Veerappa Moily

Bio

Moodabidri Veerappa Moily has lived a life immersed in the public realm of politics as also in the immersive world of literature.

He began as a lawyer in Karkala, litigating for tenant rights under the newly introduced Land Reforms Act, 1974. Simultaneously, he carried the fight outside the courts organising kisan sabhas across South Canara. Moily was discovered and introduced to the world of electoral politics by the then Chief Minister Devaraj Urs. As a people’s elected representative across six decades, Moily has served as Chief Minister of Karnataka and also held critical portfolios as a minister for law, education, youth services, culture, tourism, environment, forest, small scale industries, petroleum, corporate affairs, revenue and finance
in both the state and central governments. He conceived the Common Entrance Test (CET) system, a college admission policy for technical and medical education founded on merit, transparency and social justice. In 2005, he was appointed Chairman of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, Government of India (GoI) in recognition of his governmental acumen. Moily’s report as Chairman of the Oversight Committee, GoI aspired to resolve the serious conflict arising in the country over the introduction of 27%reservations to OBCs in premier institutions of India.

As a poet, dramatist and novelist Moily has authored 15 works, some of which have been translated into several languages, including Russian. He was awarded the Saraswati Samman in 2014 for his epic poem in Kannada, Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam which is in5 volumes containing 42,295 lines. His third epic poem BahubaliAhimsadigvijayam about Bahubali’s journey to become Gomateshwara of Sravanabelagola has received an award from the Kendra Sahitya Akademi in 2020.

Moily is the recipient of the Sansad Ratna 2022 – Life Time Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian Politics and the People of India.