The Urs Era

NS Shankar

The Urs Era Tr: SR Ramakrishna, SN Deepak

D Devaraj Urs Birth Centenary Committee Department of Backward Classes, Devaraj Urs Bhavan III Floor, Millers Tank Bed Area, Vasantanagar, Bengaluru- 560 052

The Urs Era  1 The Urs era- a biograhy of D Devaraj Urs written by NS Shankar Translated by SR Ramakrishna and SN Deepak Published by: D Devaraj Urs Birth Centenary Committee, Department of Backward Classes, Devaraj Urs Bhavan, III Floor, Millers Tank Bed Area, Vasantanagar, Bengaluru- 560 052 Book Design: NS Shankar Pages: 114+4

First print: 2018

© Department of Backward classes

Disclaimer: the views expressed in this book are author’s alone. Either the government or the D Devaraj Urs birth centenary committe or the Department of backward classes are in no way to be held responsible.

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Preface

In celebrating the birth centenary of former Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs, it is the intention of the government to introduce to the new generation, the life and achievements of that illustrious leader who strove for the over all progress of the state. Seminars, publication of books, training camps for youth, plays, ballets- these are all planned for a whole year as part of the centenary celebrations. Devaraj Urs was a mass leader who emerged from among the people. Though he did not experience untouchability, inequality and humiliations first hand, he willed to uproot this inhuman system and succeeded. He firmly believed that unless the doors of power, wealth and opportunities were opened for everyone, development was not possible. That was why he handpicked leaders from backward classes, Dalit and minority communities and nurtured them politically. He achieved equitable distribution of wealth through land reforms. He ensured greater representation to deprived classes through reservation in jobs and education. Many elders’ philosophy has inspired me and guided my political career. D Devaraj Urs occupies a special position

The Urs Era  3 among those elders. Like him, I am also a son of Mysuru soil and this is a matter of pride to me. Karnataka has a long history of social justice. Starting from Basavanna to Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar and Devaraj Urs, several great souls have drawn this chariot of justice this far. The onus of taking this further lies on my government and me as Chief Minister. Social justice is a principle close to my heart. I am experiencing how difficult it is to carry the commitment for social change in practical politics. Whenever I feel disheartened, I recall the difficulties faced by Urs and steel myself to move ahead. Devaraj Urs has been a role model to anyone interested in building the state, beyond party or caste. The birth centenary of his that we are celebrating is a tribute paid to him by the entire state.

Siddaramaiah Chief Minister

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Message

D Devaraj Urs was one of the most illustrious chief ministers of the state. He was known as the harbinger of social justice. He identified communities that had no voice and brought them to the mainstream of society. He was a rare visionary who created a new awakening through the Havanur report. When the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi set out to implement programs to empower Dalits, the suppressed, exploited and backward classes through her 20 Point Program, credit should go to Urs for realising her dream. Karnataka was one of the states that implemented the program in a meaningful way. He eradicated many social evils by making land owners of tillers, banning manual scavenging and bonded labour. His revolutionary actions, his social commitment, and his dreams of improving the lot of the suppressed attracted the attention of the nation. I am fortunate I am minister for the welfare of the backward classes during the birth centenary of such a great leader. We are bringing out a series of books to introduce the life and work of Urs to the people of the state, particularly to

The Urs Era  5 the future generation. Several distinguished writers, thinkers and achievers have written these books. I express my thanks to all writers, editors, officials and personnel of the department who have helped us in bringing out these books.

H Anjaneya Minister for Social Welfare Government of Karnataka

The Urs Era  6 From the Centenary Committee Chairman

D Devaraj Urs was not just a great politician; he was a wonder in himself, an epitome of reassurance and optimism. He led the state on the path of development from 1972 to 1980. He saw power as an opportunity provided by people for him to improve their lives. The welfare schemes he formulated to provide a life of equality for all in keeping with the aspirations of the Constitution, have immortalised him in the history of the state. His tenure as chief minister was a golden period for the lower classes. His concept of social justice was unique in the entire country. He identified communities exploited for centuries and gave them special opportunities in administration. This made him a visionary statesman. The Government of Karnataka is celebrating his birth centenary through various programs. They began on August 20, 2015, and will go on for a year. The government is making meaningful efforts to introduce Urs to today’s generation. Several of his programs- like the prohibition of manual scavenging, grant of ownership to tillers, reservation of jobs for the backward classes, passing of the loan waiver Act, provision of pensions for the needy and stipends for unemployed youth- were all pioneering programs in the entire country. We are organising events all over the state to mark Urs’ birth centenary. They will help today’s generation appreciate

The Urs Era  7 his contributions to the state. Several useful research works are coming out too. We are publishing a variety of books, under the tiles of Arasu Yuga, Odanadi Arasu, Arasu Angana, Arasu Munnota, Vidhana Mandaladalli Arasu, Arasu Chitrakatha Kosha, and Arasu Navayuga Nayaka. On behalf of the D Devaraj Urs Birth Centenary Committee, I thank all writers engaged in this project.

Adagur H Vishwanath Chairman D Devaraj Urs Birth Centenary Committee

The Urs Era  8 Book Publication Committee’s Note

In the history of Independent India, 1970s can be called a significant decade. As prime minister, Indira Gandhi implemented several popular social programs. A new era was ushered in with the 20 Point Program, abolition of privy purses, nationalisation of banks and insurance companies, introduction of land reforms, and eradication of bonded labour. When we evaluate the pros and cons of the Indira era 40 years on, we have to accept it was a period of change. Her name would have shone brighter in history had she not hastily decided to declare Emergency. A great gift of Indira Gandhi to the people of Karnataka was making Devaraj Urs the Chief Minister. Urs who took charge in 1972, introduced several changes in the state over eight years. He gave priority to social justice and worked wholeheartedly for the development of the backward communities. He infused a new confidence among them. He stood for justice among all castes. He wanted to give hope to the poor of all castes and creeds. People from all castes were in his close circle. It is no coincidence that 90% of those who benefited from his social reforms were Dalits, the impoverished, people from the lower castes and the minorities. Before the reforms, 90% of land owners were from the upper castes while the sharecroppers were from the lower strata of society. It

The Urs Era  9 must be noted that some beneficiaries of Urs’ land reforms were from the upper castes too. Like the land reforms, many other pro people programs were introduced in Karnataka when Urs was at the helm: abolition of bonded labour, fixing of minimum wages for labourers, waiver of loans, eradication of manual scavenging, grant of old age pensions, stipends for unemployed youths and monthly allowances for the physically challenged. A number of development projects were also implemented. Urs constituted the Havanur Commission and conducted a scientific study of the backward classes to provide reservation for them in government jobs. This was another of his achievements. He also identified able youths from among the deprived classes and made them people’s leaders, thereby challenging the dominance of the upper castes. Urs’ political vision changed politics in Karnataka. Many youths he brought to the limelight are active in the forefront of politics, to this day. He officially changed the name of the state from Mysuru to Karnataka and approved Kannada as the official language. He was instrumental in establishing several academies and providing pensions for writers and artistes. Such measures were pioneering. The tenure of Urs was a period of transition in the history of Karnataka. Society strode towards equality. It is fitting that the Government of Karnataka has decided to celebrate his birth centenary with seminars, plays, music concerts, film and video shows. The publication of books on Urs is equally important. Several books on his life and achievements have already been published. A compilation of his speeches has also come out. We have decided to reprint some of these as part

The Urs Era  10 of the celebrations. We will also publish new books to introduce various facets of Urs’ personality to people. Efforts are also afoot to publish books with information collected from relatives, dignitaries, and people close to him, and also to bring out volumes of his speeches in chronological order, as also a brief biography and its translations in other languages. Each of these offers a different viewpoint, analysis and assessment. Together, they could prove to be an invaluable source of information for future historians. This project is coming together thanks to the efforts of writers, editors, research assistants, designers and others. I wholeheartedly thank them, and acknowledge their hard work. I thank the Government of Karnataka on behalf of the writers for providing us with an opportunity to do our bit for the birth centenary of a visionary statesman.

Prof K Marulasiddappa Chairman Book Publication Committee

The Urs Era  11 A phenomenon called Urs...

I was in college when the Emergency was declared. D Devaraj Urs was the chief minister then. Like most others, I believed the Emergency was good for everyone. Apparently it increased overall efficiency and curbed every anti national mischief, I believed. But it did not take long for me to understand that the concern of any dictator could only be self interest, and he or she could go to any length to achieve this. That way, Emergency was the first political education for my generation. As a result, we swore to oppose Congress and consequently Devaraj Urs became our ideological foe. Added to that, the only news we got to hear in respect to his administration was of rampant corruption and hooliganism. Aspirants talked loudly as to how much to pay for what job. I continued with this my mindset till I joined the newspaper Prajavani as a journalist. Only then did I get to realise that there could be another perspective to Urs and his administration. Our chief reporter Vaddarse Raghurama Shetty frequently explained Urs’ accomplishments and their consequences on society. But I must say I wasn’t convinced totally even then! Later when we began to grasp Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and his thought that the contribution of Urs slowly sank in. We finally understood that, had it not been for Urs, we would have inherited a different Karnataka.

