini Devi (23 January 1911 – 6 August 2009) was an Indian politician and social worker who served as the Mayor of Hyderabad from 1963 to 1964.[1] A member of the Indian National Congress, she was the first female mayor of Hyderabad.[2] She also served as a Member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly representing Wanaparthy from 1962 to 1972.[2]

Rani Kumudini Devi
Devi in 1963
Mayor of Hyderabad
In office
1963–1964
Preceded byRam Moorthy Naidu
Succeeded bySarojini Pulla Reddy
Member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for Wanaparthy
In office
1963–1972
Preceded byPadmanabha Reddy
Succeeded byAyyappa
Personal details
Born(1911-01-23)23 January 1911
Wadepally, Hyderabad State, British India
Died6 August 2009(2009-08-06) (aged 98)
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
Children4

Early life

Rani Kumudini Devi was born on 23 January 1911 in Wadepally of Warangal district in present-day Telangana.[3] Her father, Pingle Venaktaramana Reddy, was a nobleman who would later become the Deputy Prime Minister of Hyderabad State.[1]

As a child, she moved to Hyderabad along with her family,[1] and completed her early education at St. George's Grammar School.[4] Her parents encouraged Devi to take part in activities generally dominated by boys, such as riding bicycles and horses, and playing sports.[1]

Career

She established the Sivananda Rehabilitation Home, a treatment centre for leprosy patients in 1958.[1]

Mayor of Hyderabad

She was elected the Mayor of Hyderabad in 1962.[5] The same year, floods struck Hyderabad as the Musi river overflowed, and Devi was in charge of the civic response.[5] She appealed to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for funds, who released ₹20,000.[5] She also prepared a flood-prevention plan for the coming years.[5]

Later career

In 1967, she was re-elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Wanaparthy. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, she assisted in the settlement of Bengali refugees who were camped around the Nagarjuna Sagar.[1]

She was active well into her nineties, raising funds for the Sivananda Rehabilitation Home.[1] In 2002, she established the Ramdev Rao Hospital, an 80-bed general hospital named after her husband.[6] She died on 6 August 2009 at the age of 98.[2]

Personal life

She was married to J. Rajaramdev Rao of Wanaparthy in 1928, and had four children.[1] Devi was friends with Dürrüşehvar Sultan, and the two women rode horses and played tennis together.[7]

References
  1. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (22 March 2011). "A life less ordinary". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. "Feisty and kind: the first woman mayor of Hyderabad". The Hindu. 20 November 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  3. Fatima, Sakina (22 November 2020). "Hyderabad to get its fourth woman Mayor; who are the other three?". The Siasat Daily. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  4. "Personalities". St. George's Grammar School. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  5. Akbar, Syed (20 November 2020). "58 years later, woman mayor to lead Hyderabad through flood crisis again". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  6. Kandepu, Venkatesh (19 November 2020). "Hyd తొలి మహిళా మేయర్ రాణి కుముదినీ దేవి, ఆమె సేవలు ఇప్పటికీ.. హ్యాట్సాఫ్!". Samayam Telugu (in Telugu). Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  7. Seshan, K. S. S. (30 October 2018). "The progressive princess of Hyderabad". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
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