Veerendra Heggade nominated to Rajya Sabha
Mangaluru, July 06, 2022: The Union government has nominated Dr Veerendra Heggade for Rajya Sabha.
He is one among the four nominated representatives from four South Indian states. The other three are PT Usha, Ilaiyaraaja and KV Vijayendra Prasad.
Dr Veerendra Heggade
Veerendra Heggade who took charge as the Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala Temple when he was 20, has brought several revolutionary changes in education and religous field.
He has been a devoted philanthropist for more than five decades and led various transformative initiatives for rural development and promotion of self employment.
He established the Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institute (RDSETI) to provide awareness about self-employment opportunities and train rural youth. The central government replicated this successful model and established Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) across the country.
Heggade has also conceptualized the Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, an initiative for inclusive rural development and self-employment in Karnataka. Currently, the project has more than 6 lakh SHGs and over 49 lakh members.
He also heads the Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Educational Trust, which provides quality and affordable education through more than 25 schools and colleges. Apart from these, he has led numerous initiatives for providing access to quality healthcare, social welfare, and preserving our cultural heritage. He has shown the world how service and spirituality merge beautifully. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.
Dr Heggade’s father Rathnavarma Heggade had served as the MLA of Belthangady. Manjayya Hegde had also served as the legislator of Madras Legislative Council.
PT Usha:
Born in a small village in Kozhikode district in Kerala, she is one of India’s most iconic sportspersons.
She has been a role model and inspiration for lakhs of young girls across the country who have dreamt of taking up a career in sports, especially track and field events.
Popularly known as the Payyoli Express, she has represented the country and won medals at various international sporting events, including the World Junior Invitational Meet, Asian Championships, and Asian Games. She has set and broken many national and Asian records during her career.
In the 1984 Olympics, she missed winning India’s first medal in track and field in a photo-finish as she stood fourth in women’s 400M hurdles and lost the Bronze medal by 1/100 second.
Post-retirement, she started the Usha School of Athletics, which offers world-class facilities to talented youngsters. Numerous athletes trained and mentored by her have gone on to represent the country and win medals at prestigious national and international competitions. This in itself is inspiring – to selflessly mentor young talent. • She is a recipient of the Arjuna award and the Padma Shri.
Ilaiyaraaja:
Born in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, he is regarded as one of India’s greatest music composers.
During his career, Ilaiyaraaja had to face innumerable hardships and caste-based discrimination. However, he overcame all such hurdles and emerged as one of the country’s leading musicians.
In a career spanning more than five decades, he has composed over 7000 songs for more than 1000 movies and performed in more than 20000 concerts across the globe. In 2018, he received the Padma Vibhushan. He has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan. He has received numerous laurels in his career, including five national film awards and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. His life is a living manifestation of how creative geniuses can rise overcoming all hardships.
KV Vijayendra Prasad:
Born in Kovvur in Andhra Pradesh, KV Vijayendra Prasad is one of the country’s leading screenwriters and film directors. He has written the story for many prominent Telugu and Hindi movies.
His notable works include some of the highest-grossing Indian movies, such as RRR, the Baahubali series, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Some of the movies he wrote have transcended sharp regional boundaries and become blockbusters across the country, a rare achievement. This is crucial for national integration and cultural unity. He has been instrumental in instilling cultural pride and nationalistic spirit through cinema. He has won numerous awards for story writing, including the Filmfare Award for best story in 2016 for Bajrangi Bhaijaan. His son S.S. Rajamouli is one of the country’s most famous film directors.
