Lokendra Singh Kalvi (1955-2023) was an Indian politician and activist who founded the Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS), a sect based in Rajasthan Organization working for the welfare and rights of the Rajput community. He is the son of Kalyan Singh Kalvi, a politician and a member of the Janata Dal. Lokendra Singh is also associated with several political parties, including the Indian National Congress and the Samajwadi Party. He came to the national spotlight for spearheading protests against the production and release of the Indian historical drama Padmaavat (2018). He died of a heart attack on March 14, 2023, at Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Wiki/Biography
Lokendra Singh Kalvi was born in 1955 (aged 68 at the time of death) from Kalvi, Nagaur district, Rajasthan. He studied at Mayo College and Government College, Ajmer. He is a national level basketball player.
appearance
Height (approximately): 6′2″
Weight: 120kg
Hair color: gray
Eye color: light brown
family and caste
He belongs to a Hindu Rajput family.
Parents and siblings
His father Kalyan Singh Kalvi served as agriculture minister in the government of Rajasthan from 1993 to 1998, during which time Bhairon Singh Shekhawat served as the state’s chief minister. Kalyan Singh later served as Energy Minister in the government led by Chandra Shekhar (1990-1991). His mother’s name is Radhe Kanwal.
wife and children
Lokendra Singh Kalvi is married and has two sons: Bhavani Kalvi and Pratap Kalvi. Bhavani Kalvi is a professional polo player.
Lokendra Singh Calvi’s son Bhavani Calvi
Lokendra Singh Kalvi’s son Pratap Singh Kalvi
religion
He believes in Hinduism. He worshiped the Hindu goddess Karni Mata, who was believed to be an incarnation of Jagadamba. She preached mainly among the Rajput royal family.
Lokendra Singh Calvi prays to Karni Mata
politics
In 1996, Lokendra Singh Kalvi contested on the Samata Party ticket and lost the Nagaur Lok Sabha seat. In 1998, he contested from the Barmer Lok Sabha seat on the BJP ticket but lost the seat. Ahead of the 2003 elections to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, he founded the Social Justice Front or Samajik Nyaya Manch, a group of Rajputs and Brahmins demanding reservation of rights for the economically backward upper castes. The party is led by the state’s veteran politician Devi Singh Bhati. The result was a crushing defeat – out of 60 candidates fielded by the party across Rajasthan, only one won a seat. Bhatti himself got the Bikaner Kolayat assembly seat. Soon, the two had a falling out and Karvi founded Karni Sena in 2006. Kalvi started working with the INC ahead of the 2008 Rajasthan Assembly elections. The Karni Sena led by Karvi has offered to extend support to the INC on the condition that the party provides a specified number of votes to the Rajput candidate. He also reportedly sought a congressional ticket to run in the 2009 election, but ultimately failed to do so. In 2010, he joined the INC and formed his own breakaway faction, Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS). Before the 2014 election, he joined the Popular Socialist Party but did not participate in the election.
Carnicena
The origins of Karni Sena date back to 2005, when Rajput leaders Lokendra Singh Kalvi and Tarun Pratap Singh Yaduvanshi tried to mobilize the Rajput community. However, the organization was formally established on September 23, 2006 in Chotvala, a suburb of Jaipur, with the core objective of demanding reservation of caste-based rights for Rajputs in government jobs and education. Additionally, it works to end the so-called “marginalization of Rajput figures in textbooks” and promote the election of Rajput legislators in the government. Ajit Singh Mamdoli was appointed as the first president of the organization. Differences between Kalvi and Mamdoli led to Kalvi leaving the organization and forming his own Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) in 2010. Kalvi appointed Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi as chairman of his faction. In 2015, Gogamedi was ousted on criminal charges and subsequently formed his own faction, the Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena. Kalvi subsequently appointed Mahipal Singh Makrana as the national president of his faction. In 2017, SRKS launched a protest against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat (2018), claiming that the film misrepresented the story of Padmini, the 14th-century Queen of Chittoor history that hurt the feelings of the Rajputs.
Lokendra Singh Calvi at a press conference
dispute
Objection to the release of the film Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
In 2008, the Kalvi-Karni Sena protested against the release of Ashutosh Gowariker’s historical film Jodhaa Akbar, which Starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. The Karni Sena points out that none of the 34 wives of Mughal emperor Akbar was named Jodhabai. Kalvi claimed that Akbar had an affair with Kakbai (also known as Heer Kumar), the eldest daughter of Amer king Raja Bharmal, on February 6, 1562 in Fatehpur Sikri. (Heer Kumar)) gets married. Akbar’s son Prince Salim was born in 1569. According to the Karni Sena, Jodha was the daughter of Udai Singh of Marwar and was married to Salim, not Akbar. He said in an interview with the media,
Jodhabai was the daughter of Motraja Uday Singh, she was three years younger than Salim, therefore, she could never be his mother…she was Akbar’s daughter-in-law. Therefore, the depiction of Jodha as Akbar’s wife cannot be tolerated. “
Karni Sena activists burnt posters of Jodhaa Akbar in Rajasthan. Activists also gathered outside Jaipur’s Rambha Palace hotel, where Abhishek Bachchan’s birthday party was scheduled to be held. They raised slogans against Aishwarya Rai’s role as Jodhabai in the film and against director Ashutosh Gowarikar. The group staged a series of protests against Gowarika in Rajasthan, demanding an apology from him for the content of the film. The Karni Sena party also moved court seeking a ban on the release of the film. According to reports, Karni Sena Party activists wrote bloody letters opposing the release of the film and sent them to theater owners.
Objection to televised Jodha Akbar show (2013)
In 2013, Ekta Kapoor’s historical drama TV show Jodha Akbar found itself in high controversy after Kani Sena objected because the show “distorted facts related to Rajput history” . They demanded that the show be stopped. Lokendra Singh Kalvi, founder of SRKS claimed,
The marriage of convenience between the Mughal emperor Akbar and the imaginary Rajput princess Jodha is historically incorrect. “
A handful of Karni Sena activists attacked Ekta Kapoor at the 2014 Jaipur Literature Festival. Activists threw bottles at her while raising slogans against her. The Karni Sena also attacked Zee Media offices in Jaipur and burned Ekta Kapoor’s effigies in a series of protests. Sena members claimed that Ekta Kapoor initially promised to change the show’s title but she reneged on her promise. As a result, Ekta quit as producer of the show.
Padma Ava Platoon(2018)
In 2017, the Kalvi-Karni Sena attracted national attention when it staged protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat (2018), starring Deepika Padukone. SRKS claimed that the film hurt the sentiments of the Rajputs by showing a romantic scene between Chittor queen Padmini and Alauddin Khilji in a dream sequence. Karni Sena led violent protests across India ahead of the film’s release in January 2018 and vandalized theaters showing the film. Speaking to the media during the protest, he said:
Gardanein katwayi hai mere badvajon ne. Apne sunehre itihaas ko kaali syaahi se mitne nahin dunga. ” (My ancestors sacrificed their lives (for honor). I will not let our golden history be stained by black ink)
Protesters vandalized the film’s sets and manhandled director Bhansali, tearing off his clothes. SRKS activists have threatened to behead Bhansali if he goes ahead with releasing the film. Mahipal Singh Makrana threatens physical violence against Deepika Padukone, says they will chop off her nose without hesitation, Meanwhile, Kalvi calls her “naachnewali”. Calvi also threatened to burn down all theaters showing the film, saying:
Jauhar ki jwala hai, bahut kuch jalega. Rok sako to rok lo. ” (This is the fire of “jauhar” and many things will burn. Stop us if you can.)
Rajput Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi addresses a press conference during the Padmaavat row (2018)
die
Lokendra Singh Kalvi died of heart attack on March 14, 2023, at SMS Hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Due to deteriorating health, he was admitted to the hospital fifteen days before his death. His body was brought back to his hometown of Kalvi village in Nagaur district for last rites.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education