Vatal Nagaraj is an Indian politician and social worker in Karnataka. He has served as a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the Chamarajanagar constituency three times. He founded Kannada Chaluvali Vattal Paksha (KCVP), a political party in Karnataka in 2018. Vattal is known for using comic methods such as cattle, donkeys, household items and even commodes to stage protests against the government in Karnataka.
Vatal Nagraj on donkey
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Vatal Nagaraj was born on Sunday, 29 May 1949 (age 74 years; as in 2023) in Vatalu, Mysore, Karnataka. Their zodiac sign is Gemini. His hometown is Bengaluru, Karnataka. He studied till class 10th from Government High School, Chamarajpet, Bengaluru.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
Vatal’s father’s name is Madappa. His father is no more.
wife and children
Vatal was married to Gyanambika, who died in 2020. He died on 5 August 2020 at a private hospital in Bengaluru at the age of 65. In an interview, their daughter shared how her parents fell in love and said,
My father had gone to T Narasimhapura village in the late sixties. He went with his friend to his friend’s sister’s house for lunch. There he saw a seventeen-year-old girl and fell in love with her at first sight. She was Gyanambike, daughter of his friend’s sister. She was serving food. My mother’s parents refused their marriage saying that they had no job, no house and no property but only because of their Kannada status. My grandmother even said that he was not good looking. My grandfather hated politicians. What’s more, my father kept going to jail. My mother was the eldest and they did not want her to suffer with a worker. My mother did not yield and had to accept defeat.”
Vatal Nagraj with his wife
They have a son and a daughter Anupama.
Address
Vatal resides at House No. 329, 2nd Block, 2nd Stage, RMV Extension, Bangalore-560094.
Signature
signature of vatal nagraj
livelihood
political
In 1989, he contested the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections and became the MLA from Chamarajanagar assembly constituency. In 1994, he again defeated Congress leader S. Won the assembly elections against Puttaswamy by a margin of 5982 votes. In 2004, he won his third term in the Chamarajanagar assembly constituency. In 2009, he contested the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Bengaluru South constituency but lost to MP Ananth Kumar. In 2018, Vatal became the president of Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha.
Protest for pro-Kannada reasons
Watal first attracted attention in the 1960s by joining a protest against dubbing Telugu films into Kannada. Due to his opposition to this practice, he became the leader of the movement. On 7 September 1962, he and his followers were arrested by the police after setting fire to Alankar Talkies in Bengaluru for showing a Hindi film. In 1964, he led a protest to remove a 150-year-old British Raj-era memorial pillar erected in memory of soldiers killed during the siege of Bangalore in 1791. They protested for two months and in October 1964, the Bangalore City Corporation removed the tomb and replaced it with a statue of Kempe Gowda. In 1996, he participated in solving the problems of the people in Karnataka and demanding jobs from the central government by establishing an organization called Kannada Chaluvaligaru. The organization also protected Kannada, Kannada language and culture.
An old image of Vatal Nagaraj captured by police during a protest
At the Miss World 1996 pageant, Wattal organized protests saying that it was unfair to evaluate women on beauty standards as some women may participate in such pageants for financial reasons. As part of their performances, they also arranged a program called “Rakshasi (Female Rakshas) Show”.
Vatal Nagaraja performing a Rakshasi (female demons)
In the 1980s, he led several protests supporting the Gokak movement, which aimed to establish Kannada as the primary language of the state. His style of organizing protests had a significant impact on many youth. In 2009, Nagaraj supported youth who were threatened by pro-Hindutva groups over the Valentine’s Day ban. In July 2016, he protested against Rajinikanth’s Tamil film Kabali because it was a non-Kannada film. In 2018, Watal had warned of protests against Rajinikanth when he visited Karnataka on the invitation of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. He also alleged that Rajinikanth was an anti-Kannada and pro-Tamil agent. On 9 September 2016, they observed a bandh in Karnataka after the Supreme Court announced the release of 15,000 cusecs of water from the Kaveri river to Tamil Nadu. In 2017, he protested outside the BMRCL office because the signs and direction boards in the metro rail were in Hindi. Talking about this in an interview he said,
Hindi is slowly entering Karnataka and no one accepts it. The state government is supporting it and not raising its voice, especially when officials like Governor Vajubhai Vala give speeches in Hindi in the Assembly. There is no strict rule anywhere that Hindi should be used officially along with the regional language and English. The Center can do as it wants elsewhere, but in Karnataka our mother tongue is Kannada and it should be used in public services like Metro.
In 2018, Vattal protested against the Mahadayi River water-sharing conflict between Karnataka and Goa, for which he and several Kannada organizations led a protest at the Freedom Park against the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This demonstration was organized on the same day as Narendra Modi’s visit to the city. The protesters, wearing black clothes and black armbands, were initially detained by police but eventually released. In 2019, he was arrested for wearing a police uniform during his protest for the implementation of the Raghavendra Auradkar Committee report on police reforms, which called for a 30-35 percent pay hike for police personnel.
Vatal Nagaraj arrested for dressing up as a policeman
In 2019, he organized a ‘sleep-in protest’ outside the Mysuru Palace following the death of a Dussehra elephant at the Mathigodu elephant camp in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. Watal suspected something suspicious in the elephant’s death.
Vatal Nagaraj sleeping during protest
In 2020, he urged the government to rescind its decision to set up the Maratha Development Authority with a fund of Rs. 50 crores for Marathi speaking persons. On 5 December 2020, he called for a statewide strike in protest. On 14 September 2023, he led a protest against the Tamil Nadu government at the Karnataka border in Attipalli, which led to his and 50 other participants being arrested. He was detained for raising slogans against the state government on the Cauvery water issue.
Vatal Nagaraj arrested from Karnataka border Attipalli
On 27 September 2023, they scheduled the Karnataka bandh on 29 September 2023. The decision to bandh came after a meeting between farmer leader Kuruburu Shantakumar, who had advocated for the Bengaluru bandh, and Vatal Nagaraj, who had called for the Karnataka bandh on the same date. After the meeting, they opted for separate strike and several organizations withdrew their support from both the initiatives.
car collection
He has a Scorpio.
property/property
movable property
- Bank Deposit: Rs. 1,00,000
- Motor Vehicle: Rs. 4,00,000
Immovable property
- Agricultural Land: Rs. 5,00,000
- Non-agricultural land: Rs. 2,30,00,000
- Residential Building: Rs. 1,00,00,000
Note: The given estimate of movable and immovable assets is as per the year 2018. It does not include property owned by his wife and dependents (minors).
net worth
His net worth is Rs. 3 crores for the financial year 2018-2019. This does not include the net worth of his wife and dependents (minors).
Facts/General Knowledge
- In 1964, he became the Bengaluru City Corporator. Nijalingappa, who was the Chief Minister of Karnataka at that time, offered him to join the Congress Party. He did not join the party because he liked activism more than politics. Talking about this in an interview he said,
I have my own party. Kannada chaluvali vataal paksha to which I am loyal. Every other party will try to use this image to further their interests. I may not hold any high position, but my voice resonates throughout Karnataka.
- In 2008, actor Satyaraj had commented on the Cauvery issue which had enraged Watal. In 2018, when Sathyaraj’s film “Baahubali” was released, Vattal said that he would not allow the screening of the film unless he publicly apologized for his comments made in 2008.
- In 2009, Vatal, as a KCVP member, was allotted coconut as the party symbol by the Election Commission for the Lok Sabha elections. Due to lack of party funds, he sold coconuts for Rs 50 in Bengaluru. 5 and Rs. 10 Collecting money from the public. This benefited them in two ways, one, through crowd-funding and promotion of their symbol and second, they collected Rs. Rs 35,000 in two days. The Election Commission protested against his actions saying that he had violated the model code of conduct by selling the party symbol. In response, he stopped selling coconuts and adopted a new method. He started dividing the coconut into two parts, offering one half as prasad and asking for contributions from the other half.
- The public is well aware of his unique methods of protest. In 2009, in protest against the lack of public toilets, he attempted to urinate in front of the Raj Bhavan, but was stopped by the police. Additionally, she rode a bullock cart to the Assembly to protest against rising fuel prices and wore a burqa to demonstrate against rape cases.
Vatal Nagraj wearing burqa
- In 2010, he contested the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP, the city’s civic authority) elections and in his election manifesto promised to create a Donkey Development Board and provide free haircuts and free buttermilk and juice to the people. After his announcement, a newspaper titled its article about him, ‘Watal’s pledge: Vote for me, save my ass.’
- In 2015, he organized a unique award ceremony for animals called Rajyotsava Award, named after a prestigious civilian honor in Karnataka. Various domestic animals like donkey, dog, buffalo, cow and bull were recognized at the ceremony. Vatal presented shawls and garlands to two donkeys.
Vatal Nagaraj giving awards to donkeys
- In 2016, it was reported that he organized 200–250 protests annually and declared 2,000 statewide bandhs in Karnataka.
- In 2018, Vattal organized a marriage ceremony for two sheep named Jacob and Caroline in Bengaluru. In an interview, he expressed his support for Valentine’s Day and urged the central government to declare it a holiday. Additionally, he called upon the state government to offer Rs. 50,000 to Rs. Rs 1 lakh to couples planning to get married. In a similar event in 2020, he got two horses named Raja and Rani married.
Vatal Nagaraj during the marriage of sheep
- He has a deep love for Kannada and Karnataka, having devoted more than two decades of his life to this state. He is reported to have organized 10,000 protests for the welfare of Karnataka and the Kannada language.
- He leads Kannada Para Okkoota, an alliance of pro-Kannada organisations.
- His dressing style is very different. He always wears dark glasses and a bucket cap in front of the camera. According to a media report, his wife was the only person who saw him without a hat.
Vatal Nagaraj (right) without goggles and cap in the 1970s
- Some politicians criticize the style of their protests and claim that it is meant to attract public attention as the protests are short-lived. According to him, the protest continues until a new issue emerges. While accepting that their demands are legitimate, these critics argue that the bandh called by them is not justified as they disrupt various activities in the state.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn