Rani Kumudini Devi

2021-11-28T01:59:39Z

136.185.37.62:

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{use Indian English|date=July 2021}}
{{Short description|Indian politician and social worker}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| office = [[Mayor of Hyderabad, India|Mayor of Hyderabad]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2009|08|06|1911|01|23|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1911|01|23|df=yes}}
| image = Rani_Janumpalli_Kumudini_Devi_died_2009.png
| caption = Devi in 1963
| termstart = 1963
| termend = 1964
| successor = [[Sarojini Pulla Reddy]]
| predecessor = [[Ram Moorthy Naidu]]
| termstart2 = 1963
| termend2 = 1972
| party = [[Indian National Congress]]
| office2 = [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] for [[Wanaparthy (Assembly constituency)|Wanaparthy]]
| birth_place = Wadepally, [[Hyderabad State]], [[British India]]
| predecessor2 = Padmanabha Reddy
| successor2 = Ayyappa
| death_place = [[Hyderabad]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], India
| children = 4
}}
'''Rani Kumudini Devi''' (23 January 1911 – 6 August 2009) was an Indian politician and [[social work]]er who served as the [[Mayor of Hyderabad, India|Mayor of Hyderabad]] from 1963 to 1964.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Dundoo|first=Sangeetha Devi|date=22 March 2011|title=A life less ordinary|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/A-life-less-ordinary/article14957408.ece|access-date=2 July 2021|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> A member of the [[Indian National Congress]], she was the first female mayor of Hyderabad.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|others=Special Correspondent|date=20 November 2020|title=Feisty and kind: the first woman mayor of Hyderabad|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/feisty-and-kind-the-first-woman-mayor-of-hyderabad/article33144887.ece|access-date=2 July 2021|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> She also served as a [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly]] representing [[Wanaparthy (Assembly constituency)|Wanaparthy]] from 1962 to 1972.<ref name=":1" />

== Early life ==
Rani Kumudini Devi was born on 23 January 1911 in Wadepally of [[Warangal district]] in present-day [[Telangana]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fatima|first=Sakina|date=22 November 2020|title=Hyderabad to get its fourth woman Mayor; who are the other three?|url=https://www.siasat.com/hyderabad-to-get-its-fourth-woman-mayor-who-are-the-other-three-2028995/|url-status=live|access-date=2 July 2021|website=The Siasat Daily|language=en-US}}</ref> Her father, Pingle Venaktaramana Reddy, was a nobleman who would later become the Deputy Prime Minister of [[Hyderabad State]].<ref name=":0" />

As a child, she moved to [[Hyderabad]] along with her family,<ref name=":0" /> and completed her early education at [[St. George's Grammar School (Hyderabad)|St. George's Grammar School]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Personalities|url=http://stgeorgesgrammarschool.in/Personalities.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129012921/http://stgeorgesgrammarschool.in/Personalities.aspx|archive-date=29 November 2018|access-date=2 July 2021|website=St. George's Grammar School}}</ref> Her parents encouraged Devi to take part in activities generally dominated by boys, such as riding bicycles and horses, and playing sports.<ref name=":0" />

== Career ==
She established the Sivananda Rehabilitation Home, a treatment centre for [[leprosy]] patients in 1958.<ref name=":0" />

=== Mayor of Hyderabad ===
She was elected the Mayor of Hyderabad in 1962.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Akbar|first=Syed|date=20 November 2020|title=58 years later, woman mayor to lead Hyderabad through flood crisis again|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/58-years-later-woman-mayor-to-lead-hyderabad-through-flood-crisis-again/articleshow/79312280.cms|url-status=live|access-date=2 July 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> The same year, floods struck Hyderabad as the [[Musi River (India)|Musi river]] overflowed, and Devi was in charge of the civic response.<ref name=":2" /> She appealed to Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] for funds, who released ₹20,000.<ref name=":2" /> She also prepared a flood-prevention plan for the coming years.<ref name=":2" />

=== Later career ===
In [[1967 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election|1967]], she was re-elected as the [[Member of the Legislative Assembly]] (MLA) for [[Wanaparthy]]. During the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], she assisted in the settlment of Bengali refugees who were camped around the Nagarjuna Sagar.<ref name=":0" />

She was active well into her nineties, raising funds for the Sivananda Rehabilitation Home.<ref name=":0" /> In 2002, she established the Ramdev Rao Hospital, an 80-bed general hospital named after her husband.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kandepu|first=Venkatesh|date=19 November 2020|title=Hyd తొలి మహిళా మేయర్ రాణి కుముదినీ దేవి, ఆమె సేవలు ఇప్పటికీ.. హ్యాట్సాఫ్!|url=https://telugu.samayam.com/telangana/news/rani-kumudini-devi-is-hyderabads-first-woman-mayor/articleshow/79305787.cms|url-status=live|access-date=2 July 2021|website=Samayam Telugu|language=te}}</ref> She died on 6 August 2009 at the age of 98.<ref name=":1" />

== Personal life ==
She was married to J. Rajaramdev Rao of Wanaparthi in 1928, and had four children.<ref name=":0" /> Devi was friends with [[Dürrüşehvar Sultan]], and the two women rode horses and played tennis together.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Seshan|first=K. S. S.|date=30 October 2018|title=The progressive princess of Hyderabad|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/princess-durru-shehvar-progressive-princess-of-hyderabad/article25368539.ece|access-date=2 July 2021|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Rani Kumudini}}
[[Category:Mayors of Hyderabad, India]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1967–1972]]
[[Category:Andhra Pradesh MLAs 1962–1967]]
[[Category:Women mayors of places in Telangana]]

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Rani Kumudini Devi