The Urs Era  12 But even then there was a lack: no book existed in Kannada till then that could give us a realistic and comprehensive overview of Urs’ life and administration! No work came out in later years either. When the D Devaraj Urs Birth Centenary Committee entrusted me with the task of writing a book on Urs, I made up my mind to aim for a comprehensive, albeit a brief portrayal of his life and times. And of course, it had to be accurate too. I took my time and wrote the book which is now in your hands. How is it, is for you to judge. This book is not a result of any direct research. My sources are all published works. The following books have mainly helped me: Bahuroopi Arasu by Vaddarse Raghurama Shetty Parivarthaneya Harikara Edited by Konandur Venkappagowda Devaraj Arasu Matthu Karnatakada Rajakarana by Dr. Hanamanthraya Doddamani. Karnatakada Arasu Chief Editor: HA Venkatesh. Editors: Dr. Hi.Shi. Ramachandra Gowda, Dr. krishnamurthy Hanuru. Devaraj Arasu – Ondu Avalokana Edited by Shudra Srinivas B Basavalingappa Matthu Boosa Chalavaliya Kalu Shathamana Editor-in-chief: Lakshminarayana Nagavara Apart from these books, I have also quoted from P Lankesh’s autobiography Hulimavina Mara. A series of interviews conducted by Basu Megalakeri for the Kannada newspaper Vartha Bharathi has also come in very handy. I have culled out statements of Adagur H

The Urs Era  13 Vishwanath, Garudanagiri Nagaraj, HD Deve Gowda, AN Yellappa Reddy, Kagodu Thimmappa, HT Krishnappa, DB Chandregowda, BA Moyideen, AK Subbaiah, KH Srinivas, Srihari Khoday, Agrahara Krishnamurthy, Ramesh Kumar, Chiranjeevi Singh, Srikanthamurthy and M Raghupathy from their interviews in Vartha Bharathi. I am grateful to all the above writers and to Basu Megalakeri. Credits are due to several people for the publication of this small book. I am grateful for the support I received from Adagur H Vishwanath, chairman of the D Devaraj Urs Birth Centenary Committee, Prof. K Marulasiddappa, chairman of the Book Publication Committee, my friends Dinesh Amin Mattu and Ka.Tha. Chikkanna, and all members and officials of the Department of Backward Classes Welfare. I am grateful to all of them, and to you, my readers.

Bengaluru NS Shankar 23 May 2016

The Urs Era  14 The Urs Era

The Urs Era  15 The Urs Era  16 The Urs Era

A grand convention of the Kuruba community was held in Tumakuru in the year 1979. I was then a novice of a reporter working for Tumakuru Times, a daily newspaper owned by CN Bhaskarappa (who later became an MLA and minister) and his brother in law Naganna (who now successfully runs the newspaper Prajapragathi and the local channel Pragathi TV in Tumakuru). It was a convention organised mainly to honour Devaraj Urs and present a memorandum to him. As a journalist that was the first time I was seeing Urs. I had earlier listened to him as a college student in Bengaluru at an election meeting at Tagore Circle in Gandhi Bazaar. He had then made a mention of the ‘invisible voters’ who always supported his party. He had then arrogantly declared that he didn’t care much for the votes of those people gathered there, as the same invisible voters would vote his party back to power. ‘What audacity’, I thought! Now at this convention, Urs did not speak against caste conferences per se. But he did warn that caste groupings alone would not help achieve anything significant. Because he cautioned- the big fish (in a caste) swallowed the smaller ones.

The Urs Era  17 Former MP and minister Adaguru Vishwanath recalled that convention in a recent interview to the newspaper Varthabharathi:

I had gone to the Kurubas’ convention with Urs. After the convention, Urs stood by the car, took out the last cigarette from his ‘Players’ pack, lit it, crumpled the empty pack and held it in his hand. A young man sneaked through the police cordon and came running towards Urs, and said, ‘Sir, I am a Congress worker and I have been applying for a long time to get a fair price shop. I am very poor. Please help me’. Urs looked at him closely, and without doubting him even a bit, scribbled an order on the blank side of the torn cigarette pack to the effect that the young man had been granted a fair price depot. He asked the deputy commissioner Muniswamy, who was also around, to issue an order immediately. The order became a reality then and there! That young man has framed that cigarette pack and preserved it to this day. Vishwanath remembers another incident:

Once a girl with a limp came to see Urs in the hope of getting a pension. I was standing next to him. Urs walked up, received the application and asked me about her caste. I told him. He ordered officials to sanction her some land, saying ‘someone will come forward to marry her if we give her two acres...’ One comes across many such incidents that show Urs as a people’s leader, and provide insights into his personality

The Urs Era  18 and style. In later pages, we will discuss in detail the nature of the administrative revolution Urs brought about. But here is an anecdote, recalled by a close associate of his, that shows Urs’ large heartedness, astuteness and his determination to do good: One morning, a man came to Balabrooie, Urs’ official residence. He addressed Urs as Swami (Kannada word for master). Urs was all ears. The man had come from a village near Kolar. He said he had been displaced as some people had occupied the land that he had been tilling for a long time. After listening to his sad story, Urs directed his officials to send an order to the deputy commissioner to get this man’s land back. He then asked the man to go back to his village. But the man did not move. It turned out he had no money, and had walked all the way from his village to Bengaluru. Urs gave him Rs 50 and told him to have a meal and go back. The man came back to Urs after a month and said he had still not got his land back. An angry Urs asked officials whether they had torn up his application. Urs then sought a report from the deputy commissioner. According to the report sent by DC, this man had two children but no land in his village and that he was a priest at a temple (meaning he had his livelihod.) But the man poured out his woes saying the report was false. Urs then sought another report from the police. Even that report was similar to the one sent by DC. But Urs was not convinced. When the man came again, Urs told his officials finally: “I don’t think this man is lying. Look into it properly. Set things right if he has been wronged and send me a report within a week.”

The Urs Era  19 A week later, his personal assistant produced the man’s file, along with the Tahsildar, before the chief minister. Now according to the Tahsildar, it was true the poor man had been tilling some land which belonged to the government. He had been driven away and the land sanctioned to some influential people. On hearing this, Urs cancelled the order right away and made sure the man got his land documents. Later, an order went out for disciplinary action against the officials concerned... Writer Agrahara Krishnamurthy mentions another incident he witnessed:

Urs was visiting Hagalawadi, a village near mine, ahead of the Panchayat elections. He noticed a man and asked him about his caste. The caste was marginal and had a small population. Urs immediately said, “Write down his name. Make him a Panchayat member.” Urs gave power to the man then and there. In the process, he accorded recognition to a caste no one had heard about. This way, he was responsible for the confidence that grew among members of that community. One can go on talking about numerous such instances. But these should suffice to comprehend the unique phenomenon called Devaraj Urs. The irony perhaps is that no other chief minister in the whole country has been so wrongly projected! During his time, Urs faced the allegation that he was the root cause of corruption, and that he had brought hooliganism to politics in a big way. Those accusations have still not died down. While these partisan accusations dominate the political discourse, his massive strides for the public good have faded into oblivion. Because of this negative projection,

The Urs Era  20 serious attempts at studying the pros and cons of his administration or his life and achievements never came forth. An objective and truthful evaluation of his tenure is still a far cry... Here is an effort to introduce some streaks of his brilliant personality to set this injustice right, at least to an extent.

The Urs Era  21 Childhood

Kallahalli in Hunsur taluk is Devaraj Urs’ native place. It is supposed to have been the capital of Mangarasas, the Jain warrior kings. But apart from a Chandranatha Basadi and the ruins of an old dilapidated fort, there is nothing else to remind of its glorious past. Dhaathupura was its original name. Though Kallahalli is Urs’ native place, he was born at Bettadatunga near Hunsur. He hailed from a royal family. But their life was far from being royal. His family owned land which was just sufficient for livelihood. His father’s name was also Devaraj Urs. His mother was Deveerammanni. Urs was born on August 20, 1915. His birth star was Moola, the same as that of Chandrahasa- a prince in Hindu mythology. Urs used to quote this often with pride. Devaraj Urs was the eldest son. Kemparaj Urs was the second. Another child- Puttaraj Urs- died at the age of four. Eminent Kannada writer Chaduranga, (actual name Subrahmanyaraje Urs), also belonged to the Urs family of Kallahalli. After Chaduranga lost his father at an early age, a relative, Padmaraje Urs of Kallahalli, brought him up and his brother Mudduraje Urs. Padmaraje Urs was the father of Devaraj Urs’ mother Deveerammanni. When Padmaraje Urs died in 1897, his wife Gowrammanni invited Devaraj Urs’ father to look after the family. Later, she gave her daughter in

The Urs Era  22 marriage to him. But the daughter died after giving birth to a child. Within a few days, the child also died. Then, Gowrammanni brought her niece Deveerammanni to wed her son in law, a second marriage to him. Deveerammanni gave birth to Devaraj Urs- the hero of our narrative. Chaduranga and his brother had entered the Kallahalli Urs family before Urs was born. Chaduranga was elder to Devaraj Urs by two years. Chaduranga recalled-’As little children, we grew up in the care of the same mother. Urs was like any other village boy. He grazed cattle, collected wood, did small household chores and fetched water. But he was always an introvert. He never got into quarrels.’ A man called Appaji used to run a school on his pyol. Urs’ initial education began there. He practised writing the alphabet on sand. His father sent him to Mysuru when he turned five. Urs stayed at a relative’s house for some time and joined the Urs Boarding School. Though Chaduranga was elder to him by two years, he was Urs’ classmate. Urs came across as a serious boy even here. Chaduranga sometimes quarreled with Kemparaj Urs, but says he never had a tiff with Devaraj Urs. According to Chaduranga, Kemparaj Urs was hugely talented, and mischievous by nature. ‘In contrast, Devaraj Urs was dignified. He didn’t mix much with others. He was disciplined in both learning and at sports. I was fond of him because of these qualities’ he once said. When Urs and his brother were studying at the boarding school, his father died of ulcer. Urs was nine then. Since he was the eldest son, the responsibility of running the family fell on his young shoulders. This could have made him even more solemn.

The Urs Era  23 His mother Deveerammannai wanted him to study well and bring honour to the family. Urs thus never neglected his studies, even when engrossed in household chores like fetching water, cutting firewood and farming. Gowrammanni adopted Urs after the death of her son in law and bequeathed all her property to him. Urs was a thin weak boy. He was frequently afflicted with malaria. His mother and grandmother felt deeply worried when a typhoid ravaged Urs returned to the village from Krishnarajendra Hospital. In Mysuru, his classmates constantly bullied him, often beating him. Once, Urs was bashed up by a boy during a quarrel. The incident left a deep mark in the mind of Urs. He concluded he had to pocket insult because he was weak, and decided to become strong. Then on he began to pay more attention to physical exercise than to studies. He exercised at home and on the farm too. Gradually the lean and lanky Urs grew into a wrestler Urs. Fitness remained an obsession with him till his last. In fact, his keenness for body building made him even refuse marriage at one point! Though the Urs clan of Mysuru was a royal family, their was nothing royal in most of their lives, as most of them were educationally and financially backward. That was why King Chamaraja Wadeyar had founded Urs Boarding School for their uplift. The school had every facility for formal education as well as sports and physical exercise. Once, Urs saw some boys practicing on parallel bars. When all the boys had left, he tried his hand at it, and ended up with a wrist injury. He had to be treated at a hospital for a month and a half. Another time, Urs was once lying at the Garadimane, the traditional gymnasium, with his body covered in earth. A worker leveling the space with a hoe accidentally poked him

The Urs Era  24 upon which Urs received a big injury, whose scar remained on his body permanently. Chaduranga’s brother Mudduraje Urs became a magistrate when Urs was in primary school in Mysuru. Mudduraje Urs was first posted to Madhugiri. In those times, the post of a magistrate carried great prestige. The court was inside the Madhugiri fort. His official residence was also within the fort. He took the boys Chaduranga, Devaraj Urs and Kemparaj Urs with him. But it so happened these brothers had to leave Madhugiri within a year. Mudduraje Urs was an upright man. He never gave in to pressure. Once, he rubbed Sir Mirza Ismail, the then Dewan of Mysuru, the wrong way. So, the Dewan wanted to teach him a lesson. But Mudduraje Urs, a man of high self esteem, instead of budging, resigned and returned to Mysuru with the three Urs boys. Later Nalvadi Krishnaraje Odeyar posted him as assistant commissioner to Narasimharajapura in Chikkamagaluru. But the Urs boys stayed back in Mysuru renting a room at the Nanjaraj Bahaddur Choultry. The room rent was eight annas a month. The boys cooked their own food and continued their studies. After a few months, Mudduraje Urs was married to princess Leelavathi of the Mysuru royal family. That was when the children of the Urs family came into direct contact with the palace. Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion was readied for the princess to stay in. Mudduraje Urs got a posting that would help him remain in Mysuru. But the Urs boys instead of moving to Jayalaxmi Vilas, continued to stay at the choultry. They however went to Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion in the evening to play.

The Urs Era  25 Urs completed his high school and intermediate education in Mysuru. He joined Central College in Bengaluru for his BSc. He stayed at a room in High Grounds. Even here, he evinced more interest in being physically strong than in studies. He worked out at KV Iyer’s gymnasium and became a pehalwan in just two years. He won the first prize in the physical fitness competition but failed in his first BSc examinations! The failure cost him his scholarship. Because of the resultant financial hardship and the travails at home, Urs could not pay attention to the raging freedom struggle. Urs was not just interested in developing his physique. He had a keen interest in the fine arts, literature and music too. He had received the first prize for his musical rendering of classic Kannada poet Raghavanka’s verse ‘Sidilu badidode hidida kode kavude’ (can an umbrella save one from thunderbolt?) at the annual music festival of the college. Chaduranga believes Urs would have become a famous singer had he continued his music practice. He recalls the rich voice of Urs and how he sang, at his persuasion, the Hindi film songs of KL Saigal and Pankaj Malik on the banks of the Kukkarahalli lake in Mysuru. Urs was also interested in acting. People from the film industry in Bengaluru were among his acquaintances. He had even agreed to act in the film Bhakta Ramadasa, but opted out later. We can not predict what course his life would have taken, had Urs taken to films.

Urs returned to Kallahalli after completing his BSc; a well built handsome youngster with a sharp nose, deep eyes and a broad forehead. People gazed at him in awe. He was Buddhyoru- the ‘Master’ for the villagers.

The Urs Era  26 Even at a time when graduates were hard to come by, Urs was simple and humble. He mingled with everyone easily, with absolutely no airs. Naturally he won everyone’s heart in the village. It was 1941. Water was scarce. When even household help shirked from their duty of fetching water, Urs would wake up in the wee hours and draw water from the well for the whole family, cut firewood and then seek a solitary place to sit and read. He was a keen reader. He would sit reading books under the shade of a tree till dusk and come back home after dark. While he spent his days in the village as a farmer, he was selected as an army officer after having passed an exam conducted by the King’s Commission. It was a job after his heart. Before telling anybody else, he went to his mother with the news. Those were the days of World War II. His mother was against him joining the army, as she knew he may be called to the battlefield anytime. Urs could not transgress his mother’s word, and so remained in the village giving up the job offer. But Urs was not against a government job and he did try to get one. Following some friends’ advice, he sought an appointment with King Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadeyar in 1942, mentioning he was a distant relative. The palace staff made him run from pillar to post, and it was after 20 days that he could get an appointment. Naturally his self esteem was bruised. Though he met the King, he did not show any interest in joining government service! Although Urs was a graduate, he kept that aside and immersed in chores like tilling, looking after cattle and so on like a simple village farmer. He drew water from the well in the morning, looked after the cattle, tilled the land as well as

The Urs Era  27 resolving villagers’ disputes. And he continued to read books in his leisure. People sought his advice on buying bulls as he had become an expert. In all, he was fond of a farmer’s life. While tilling the land, man’s ego evaporates through the sweat. Man’s essence takes root in the earth and he dissolves himself in the rhythm of nature. This was the elevating experience that Urs gained as a farmer. In Kallahalli, only the Urs family had a coconut farm. When thieves stole coconuts from the farm, Urs did not seek to punish them. Instead, he asked everyone in the village to grow coconuts. Who will steal coconuts if everyone had a coconut tree of his own? Today every family in Kallahalli owns coconut trees. This is just a little example of Urs’ farsightedness and leadership quality. Urs was also equally good at dispensing justice. Many came to him seeking solutions to their problems. Many a time, he also settled disputes between husband and wife. He had thus become well known in Hunsur and the villages in its vicinity. In a way, this popularity paved the way for his entry into politics. In the meanwhile, Mudduraje Urs married Urs off to Chikkammanni, daughter of a small Urs family at Kogalur. Three daughters were born to them- Chandraprabha, Nagarathna and Bharathi. The first daughter, Chandraprabha, inherited her father’s political aspirations. She became social welfare minister in Ramakrishna Hegde’s cabinet. She got active in ‘Krantiranga’- the party formed by Urs and faced elections in 1983. She won from her father’s constituency Hunsur with a huge margin, though Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came down and campaigned against her.

