Kalavati Bandurkar is an Indian farmer who first became popular when Rahul Gandhi visited her home in 2008 and then in 2023 when Amit Shah Amit Shah mentioned her name in his speech in the Indian Parliament.
Wiki/Biography
Kalavati Bandurkar (also spelled Kalawati Bandurkar) was born in 1956 in Maharashtra, India (age 67 years old; as of 2023). After her marriage, she settled in Jana village in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, India. She often rented farmland and worked on it.
Kalavati Bandurkar’s house in Jalna, Yavatmal
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Weight (approximately): 50kg
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: black
family
She was born into a peasant family.
Parents and siblings
There is not much information about her parents and siblings.
husband and children
Her husband, Parshuram Bandurkar, a farmer, committed suicide on December 23, 2005 because he could not repay a debt of Rs 1 lakh.
Pictures of Kalavati Bandurkar husband Parshuram Bandurkar
She has 9 children, 7 daughters and 2 sons. Her four daughters are Sonia Bandurkar, Sangeeta Kadaskar, Savita Khamankar (who set herself on fire in 2011) and Pa Papita Ramteke, who committed suicide by jumping into a well in June 2018. One of her sons died in an accident and the other was named Pritam Bandurkar.
Kalavati Banduka and her children
Kalavati Bandurkar with daughter Sonia Bandurkar (left) and son Pritam Bandurkar (right)
other relatives
Her son-in-law Sanjay Kadaskar, a part-time farmer and auto driver, committed suicide in December 2010.
Rahul Gandhi’s visit to China in 2008
Kalavati Bandurkar became famous in May 2008 when the famous Indian politician Rahul Gandhi visited her home and had dinner at her home. In 2009, he also mentioned her name during a speech in parliament. Since then, many NGOs and farmers’ organizations have come out in support of her. Sulanh International, an NGO led by Bindeshwar Pathak, opened a fixed deposit (FD) of Rs 30 lakh at the Maragaon branch of the Central Bank of India. She receives interest of about Rs 25,000 from the account regularly every month.
Rahul Gandhi at his home in Kalavati Bhandkar, May 2008
Kalavati Bandurkar works in her field
political ambition
Karavati entered politics with the support of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) to improve conditions in her area and she was even nominated as an independent candidate from Wani constituency in the 2009 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections; however, She later withdrew her nomination, citing poor health. VJAS chief Kishor Tiwari said her son-in-law threatened to commit suicide if she contested the elections. Tiwari also said Kalavati was under pressure from Congress workers to quit.
Facts/Trivia
- On August 9, 2023, Indian Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah mentioned Kalavati Bandurkar in his speech in the Lok Sabha and mocked Rahul Gandhi, said it was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who helped Karavati by providing her house, gas cylinders and other necessities, not Rahul.
- She also participated in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in November 2022.
Kalavati Bandurkar (in red sari) with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education