Blasius D'Souza

Blasius M. D'Souza (22 February 1938 – 26 January 2008) was an Indian politician from Mangalore. A member of the Indian National Congress from Mangalore, he was the first Roman Catholic minister in the Karnataka state government.

Blasius M. D'Souza
Born(1938-02-22)22 February 1938
Mangalore, South Canara
Died26 January 2008(2008-01-26) (aged 69)
NationalityIndian

Biography

Blasius D'Souza was the son of AR D'Souza, a prominent businessman in Mangalore. He studied at St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, from where he graduated with a B.Com. degree in 1959. At St. Aloysius, he was president of the College Student's Union and also a member of the hockey team. He earned his L.L.B. from Siddhartha Law College, Mumbai, in 1961. He had five children, Anoop, Rohit, Sonia, Reema & Rovena. He hails from the Mangalorean Catholic community.[1]

Political career

Blasius D'Souza entered politics as a Mangalore City Council member in 1962 from Congress Party, where he served for 17 years. For seven years from 1972 to 1979 he was the Council President. He served as a District Chairman of Congress Committee in Dakshina Kannada district until recently. He was a Member of Legislative Council in Karnataka Legislature from 1980 to 1985 and represented Mangalore as a Member of Legislative Assembly for nine years. In the July 1991, he was appointed Law Minister of Karnataka in the Veerappa Moily government. He cleared an average of 25,00 files a month and created a record during his tenure as a minister. In November 1992, he was appointed Minister for Labour in a Cabinet Reshuffle, a position in which he served until 1994.

Death

Mr D'Souza died at 5:30 a.m. at the KMC hospital in Mangalore on 26 January 2008. His funeral was attended by Karnataka Congress leaders such as Veerappa Moily, Janardhana Poojary, B. Ramanath Rai, former ministers B. Nagaraja Shetty and B A Moideen, former MP Vinaykumar Sorake, local Congress leaders Ivan D'Souza and Naveen D'Souza among others. National politicians Oscar Fernandes and George Fernandes also attended.

Positions held
  • Member of Legislative Council
  • Member of Legislative Assembly
  • Minister for Law
  • Minister for Labour
  • Member, Indian National Congress.
  • President Students Union St. Aloysius College, Mangalore.
  • Chairman, City Central Library, Mangalore.
  • Senate Member, Mangalore University.
  • Member, Karnataka Telecommunication Advisory Board.
  • Vice-Chairman, Hind Kuhst Nivarana Sangha Mangalore.
  • Chairman Board of Visitors Govt. Venlock Hospital, Mangalore.
  • Member, Board of Visitors Lady Goschan Hospital, Mangalore.
  • Member, Mangalore Port Trust, New Mangalore
  • Member, Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission.
  • Member, Karnataka State Town and Country Planning Board, Bangalore.
  • Member, Planning Authority, Mangalore.
  • Founder, Patron Mangalore Wild Life Trust.
  • Founder-Chairman Millions of Tree Club, Mangalore.
  • Member, World Forestry Day Committee, New Delhi.
  • Member, Karnataka State Board for prevention and Control of Water Pollution, Bangalore.
  • Vice-Chairman, D.K. District Tuberculosis Assn. Mangalore.
  • Member Governing Council, Fr. Muller's Charitable Institution, Mangalore.
  • Founder President Mangalore Auto Rickshaw and Car Operators Co-operative Society, Mangalore.
  • Executive Committee Member KPCC (I) from 1979 to 1982.
  • President Dakshina Kannada DCC(I) from 1979 to 1992, 2001
  • Member Organisation Election Committee for Orissa State 1999.
  • Chairman, Membership Books Committee for Membership drive of the party in Karnataka 1999.
  • Observer Goa Legislative Assembly Election 1999.
  • Vice-President, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (I) Since 1998.
  • Chairman, Pradesh Election Authority for Goa.
  • Councillor Mangalore City Municipal Council 1962 to 1979
  • President Mangalore City Municipal Council 1972 to 1979.
  • President, Dakshina Kannada Hockey Association.
  • Member Governing Board Fr. Muller's Hospital, Mangalore.
  • Member, Governing Board St. Joseph's Engineering College, Mangalore.
  • Chairman, Cheshire homes India, Mangalore Unit.
  • Member, KPCC (I) and AICC (I).
  • Member, Library Committee
  • Member, Public Undertaking Committee
  • Member, House Committee
  • Member, SC/ST Committee
  • Member, Public Accounts Committee
  • Member, Managing Committee, SDM Law College, MG Road, Mangalore
  • Deputy Leader of the Indian Delegation to the 81st Session of the International Labour Organisation held at Geneva during the Month of June, 1994.

References
  1. "Mangalore: Former State Minister Blasius M D'Souza Passes Away". Daijiworld Media. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
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