The Urs Era  28 Nagarathna the second daughter was Urs’ favourite. She was intelligent and shared his thoughts. But she had to go through many upheavals in her life that ultimately ended in tragedy. Her life as well as death gave Urs extreme pain. MD Nataraj enetered her life when she was studying at Maharani’s College. They fell in love. Nagarathna was blind to the fact that Nataraj was already married. There was no question of her parents agreeing to their marriage. She nevertheless defied them and married Nataraj. The Urs couple softened up when she gave birth to a child. Urs tolerated his son in law for the sake of his daughter. He tolerated his son in law’s excesses too. Urs had sanctioned a plot for Nataraj at Nelamangala. Nagarathna and Nataraj developed a farm there. It had a well sixty feet deep. In 1980, Nagarathna mysteriously jumped into the well and died. This was a tragedy Urs could never come to terms with, till his last breath. And Bharathi Urs was the last child.

The Urs Era  29 Into Politics

Srinivas Iyengar, an advocate in Hunsur, was a taluk level Congress leader. Devaraj Urs had caught his attention with his leadership qualities. Once, Iyengar had invited Urs home, and was impressed with the way Urs conducted himself. When they were discussing politics, he noticed Urs’s leftist leanings. Iyengar decided to rope him into the Congress lest he gravitate towards the Communist Party. He entrusted the responsibility to Sahukar Channaiah, a prominent Congress leader in Mysuru district. In a single meeting, Channaiah convinced Urs to join the party. That is how Urs, son of a farmer from Kallahalli, entered the new world of politics. In those days of freedom struggle, it was big news for one from the Urs lineage to join the Congress. It almost amounted to sedition, as the Congress was against princely rule. The party’s struggle was aimed at rooting out the empire and establishing a democratic system. Urs did not let all that deter him. He said joining the party was a personal decision; and that others’ opinions did not matter. This demonstrates his resolute nature. He took bold decisions, not letting emotions deter him. Urs attended many strategic meetings and conventions of the Congress. But he never imposed himself nor did he

The Urs Era  30 strive for prominence. What is interesting is that his younger brother Kemparaj Urs had already served time in jail as an active member of the Congress. This may also have influenced Urs’s entry into politics. Elections were due for the Representative Assembly of the Mysuru province in 1946. The Congress had decided to field candidates in all constituencies. Urs’ name came up for Hunsur. When Iyengar, who had brought Urs into politics mooted the idea, Urs was not for it. His expenses in the village were steadily mounting and his income was stagnant. He expressed reluctance, saying some rich man, who could afford the deposit money, should be fielded. When Sahukar Channaiah heard of this, he rushed to Hunsur. He convinced Urs, saying the party needed good people like him. He assured Urs that he need not worry for the election expenses. A Ramanna who had accompanied Channaiah, took care of all formalities, from paying the deposit to submitting the nomination. People from the surrounding villages also collected funds and ensured that Buddhyoru was elected to the Representative Assembly without having to spend a paisa of his own. Urs’ political life thus began as a member of the Representative Assembly. Urs’ associates recall how his behaviour did not change even after he entered the Representative Assembly. He was as usual immersed in rural life. His responsibility of settling disputes had increased, so had his expenses! Records of the Representative Assembly reveal that Urs took part in debates only on important occasions, and never interfered in petty issues or made noise just to be in news. Urs never sought publicity. His colleagues remember he dispayed a stoic detachment throughout his career. His primary interest lay in farming. People trading in cattle visited

The Urs Era  31 him regularly for advice. Urs was an expert at gauging the worth of a bull from what he could observe on its lower stomach and legs! Urs remained aloof when the country became independent in 1947 as also while a movement raged for ‘responsible government’ in the Mysuru province. His detachment continued even when the princely state of Mysuru merged in the Union of India. He had however participated in the Congress movement during its height. To sum up his political attitude of those days: he never made a big deal of sentimental issues. But he did not hesitate to speak out whenever the situation so warranted. He never tried to please any leader nor did he get too close to anybody. Nor did he quarrel with his foes. And he generally maintained a cordial relationship with everyone. Urs was easily elected as MLA of Hunsur when independent India’s first General Elections were held in 1952. His aloofness continued even then. There were hardly any opportunities for him to display either his scholarship or pro- people ideology. He was already so influential on home ground that he got elected again to the Legislative Assembly in 1957, unopposed. But he was yet to become a player in state politics. Factionalism was already plaguing the state Congress. But Urs stayed away entirely from groupism. He had little personal ambition. This may also have kept him on the fringe. His name was never even considered for membership of any of the several legislative committees. S Nijalingappa who assumed office as the chief minister after the unification of the state in 1956, continued in the position even in 1957. The new Land Reform Bill to be applicable now to the new enlarged state was tabled in the legislature and after a discussion for a few days, was handed

The Urs Era  32 over to the select committee of the legislature. Urs, who had stood for the idea of ‘land to the tiller’ throughout, wanted to be a member of the committee. But the political atmosphere was so vitiated that even this small wish of his remained unfulfilled! Urs must have been hurt by this. He often discussed his disappointment with his new friend RM Desai. But he never made it an issue. Instead, he embarked on studying the political system that placed a hurdle in the way of even a small wish of his. The habit of contemplation and analysis that started then, seems to have eventually shaped his political style. He became more reticent. Those who could not understand his turmoil, called him egotistic and arrogant. Some even thought he was frustrated.

In the 1962 elections, though there was no opponent to Urs in his constituency, he could not secure a ticket easily. Owing to his stand- offish nature, there were never any influential backers in the party too. So Urs was sitting all by himself, when people from his home town came to him. Ex minister Raghupathy describes what happened next:

People from his constituency came to him and pleaded with him to go to Delhi. But Urs said- ‘I have no money. If they want to give me a ticket, let them. I will not beg anybody.’ Then an influential Muslim leader from Hunsur booked two railway tickets and took Urs to Delhi. As far as Delhi was concerned, Nijalingappa’s say was final. What he decreed was the law. In the Congress working committee meeting, Nijalingappa argued against Urs, saying he cannot win. But Shastri

The Urs Era  33 and Nehru were in favour of Urs. Thus securing a ticket in Delhi, Urs came back and got elected unopposed in 1962. This was the first such victory in Mysuru state. What was surprising was, even Urs getting elected unopposed did not seem special to the political circles in Bengaluru. As every leader was engrossed in fightng the demon of factionalism in the state Congress, nobody took note of this feat. A strange situation came up in 1962. Though his supporters wereelected to the Legislative Assembly with huge margins, Nijalingappa himself got defeated in Hosadurga because of the party’s internal squabbles! But MLAs supporting him still wanted him to be chief minister. Urs felt it was not right to surrender the reins of power to a defeated candidate. He raised his objection on the party platform too. ‘How can one who has not won the confidence of the people become chief minister?’ Though a few in the party agreed with him, no one had either the voice or the guts to speak up against Nijalingappa. Urs was the only one with such moral courage. He in fact met Nijalingappa and made his stand clear. He said: ‘You can’t be chief minister at this juncture. It is not morally right. Name someone you trust. You can win the election and become chief minister again.’ SN found this fair! Though at the next day’s party meeting, MLAs raised their voice in support of SN, Nijalingappa declined to be chief minister. He said SR Kanthi should be chief minister till he was himself reelected. Accordingly, Kanthi- as he himself admitted- was appointed the ‘shadow chief minister’!...

The Urs Era  34 The result of this historical crisis is that Urs, who had so far remained an aloof, marginal politician, now caught everyone’s eye in the party. His fairness and courage in going against bigwigs attracted everybody’s attention. This probably brought him an invitation to join the council of ministers. Urs assumed office as minister of animal husbandry and information. Later, he was moved to transport when Nijalingappa won the election and became chief minister again. As transport minister, Urs bought the transport system which was in private hands till then, under government control. But he was not fully satisfied in his new role. He anyway spent those five years without many ups and downs.

1967 elections came. Local Congress leaders were not in favour of Urs getting a ticket. The factionalism in the Congress had a caste angle, too. The Vokkaligas of the old Mysuru region had dominated the Congress till the unification of Karnataka. Most Vokkaligas of Mysuru (except a few like Kengal Hanumanthaiah) were opposed to unification itself, fearing the Lingayats would gain an upper hand eventually! Accordingly, after unification of the state, mostly Lingayats became chief ministers. Vokkaligas got a chance only when Ligayats let them. LG Havanur once explained this scenario to me. The internal squabbles in the Congress were in actuality rooted in a battle for supremacy between the two dominant communities- the Lingayats and the Vokkaligas. Urs’ next political step should be understood keeping this reality in mind. State politics meant rule by Lingayats. If at all the equations changed, it was when the Vokkaligas took on the Lingayats. All other communities had to live at the mercy of these two dominant communities.

The Urs Era  35 Nijalingappa was a strong man who controlled the Congress. Most of the Vokkaligas united under Sahukar Channaiah in the opposite camp. Under this circumstance, the Congress was trying to rid itself of the impression that Vokkaligas were being sidelined in the party. That is why the party tended to encourage every other Vokkaliga than Sahukar Channaiah and his supporters. These caste calculations played a key role in evading a ticket to Urs ahead of the 1967 elections. In the meantime, Sahukar Channaiah had left the Congress to form his own Janata Paksha. The Congress zeroed in on Dr HL Thimmegowda, a Congress leader of Mysuru district. He was from the Hunsur constituency like Urs. He had represented the aspirations of the Vokkaligas, though not actively, and had a positive image. Hunsur was a Vokkaliga dominated constituency in any case. Congress leaders planned to give a ticket to Thimmegowda instead of Urs to woo the Vokkaligas. The list of Congress candidates, for elections slated in the first week of March 1967, were announced towards the end of January. Urs, present transport minister and Hunsur MLA, whose election thrice was a cake walk each time, did not figure in the list! This was big news for the newspapers. This led to the speculation that Urs who had no supporters of his own, or caste base, or could not lobby for himself, could not hope for a ticket. Those keen on writing his political obituary had a field day. But Urs went to Hunsur and filed his nomination papers silently on February 10. News broke soon that he had been given a Congress ticket. Those who thought Urs had no political backing had now to eat thier words. Urs won the election easily. Nijalingappa gave him the ‘unwanted’ labour ministry. Around that time, 3,000 workers

The Urs Era  36 of Minerva Mills went on strike. On cue, the factory announced a lock out. The labour leaders did not present a united front and the stalemate continued for three months. The management argued that running the factory was beyond them. However, with Urs’ initiative, the government loaned 50 lakh rupees to the factory and the crisis was resolved. But Urs’ work caught nobody’s attention. Even the newspapers ignored it....!

Inspite of being a minister in the Congress government, Urs was like an outsider in the party. He never developed a camp of his own. Had no confidants either. While he was on his own, a major change was brewing within the party. Nijalingappa had to forgo his chief ministership to become the national president of the Congress party. The state Congress was however totally in Nijalingappa’s control and the legislature party was also dominated by Lingayats. It was certain Nijalingappa would choose his successor. Ramakrishna Hegde and Veerendra Patil- the duo popular by the names Lava and Kusha- were Nijalingalingappa’s trusted aides. Since there was no serious contender for the chief minister’s position, rumours were rife that Veerendra Patil would be next. Some in the Congress were unhappy with the dominance of the Veerashaivas. But no one dared to speak out. It was Urs again who boldly conveyed this sentiment to Nijalingappa. He requested SN not to appoint a Veerashaiva as his successor. Nijalingappa was reported to be infuriated with this impertinence. Net result: Veerendra Patil did become chief minister and Urs was kept out of the council of ministers...! Already a lone ranger in politics, Urs now became a complete free bird.

The Urs Era  37 Within three mnths, he moved out of his ministerial bungalow on Sankey Road and took up a rented house at Malleswaram. It was an old house with a compound. It had a shed on the one side with four New Jersey cows in it- meant to sustain Urs family. An independent Urs had built a cosy nest of rustic life in the heart of the city!

Great changes were sweeping across the country’s political landscape. A group of senior freedom fighters including Kamaraj, Morarji Desai, Atulya Ghosh, SR Patil of Maharashtra and CB Gupta of Uttar Pradesh were led by Congress president S Nijalingappa. After the untimely death of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi was chosen for the prime minister’s post by Nijalingappa. In an interview given to me decades later, Nijalingappa said he had regarded Indira Gandhi as an innocent girl who would follow the dictates of the old guard. Indira represented new blood and was an embodiment of new aspirations. She thought of senior party leaders as conservative and reactionary. On the other hand, the idealist seniors thought of her as unprincipled and power hungry. The tussle between the two groups had to reach a critical point. The Congress had become a raging sea. Developments that followed this rift in the party, are open to two divergent viewpoints. Some sympathetic to Indira, looked at it as a battle between progressive and conservative forces. To them, socialist moves initiated by Indira like the nationalisation of banks and insurance companies as also abolition of privy purses were

The Urs Era  38 testimony to this. Besides, the slogan ‘Garibi hatao’ (eradicate poverty) coined by Indira had caught the imagination of the masses. While older leaders with their ideals and values drawn from the freedom movement were arraigned against her, pro Indira camp saw her as a representative of emerging socialist aspirations. The older generation to them, rerpesented vested interests. They ‘were pot bellied capitalists’, while Indira stood for distributive justice. On the other hand, those in the Nijalingappa camp saw this as a naked power struggle. According to them, Indira could resort to any means to capture power, while the elders continued to uphold values and principles. Indira had on her side ‘young Turks’ such as Chandrashekhar, Indrakumar Gujral and Mohan Dharia and the like, while seniors like Morarji Desai, SK Patil, Atulya Ghosh, N Sanjeev Reddy and CB Gupta stood with Nijalingappa. The elders’ group was called the ‘Syndicate’. Looking back, one can now find both the arguments valid. Though Indira was indeed an expert strategist, it is true her programs were in the direction of socialist justice. On the other hand, inspite of the seniors’ values, their conservationist economic principles would indeed take the society backwards... Anyway, the differences between Indira and Nijalingappa had become a hot topic for newspapers. The clash reached its peak at the All India Congress Committee meeting held in Bengaluru in 1969. The session, which began on July 25, 1969, at the Lalbagh Glass House, was expected to pit the Indira group against the Syndicate. Indira surprised everybody at the session with her announcements of nationalisation of banks and abolition of

The Urs Era  39 privy purses. Those decisions were unilateral and sudden. Karnataka representatives in the Syndicate were sullen while Devaraj Urs and B Basavalingappa, who were on Indira’s side, were vibrant. Indira supporters went to Urs often. The session, which led to the first and biggest split of the Congress since Independence, also marked a new turn in Urs’ political life. It can also be said that a new Devaraj Urs was born at the Cogress split. Next month- in August 1969, the Presidential election was announced. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the official candidate of the Congress. But the story did not end there. VV Giri also filed his nomination as an aspirant. Indira, who initially seemed to back Sanjeeva Reddy, later extended support to VV Giri and gave a call to party members to vote according to their ‘conscience’. Urs enthusiastically worked to engineer the support of legislators for that ‘conscience vote’. He displayed boundless energy and interacted with all legislators as well as journalists cordially. He came across almost as a freed prisoner! M Raghupathi remembers those days:

Urs convened a secret meeting of nine legislators of the ruling Congress and convinced them to cast their ‘conscience vote’ for Giri. Later, those legislators embarrassed Nijalingappa’s Syndicate and the Veerendra Patil government by issuing a public statement to the effect that they would vote ‘according to their conscience’. Nijalingappa suspended them (Dayananda Sagar, Veerappa Gowda, Mallikarjuna Swamy, Prabhakar, Nagarathnamma, Kondajji Basappa, Chennabasappa, Badarinarayan and another whose name I have forgotten) from the party. Indira

The Urs Era  40 admired Urs’ move. He was then seen as an able contender to Nijalingappa in Karnataka. Eventually, Sanjeev Reddy was defeated by VV Giri. After this episode, the split in the Congress party was also formalised. Indira emerged an unquestionable leader. Urs joined the Indira group officially and was nominated as a member of the state unit. A nobody to politicians and journalists till then, Urs now emerged as a very important leader. How could anybody sideline a leader close to the prime minister? Even then, those were the days of the Samstha (or old) Congress. S Nijalingappa’s disciples ‘Lava and Kusha’ were ruling the roost. Could Urs shake them? Everybody thought, Urs could not touch them. A few months later, in 1970, a controversy erupted over an act of nepotism. Chief Minister Veerendra Patil and Finance Minister Ramakrishna Hegde were charged with selecting six or seven youths close to them as state representatives at the ‘Expo 70’ event in Tokyo. Urs blew this up into a big issue and launched a campaign against the old Congress. A team of eminent leaders like KH Patil from Gadag, Azeez Sait from Mysuru and parliamentarian H Siddaveerappa launched a tirade against the government on the floor of the house. Urs’s enthusiasm and organising ability succeeded in turning a small issue like ‘Expo 70’ into big. Youths all over the state raised a hue and cry. The Expo 70 agitation turned out to be a major sensation of the period. R Gundu Rao, ex president of the Kushalnagar Town Municipal Council, then emerged as a leader who helped Urs in mobilising youth against the government. He used to stay at the Legislators’ Home. ‘Future leaders’ like Ramesh Kumar,

The Urs Era  41 Raghupathi and the like entered politics through the Expo 70 agitation. Around this time, Urs became close to TS Ramachandra Rao, editor of Prajavani, famous for his satirical column ‘Choo Bana’.

In Delhi, the party convened a meeting to set up an ad hoc committee of the Indira Congress. Indira was in the chair. When Urs’ name came up to head the committee, both dominant communities opposed the move. In those days, it was very difficult to imagine a leader from a community other than either Lingayat or Vokkaliga. Kengal Hanumanthaiah got up and argued that people would not support the party if Urs was selected as president, because he was from a minority community. Siddaveerappa too supported Kengal. Indira remained silent. Urs then boldly sought an opportunity to express his views. He said, ‘Madam, their words are true. I hail from a minority community. But these leaders can use the same yardstick and also call you a minority leader.’ Everyone at the meeting was aghast! Indira then suspended the meeting and smiled at Urs as she left the hall. Hanumanthaiah seemed to have something else in mind. He invited Urs for breakfast the next morning and offered him a deal: ‘Urs, the opposition to your candidature within the party is strong. I suggest you propose my name. If I become president, I will help you become the next chief minister.’ Urs’ response to this ‘offer’ showed his steely will: ‘Hanumanthaiah, I know you are politically clever. You probably know Chandrahasa’s story. He was born in Moola Nakshatra and had divine blessing. My star is the same. If God wills, even a thousand Hanumanthaiahs can’t stop my becoming the chief

The Urs Era  42 minister. Otherwise, even a thousand Hanumanthaiahs can’t make me chief minister....!’ Urs eventually became president of the state unit of the Indira Congress. He lost no time and began touring the entire state and galvanised the party. In the same year (1970), by-elections were announced in three constituencies- Hungund, Hospet and Shivajinagar. It was an opportunity for Urs to reveal not only his acumen, but also his political ideology. Raghupathi recalls:

...Do you know what Urs did then? He selected Hameed Shah, an innocent groundnut seller at Coles Park in Shivajinagar. He was among the poorest of the poor, and totally ignorant of politics. The opposition laughed at Urs. But Hameed Shah won with a margin of 10,000 votes. The helpless, poor, exploited classes then smiled back in self confidence. Urs emerged stronger as the party won in all three constituencies. Later in the city corporation elections, Urs conducted himself like a seasoned statesman with a vision. He fielded candidates from poor, backward and neglected castes. College student Ramesh Kumar became a candidate. Bengalureans supported Urs’ effort at social justice and thus, Indira Congress won in 64 constituencies. Chief Minister Veerendra Patil was embarrassed, with the ruling party winning just three seats.

Midterm elections were announced to the Lok Sabha in 1971. Urs, struggling for a ticket to the Legislative Assembly election just four years ago, was now at the helm distributing

The Urs Era  43 tickets. He had been successful in his social justice experiment, and continued along the same lines. Old Congress fielded heavyweights. Urs gave tickets to not-so-strong candidates. For example, Nijalingappa’s son in law MV Rajashekharan was in the fray from Kanakapura. He was a heavy weight local leader and had earned a good name. But Jaffer Sharief, close to Nijalingappa till then, had joined the Indira camp. Urs fielded Sharief against Rajashekharan. To everyone’s surprise, the Indira Congress won all 27 seats in the state, pushing the Syndicate to the brink. Indira did secure a solid majority in the Lok Sabha. But it was only in Karnataka that her party had swept all the seats. This unprecedented victory led to a few ridiculous rumours too. One was that Indira had brought in fabricated ballot papers from Russia in which, irrespective of the voters’ choice, each vote went to Congress! This charge was floated by the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. What is remarkable is that even educated people, including journalists, fell prey to these rumours!... After the elections, many were keen to join Indira Congress. But Urs kept the aspirants waiting for two days at the party gate. He opened the doors on the third day, only after he had made sure he could shake the Old Congress government with his numbers. On that day, at 10 am, about 60 Congress MLAs swarmed the party office on Kumara Park East Road and swore their allegiance to Indira Congress in writing. The then Chief Minister Veerendra Patil had a strength of 128 MLAs in the Assembly. Senior leaders like Dayananda Sagar, Mallikarjuna Swamy, Badari Narayan, KH Patil and Siddaveerappa had switched sides already. Urs’ political mentor Sahukar Channaiah merged his Praja Party with the Indira Congress. The Veerendra Patil government faced the danger of collapse!

The Urs Era  44 The budget session was on. News reached Patil that 60 MLAs had shifted their loyalty. Even as the session was still in progress, Patil went to Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation. An hour later, the speaker announced the fall of the government and adjourned the session indefinitely. The dramatic development- of a government falling when the session was in progress, was a first in the political history of the country. Efforts to form an alternative government began as dramatically. Since Indira Congress had now a majority in the Assembly, everyone wanted it to take charge. Opposition leader H Siddaveerappa and deputy leader ‘Hulakoti Tiger’ KH Patil were eyeing the position of chief minister. Siddaveerappa issued a statement that he was ‘ready to form the government’ which became big news in the papers. But Urs, the party leader in the state, remained silent for two days. In Delhi, journalists rained questions on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Her reply was equivocal. She said ‘if need be, vacuum could be filled’. Next day, the headlines said: ‘Indira Congress government likely.’ In Bengaluru, journalists rushed to Urs’ house. They asked him, ‘Your leader says the party can form the government. What do have to say?’ Urs replied, ‘I have nothing to say. I will listen to you if you have something to say!’ He did not give them any clue though they asked him repeatedly. Finally, he said, ‘Our leader should decide about the formation of the government. I am leaving for Delhi this evening to explain the situation.’ This was enough for news hungry reporters. They wrote ‘Urs has left for Delhi to discuss the possibility of forming the next government’...! But dark clouds of uncertainty gathered when news came from Delhi the next day that the Indira Congress was not keen

The Urs Era  45 to form the government. As Ramesh Kumar recalls, when Urs landed in Bengaluru after meeting Indira, thousands gathered to see him. Urs had after all emerged as a formidable leader, having led the party to two electoral victories. Thrilled to see the crowds, Urs called a press conference and announced: ‘No horse trading. We won’t form the government.’ Siddaveerappa and other leaders who were on their toes to form the government, were disappointed. They felt, a golden opportunity had been lost because of Urs’ lack of will. Some even cursed him in secret. Interestingly government formation exercises did not stop there. Veerendra Patil made a surprising announcement. He said 58 MLAs, who had remained with him in the party, were ready to support the firebrand socialist leader Shanthaveri Gopala Gowda if he staked a claim. Gopala Gowda’s Praja Socialist Party had six MLAs. Six MLAs of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) were ready to support him too. Another calculation was that 30-40 from Indira Congress could also be brought in. Gopala Gowda’s health was fragile then. He was low in spirit too. But still he got himself ready to form the government. He met the Governor and sought a chance to form the government. The Governor wanted a list of supporting MLAs in the Assembly the very next day, which Gopala Gowda was not in a position to produce. On the other hand, Urs had the numbers. But he was not ready yet! Socialist Gopala Gowda was an idealist. His ideals defeated him. But Urs could blend his strategy with his ideals and he won..! Following all these maneuvers, Governor’s rule was imposed in Karnataka. Governor Dharmaveera took over the state’s administration in 1970.

The Urs Era  46 Urs continued to work for the party. He took complete responsibility of organisation and emerged as the undisputed leader of the party in this period.

Though Urs could have captured power, he did not. It is true many senior leaders of the Indira Congress cursed him for not cashing in on an easy opportunity to assume power. But why didn’t he seize the opportunity? Did he not want his party to come to power? Such questions haunted several people, including journalists. Some decided Urs was not smart enough, while others smelt something deeper. His astuteness becomes apparent when one tries to look for answers to these questions. First of all, if a Government was formed at that juncture, naturally opposition leader Siddaveerappa would have become chief minister, as he was the most influential leader then. It would not have been easy to shake him from the post later. He was canny and experienced. Urs was not a tall leader yet. Also, Siddaveerappa was from the dominant Veerashaiva community and could have garnered mass support easily. Urs understood the situation thoroughly. He was trying to take control of the political scenario that was in a flux. How could he offer power on a platter to Siddaveerappa and thus destroy his own political future? It was not just this. It was Veerashaivas evrywhere in state politics. One of the objectives of Urs’ politics was to break their dominance. Not surprisingly, Urs wanted the fall of the Veerendra Patil government to pave way for this development. Of course, his calculations would not have worked without Indira’s consent.

The Urs Era  47 Indira who had secured a massive majority in the Lok Sabha in 1971, was riding the crest of popularity following her successful support to the Bangla liberation campaign. Even opposition Jan Sangh leader in the Lok Sabha Atal Behari Vajpayee called her to Goddess Durga. Not surprisingly, Congressmen were worshipping her. Kengal Hanumanthaiah, who had not till then praised anyone except Mahatma Gandhi, now had begun to compare Indira to Queen Victoria! Lok Sabha member MV Krishnappa, who was among those close to her, described her as Kali, Durga and Adishakti. It was believed he was the one who had given the ‘cow and calf’ symbol to the party. The only ones outside this circle were Siddaveerappa and Urs. They just called her ‘Madam Gandhi’. General Elections of 1972 were announced. These elections held in February, changed the face of Karnataka politics. The hitherto supremacy of the Veerashaivas came to be challenged for the first time. The state Assembly had 223 members. Out of that number, the ‘forward communities’- Lingayats, Brahmins and Vokkaligas- used to constitute about 150 till then. The minorities, Muslims, SC/STs and others shared the remaining 73 seats. Urs changed these social equations at the initial stage of distributing tickets itself. The number of candidates from SCs/STs, weaker sections and minorities added up to 133 in the Indira Congress list! Ninety seats were given to Lingayats, Vokkaligas and Brahmins. This was the first step in the direction of the ‘political revolution’ Urs had in mind. When the results were announced, 163 candidates had won and of them, 92 were from the Dalit, minority and weaker communities. This numerical strength- this social engineering- was important

The Urs Era  48 for the radical politics of Urs. BA Moyideen describes the development thus:

Social justice, on a scale unprecedented in the history of Karnataka, was delivered. What Urs told us then, still reverberates in my ears- ‘We are not against dominant communities. Democracy becomes meaningful only when a large suppressed class, which has never been in the proximity of power, gets power...’ Indira Congress had secured a comfortable majority. Yet no one thought Urs could be chief minister. He was not even a member of the Assembly. Hence, rumours were rife that Indira might choose a Vokkaliga leader to counter the supremacy of the Lingayats. Amid this uncertainty, the Congress Legislature Party met on the third floor of the Vidhana Soudha to elect its leader. The deliberations went on for three hours and the MLAs failed to reach a consensus. The meeting resolved to leave the decision to Indira. But she was then on a tour of Bangladesh. Efforts were made to reach her over the phone. She could be contacted only by 5 pm, when she was in Dhaka. The name she suggested was that of Urs. Within two minutes, the meeting unanimously elected Devaraj Urs leader of the legislature party. Everyone hailed Urs. A huge crowd gathered before Vidhanasoudha to celebrate Urs’ elevation. A major chunk of the crowd was brought in by Gundu Rao. A huge noisy procession set out from the Vidhana Soudha. Karnataka had never witnessed this kind of a scenario before. Next day (March 20, 1972), a huge crowd gathered to witness the swearing in. The venue was shifted to the sprawling

The Urs Era  49 lawns of the Raj Bhavan as Urs wanted to be sworn in, in the presence of people. The faces that joined the cabinet however did not give an inkling of the things to come. Siddaveerappa, HM Channabasappa, KH Patil, N Huchchamastigowda and others, who were all hardcore status quoists were senior members of the Council of Ministers. But that was not all. Social engineering that Urs had initiated at the time of giving tickets, had continued in the formation of ministry too. DK Naikar (Kuruba) of Hubballi, Devendrappa Ghalappa of Kalaburgi (Ambiga), RD Kittur of Belagavi (Chammara) and others too had found a place in the Cabinet. At a public event later, new minister Devendrappa Ghalappa gave expression to this new development: ‘Veerendra’s era is over. This is Devendra’s era.’

The Urs Era  50 Chief Minister

Urs became chief minister for the first time in 1972. He completed the full term till 1977. He was again given the position in 1978. He had to step down following differences with Indira. The state was fortunate in that it had Urs as chief minister for an uninterrupted eight years . No other state was blessed with such a leader who with his foresight, efficiency and political will changed the fate of an entire populace. But he was not lucky himself! Because no objective evaluation of his contribution was ever undertaken, during his time or later. No social scientist ever tried to grasp the basic conflicts of that period. As a result, many myths and misrepresentations about his administration rule the public perception. Also, the aversion of the upper castes which arose in response to his radical policies continues even to this day. Predominantly two complaints are aired with regard to Urs’ rule. The first is that Urs inaugurated the rule of corruption and institutionalised bribery. There may be even some who argue corruption was unheard of before Urs! The second is that Urs nurtured political hooliganism. Indeed this charge can’t be overlooked easily.

The Urs Era  51 These questions must be addressed at the outset even before we discuss Urs’ contribution to the state, because he had to face these charges in the very initial stage of his rule. That too while he set about implementing programs in tune with his basic concerns! Urs, who had ensured 70 per cent of representation to Dalits, backward classes and the minorities in the Assembly, continued to encourage youths of these communities throughout his active life. With a view to empower youth, he brought changes to recruitment rules within six months of assuming power. Earlier, all recruitments, except those in Class IV, had to be made through the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). Urs set up district level committees to make government recruitments locally, in all categories barring Class 1 and 2 (these officers continued to be selected by the KPSC). These committees consisted of local MLAs along with political workers from the weaker sections, Dalits and minorities. This was the first time that these classes could knock on the doors of power. They did not have the maturity to grasp that as an opportunity to steer the course of development. They started going about flaunting their new found power. This ‘arrogance’ obviously irked the upper classes. Not just this, most members of the committees fixed a price list for everything! This ‘mamool culture’ led to corruption seeping to grass roots and dented the image of Urs. It is also equally true that, opportunities really opened up for those that had so far remained largely deprived. This in fact secured considerable political mileage to Urs. Within a year, the committees completed two rounds of recruitment and Urs gave them go ahead for a third round.

The Urs Era  52 Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly HD Deve Gowda called these committees ‘forums of corruption’. And the political situation was conducive for him to gather evidence easily. Newspapers also played up these corruption charges. This led to the all round feeling that corruption was the foundation of Urs’ government. The whole issue became so blown up, Urs himself was shaken at the barbs thrown at him during the monsoon session of the Assembly in 1973. In two months, Urs suspended recruitments altogether. But by then, that is in a year and a half, a lot many candidates for whom government jobs were an unfulfilled dream till then, had succeeded in gaining entry. Thus despite charges of widespread corruption, Urs did stand to gain politically....

The case of AH Vishwanath, former minister and MP, is an example for how Urs used to encourage youths from backward classes. Vishwanath’s father had approached a relative, close to Urs, to help Vishwanath find a government job. Vishwanath was then a final year LLB student. During the meeting, Vishwanath told Urs he was not interested in a government job. Urs then enquired about Vishwanath’s background. When Urs was told that Vishwanath was a shepherd boy studying law, he said: ‘Become an advocate and enter politics. I will encourage you.’ He told the man who had taken Vishwanath to him, ‘Your boy wants to be an advocate and enter politics. But you want to make him a government slave...’ This infused a new enthusiasm in Vishwanath. Vishwanath says:

I was engaged in social service, and was fighting for landless farmers in KR Nagar for free.

The Urs Era  53 Chief Minister Devaraj Urs had come to inaugurate a government hospital. I took the farmers to him and submitted a memorandum. I don’t know what Urs thought of me- a Kuraba advocate fighting the cause of landless tillers instead of chasing money.... But what happened later gave me an indication. My uncle was a member of the land tribunal. He was dropped in just 15 days and I was appointed in his place. This was my first tryst with power... As a member, Vishwanath continued to espouse the farmers’ cause. He worked for Tulasidas Dasappa in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections. Dasappa won. Vishwanath was elected to the Assembly in 1978 from KR Nagar constituency with a margin of 10,000. Several such examples can be given to show how Urs encouraged youths from the backward classes. DB Chandregowda cites another such instance:

When Urs and I went to Karkala, he saw a boy riding a cycle. He asked me to keep an eye on him. I knew Urs had a good enough reason to say that. He stopped the boy and asked him if he could organise a convention of tenants in Karkala. Within a few days, a huge convention of four to five thousand people took place, thanks to the boy’s efforts. Urs made him the party candidate from Karkala. The boy was shocked. He had no money, was not from an upper caste, and moreover, he wasn’t prepared. Urs believed the invisible voters in the constituency would elect him. The people of Karkala did not disappoint Urs. In a surprising verdict, the cyclist had won the election. That boy was M Veerappa Moily. He became an influential leader in the Congress, rose to become

The Urs Era  54 chief minister, and also handled many portfolios at the Centre. Why did Urs love youths so much? Srikanthamurthy, another protegy of Urs says:

Urs believed only youth could bring about country’s progress. That is why he encouraged them a lot. It was not mere talk, and it was certainly never for publicity. He gave them positions of power. He assigned them pro-people tasks. He ensured they automatically developed leadership skills. He was responsible for the rise of many young leaders: Raghupathi, DB Chandregowda, Moyideen, Subbaiah Shetty, Manorama, Veerappa Moily, Jaffer Sharief, Ramesh Kumar, MC Nanaiah, Margaret Alva, K Lakkanna, Koliwad, Devendrappa Ghalappa, B Shivanna, Jayachandra, Vishwanath… the list goes on. Srikanthamurthy was Urs’ personal assistant Gopal Shastri’s younger brother. He later joined the Janata Parivar and became chairman of the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation.

