Nijalingappa was born on 10 December 1902 to a middle-class family in Haluvagalu, a small village in the Bellary district of the Madras Presidency.

[1] Nijalingappa later recalled that his "father's ancestors were all rich profligates" and that they "dissipated their wealth on gambling, drinking and womanising."

"[citation needed] He grew up in Davanagere and, as a child, was given a traditional education by Veerappa Master, an elder teacher.

[1] Like many other leaders of the Indian freedom movement, he received a blend of both traditional Indian-style and Western-style education.

He was influenced by the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and Rajendra Prasad, and began to take an active part in the freedom movement in his native Karnataka.

[7] In 1963, Nijalingappa as Chief Minister, decided to establish UAS along the lines of Land Grant College system of USA and passed the University of Agricultural Sciences Bill (Act No.

[12] Karnataka chief minister B. S. Yeddyurappa declared that he would name the sugar research institute in Belgaum after Nijalingappa.