Former Karnataka CM SM Krishna, architect of Brand Bengaluru, dies at 92
Krishna was Karnataka CM from 1999 to 2004 and EAM from 2009 to 2012; he was the major force behind putting Bengaluru on the global IT map
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, the architect of Brand Bengaluru who put the Karnataka capital on the global IT map, has passed away aged 92.
Krishna — SMK to his friends and the inner circle — who had been ailing for months and hospitalised several times since October, reportedly died at home around 2.40 am on Tuesday (December 10).
Krishna is survived wife Prema Krishna, and two daughters — Malavika Krishna and Shambhavi Krishna.
Honours and recognitions
Suave and sophisticated, Krishna served as Karnataka’s chief minister from 1999 to 2004, the Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008, and the external affairs minister from 2009 to 2012 during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. Since 2012, when he lost the ministry, Krishna maintained a low profile.
In March 2017, he quit the Congress to join the BJP, ending his nearly 50-year-long association with the Grand Old Party. Last year, Krishna was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his six-decade political career.
“My parents will be pleased and happy for that the honourable Prime Minister and Home Minister have thought it fit to confer this prestigious distinction on me. I’m grateful to the government of India and I’m also grateful to the people of Karnataka,” Krishna said after receiving the award.
He also retired from active politics last year.
Early life
Krishna was born in Somanahalli in Mandya district on May 1, 1932. He graduated from the Maharaja’s College in Mysuru and earned his law degree from the Government Law College in Bengaluru.
Then, he went to the US to study at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and the George Washington University Law School in Washington DC as a Fullbright Scholar. Back in India, he worked as a Professor of International Law at Renukacharya Law College.
His political career took off in 1962 when he won the Maddur Assembly seat as an Independent candidate. He later associated himself with the Praja Socialist Party before joining the Congress.
The attorney-at-law debuted in the Parliament in 1968 as a “Socialist” MP and became a member of the fourth Lok Sabha.
He went on to become a member of both the Karnataka Assembly and Council, and of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha (1996–1999), and also served as the Speaker (1989), and the deputy chief minister (1993–1994). He was also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president ahead of the 1999 Assembly polls, which the party won and he became the chief minister.
Also read: How Siddhartha may have doused Veerappan fire for SM Krishna
Highs and lows
As the Karnataka chief minister, from October 11, 1999, to May 28, 2004, Krishna constituted the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), of which Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani was also a part.
Hi tenure was not easy. It was also the era of infamous sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, who kidnapped actor Dr Rajkumar on July 30, 2000.
The actor was in the smuggler’s custody for 108 days, sparking violent protests and fan suicides in the state. Krishna’s tenure also saw violent Cauvery protests.
At the same time, Bengaluru’s world-famous IT sector grew under Krishna, making it what it is today.
(With agency inputs)