Caste is the fundamental reality of our country, as the great socialist leader and thinker Dr Ram Manohar Lohia has pointed out. It is indeed a tragic reality that directs people’s lives. Lohia writes:

Caste is the most overwhelming factor in Indian life. Those who deny it in principle also accept it in practice. Life moves within the frontiers of caste and cultured men speak in soft tones against the

The Urs Era  55 system of caste, while its rejection in action just does not occur to them. If they are reminded of their acts, which are in conformity with caste, they point out with indignation their thought and speech... In fact they hurl the charge of caste mindedness against those who remind them of their caste behaviour on the plea that while they engage in a healthy debate on principles and great outlines, their critics vitiate the discussion by bringing into it the polluted sphere of action. It is the critics, so they say, who create the atmosphere of caste... I am convinced that two segregations of caste and woman are primarily responsible for this decline of the spirit. These segregations have enough power to kill all capacity for adventure and joy. All those who think that, with the removal of poverty through a modern economy, these segregations will automatically disappear make a big mistake. Poverty and these two segregations thrive on each other’s worms. All war on poverty is a sham, unleass it is, at the same time, a conscious and sustained war on these two segregations. As Ambedkar put it, caste is graded inequality. It is a menace that has killed the creativity, joy and fellow feeling among Indians. The caste system is the seed of inequality in Indian society. Urs had understood this long back from his own studies, wisdom and even more through his rootedness in the rural life. He was convinced no change or progress was possible without shaking the roots of caste inequality. Without annihilation of caste, the imbalance in society could not be corrected. He was very clear about this. Urs defined backward

The Urs Era  56 classes as those who could not stand on their own, because of their deprivation in education, health and shelter. They should at least be able to make ends meet. While the rich plan for the future, the backward classes don’t even have the tools, forget about future plans. Urs said he was striving to provide them with tools. This clarification is necessary here as some argued then, as they continue to argue now, that poverty should be the yardstick for backwardness, not caste. They try to link caste inequality with poverty by raising the question: ‘Are there not poor among upper castes?’ Urs brushed aside such arguments. At the very first opportunity, he set out to realise his grand dream. Two most important among his achievements brought him the sobriquet ‘Harbinger of Change’. They are: 1. Providing reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in education and employment by setting up the Havanur Commission and getting it to conduct a survey. 2. Implementation of the slogan ‘Land to the Tiller’ through land reforms.

The Backward Classes Commission came into existence just five months after Urs assumed charge as chief minister (August 8, 1972). LG Havanur, a gifted advocate from the Beda (hunter) community, was its chairman. Caste wise reservation was not new to Karnataka. The practice had been in vogue since the time of the Mysuru king Krishnaraja Wadeyar IV. Before the unification of Karnataka, all communities except Brahmins, Europeans and Anglo Indians were considered backward.

The Urs Era  57 The Kaka Kalelkar committee at the Centre and the Naganagouda committee in the state, to study the lot of backward classes never reached the stage of implementation. A scientific endeavour to remove social imbalance began again through the Havanur Commission. Y Ramachandra, KR Naidu, KM Naganna, SR Manashetty, N Dharam Singh and PG Habeeb were its members. The commission was asked to define parameters of identifying backward classes (other than the SCs and STs). The commission was to conduct a detailed study of their conditions and make recommendations for their amelioration. The task was easier said than done. Reservation has always been a thorn in the flesh for our upper classes! The ancient caste system- (Varnashrama was itself a system of reservations)- had denied education to the majority from the very beginning. It had laid down that education was for Brahmins, war for Kshatriyas and service for Shudras. A huge section had been the victim of the practice of untouchability, and forced to live in inhuman conditions. Yet, our privileged class have always avoided the question of caste injustice, asking, ‘But where’s caste?’ Many even display a perverted innocence arguing, caste will disappear if the caste column is removed from applications! As writer Poornachandra Tejaswi says, the moment ‘caste’ is mentioned, people behave as though they have touched a live wire. It is only natural that upper classes will fight tooth and nail to resist any possibility of sharing the privileges they have enjoyed so far; especially in a society like ours where opportunities are meager. Havanur had to face stiff resistance from bureaucracy as soon as he began his work. They evaded providing him

The Urs Era  58 with any information, on one pretext or the other. The Commission could not move an inch even after four months and Havanur was exasperated. He then met Urs and briefed him about the situation. As a remedy he sought judicial powers for the commission. Urs’ concerns were not like mere government programs. Secularism was a cause dear to his heart. He had in fact issued strict orders to the Bangalore Development Authority to ensure that while new residential layouts were developed, no single caste people were physically grouped together. Urs immediately grasped Havanur’s predicament and agreed to his demand. He sent circulars to all government departments and asked the officials to furnish all necessary information to the commission or face disciplinary action. And also that all necessary arrangements be made during Havanur’s tours for the work of the Commisssion. Thus sufficiently armed legally, the Commission began its work on a war footing in the early part of 1973. Intellectuals and journalists, who had earlier been critical of the debacle of district recruitment committees, now started predicting a similar havoc out of the Commission. This led to the growing intolerance of the upper classes on the one hand, and new hopes rising in the minds of the depressed classes on the other- the social atmosphere began to get charged up. Different caste categories had to organise themselves, appear before the Commission and submit their memos. Hence, the survey itself took the form of a social movement resulting in a new awareness among the backward castes. In three years, the commission conducted studies in 193 villages and 185 urban pockets. It submitted its report to the government in November 1975. Immediately this led to a furore in the state! Veerashaivas, who had so far received a

The Urs Era  59 lion’s share in higher education and government jobs, now rose in rebellion as the commission had kept them out of the reservation list. The government did not take any decision on the report for two years. It eventually accepted the recommendations of the commission in toto and issued the order in February 1977. As DB Chandregowda says, a number of Backward Classes Commissions had been set up earlier, and they had all conducted studies. But none resulted in legislation for reservation. Karnataka was the first state in the country to do so... The Havanur commission had classified the backward classes into three groups: 1. Backward communities 2. Backward castes 3. Backward tribes Later amendments were made in May, June 1977 and Dalits who had converted to Islam and Christianity, were also brought under the backward caste category. The percentage of job reservation for backward castes was raised to 20 from the earlier 16. The Vokkaligas got the backward classes tag under a special category. Five per cent reservation was provided for backwards among Veerashaivas. The final reservation was: 1. Backward classes 20 % 2. Backward castes 10 % 3. Backward tribes 5 % 4. Special category 5 % In addition, the commission recommended the establishment of an exclusive directorate for the development of backward classes, an agency to provide financial aid,

The Urs Era  60 establishment of hostels statewide, scholarships and fee concessions and so on. The Urs government implemented all these recommendations. As mentiond earlier, Havanur commission had shaken up the state. Urs had to face the accusation of trying to divide Veerashaivas and Vokkaligas. A legal battle was waged against the Havanur report. But the Supreme Court was all praise for the report saying it was thoroughly scientific. The explanation given by Urs to BA Moyideen during ticket allocation in 1972, sums up the philosophy behind reservation for the backward classes too. To quote it here again:

Social justice, on a scale unprecedented in the history of Karnataka, was delivered. What Urs told us then still reverberates in my ears- ‘We are not against dominant communities. Democracy becomes meaningful only when a large suppressed class, which has never been in the proximity of power, gets power.... Urs had once quoted Mahabharata in support of his endeavours while talking to KR Ramesh Kumar (ex speaker of the Assembly and now a minister).

Duryodhana was also a great character in Mahabharata. Even his name starts with the letter D like mine! Duryodhana and Karna were close friends. Though born with Pandavas, Karna was unjustly insulted as a ‘Sutaputra’- a low born. Duryodhana made him a king. From that moment on, Karna began to receive all honours. Likewise in our society there are thousands of modern Karnas- washermen, potters, barbers and other such communities. I have made them MLAs and ministers and given them

The Urs Era  61 positions. Look what is happening now. Everyone, including Brahmins, Lingayats and other upper class ‘Pandavas’, are bound to treat them with respect... Many dubbed Urs an anti upper class leader because of this stance. But he had only taken the first step towards delivering the kind of social justice independent India had not seen till then. Urs basically wanted to take with him all people together. DB Chandregowda remembers an incident that illustrates Urs’s casteless kindness:

Upper class Shanubhogas and Patels had lost their jobs and facing extremely difficult times after land reforms. Five thousand such people, wearing tattered coats and all, took part in a convention at Koppa. Urs saw their poverty and decided to grant them pension, though his Cabinet was much against that move. Urs after all understood the nuances of poverty. Whatever the criticism, the Havanur report, often called the ‘Magna Carta’ and the ‘Bible’ of the backward classes, opened the floodgates of their advancement. It was not just about their representation in education and jobs. It was the story of a huge class of people gaining entry into a new world. They had been deprived of opportunities for centuries. This new dawn filled them with a new enthusiasm. Their dormant talents burst forth. