Lokendra Singh Kalvi (Karni Sena) Age, Death Caste, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Politician
Known for	Being the founder of Shri Rajput Karni Sena
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 185 cm in meters- 1.85 m in feet & inches- 6’ 1”
[1]Hindustan Times Weight	in kilograms- 120 kg in pounds- 265 lbs
Eye Colour	Light Brown
Hair Colour	Grey
Politics
Political Party	• Samata Party (1996) • Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (1998) • Samajik Nyaya Manch (2003) • Indian National Congress (2008) • Bahujan Samaj Party (2014)
Political Journey	• He contested and lost the 1996 general elections from the Nagaur Lok Sabha constituency on Samata Party's ticket. • He contested and lost the 1998 general elections from the Barmer Lok Sabha constituency on BJP’s ticket.
Personal Life
Date of Birth	1955
Birthplace	Kalvi, Nagaur district, Rajasthan
Date of Death	14 March 2023
Place of Death	Sawai Man Singh Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Age (at the time of death)	68 Years
Death Cause	Heart attack [2]The Economic Times
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Nagaur, Rajasthan
College/University	• Mayo College, Ajmer, Rajasthan • Government College, Ajmer, Rajasthan [3]Hindustan Times
Religion/Religious Views	Hinduism Note: He is often spotted offering his prayers to Karni Mata, the tutelary deity of the Rajputs and Charans of northwestern India. The Hindu goddess is believed to be an incarnation of Jagadamba.
Caste	Rajput [4]Hindustan Times
Controversies	• Opposing the release of the film Jodhaa Akbar (2008): Kalvi-Karni Sena launched a protest against the release of Ashutosh Gowariker's historical film Jodhaa Akbar, starring Aishwarya and Hrithik Roshan, in 2008. The SRKS cited that the film had distorted facts about the relationship between Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar and Rajput princess Jodhabai. According to them, Jodhabai was not the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber. Instead, Maharaja Udai Singh of Marwar was her father and she was married to Akbar's son Salim alias Jehangir. They said that Akbar instead was married to Karkbai alias Heer Kumar, the elder daughter of Raja Bharmal. While claiming the same before the media Lokendra Singh Kalvi said, "Jodhabai was the daughter of Moteraja Udai Singh and she would have been three years younger than Salim and hence, in no way could she have been his mother... she was Akbar's daughter-in-law. So, depicting Jodha as Akbar's wife is not tolerable." The agitated activists of Karni Sena burnt posters of Jodhaa Akbar in Rajasthan. They also organised a gathering outside the Rambagh Palace hotel in Jaipur, where Abhishek Bachchan was going to hold his birthday party. They shouted slogans against Aishwarya Rai for playing the role of Jodhabai in the film. The outfit also demanded an apology from Gowarikar for the content of the film. Later, the Karni Sena moved to court seeking a ban on the release of the film. Allegedly, activists of the Karni Sena wrote letters in blood and sent them out to various theatre owners requesting them to not screen the film. [5]Hindustan Times • Opposing the telecast of the show Jodha Akbar (2013): In 2013, Karni Sena launched a nationwide campaign against Ekta Kapoor citing that she had distorted facts relating to the Rajput history in her historical drama TV show Jodha Akbar that aired on Zee TV. They held protest marches against Ekta, demanding that the show be taken off the air. Kalvi said, "A marriage of convenience between the Mughal emperor Akbar and an imaginary Rajput princess, Jodha, is historically incorrect." In 2014, Agitated activists attacked Ekta Kapoor at Jaipur Literature Festival by throwing bottles at her and raising slogans against her. During the series of protests, Karni Sena also tried to vandalize the Zee Media office in Jaipur and burnt an effigy of Ekta Kapoor. Apparently, Ekta Kapoor had promised to change the name of the serial but she backtracked on her promise. Consequently, Ekta backed out as a producer for the show. [6]The Times of India [7]Hindustan Times • Padmaavat row (2018): Karni Sena attracted national attention in 2017 for launching a protest against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, Padmavati (later changed to Padmaavat). The film features Deepika Padukone in the titular role. Karni Sena alleged that the film contained a dream sequence showing romance between Chittor queen Padmini and Alauddin Khilji which hurt the religious sentiments of Rajputs. During the series of protests, SRKS activists vandalised the film’s sets and manhandled Bhansali by tearing off his clothes, threatening to behead him. Mahipal Singh Makrana threatened Deepika Padukone saying that he would not hesitate to chop her nose; meanwhile, Kalvi called her “naachnewali”  for wearing inappropriate clothing in a song of the film. Additionally, Kalvi made threats to burn down any theatre which screens the film saying, [8]India Today "Jauhar ki jwala hai, bahut kuch jalega. Rok sako to rok lo. (This is the fire of ‘jauhar’, a lot of things will burn. Stop us if you can.)”
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Name Not Known
Children	Son- Bhavani Kalvi (Polo player), Pratap Kalvi
Parents	Father- Kalyan Singh Kalvi (politician) Mother- Lad Kanwar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Lokendra Singh Kalvi

• Lokendra Singh Kalvi was the leader of the Rajput organisation Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS). He was also associated with various political parties, including the Indian National Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party. He is the son of Kalyan Singh Kalvi, who served as the Agriculture Minister in the Government of Rajasthan during the period when Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was Chief Minister.

• He was born into a family of politicians that have been hereditary landlords in Kalvi village, Nagaur district, Rajasthan. His father, Kalyan Singh Kalvi, was a prominent politician of Janta Dal from Rajasthan who was also elected to the 9th Lok Sabha in the general election of 1989 from the Barmer constituency. Kalyan Singh Kalvi served as the Minister of Energy in the short-lived Chandrashekar government that came to power at the centre in 1990.

• In 2003, he formed Samajik Nyaya Manch (Social Justice Front) with an estranged BJP leader Devi Singh Bhati ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan. Mainly consisting of Rajputs and Brahmins, the party advocated for reservation for economically backward Rajputs. The result was disappointing as the party won just one seat, Kolayat in Bikaner, out of the 60 candidates that it had fielded; Devi Singh was elected as the MLA of Kolayat. Later, Kalvi and Bhati fell out over differences in their views on caste-based politics.

• Kalvi’s association with INC began in 2008 ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan. Kalvi-led Karni Sena promised their support to Congress on the condition that the party would allot a specified number of tickets to Rajput candidates.

• Reportedly, he desired to contest the 2009 general elections on INC’s ticket, but the party did not field him.

• He joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ahead of the 2014 general elections, but he did not contest the elections.

• On 23 September 2006, Lokendra Singh Kalvi founded the Karni Sena, with the central aim of demanding caste-based reservation for Rajputs in government jobs and education. However, the origin of the organisation can be traced back to 2005 when Kalvi and Tarun Pratap Singh Yaduvanshi were attempting to mobilise the Rajput community in Jhotwara, a suburban area of Jaipur. The organisation also made efforts towards ending the alleged “sidelining of Rajput figures in textbooks.” Furthermore, it worked towards promoting the election of Rajput legislators in the government. Ajeet Singh Mamdoli was the first president of Karni Sena. However, differences arose between Kalvi and Mamdoli, leading Kalvi to leave the organisation in 2010. Thereafter, Kalvi formed the splinter faction Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) and appointed Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi as its president. In 2015, Karni Sena ousted Gogamedi when criminal charges of serious nature surfaced against him. Gogamedhi split with Kalvi and defected to form his own faction, Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, in 2015. Meanwhile, Kalvi appointed Mahipal Singh Makrana as the state president of his SRKS.
  

  Lokendra Singh Kalvi during a press conference

• He is considered a rival to Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and had organised numerous rallies against her policies, during her 1st stint as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan.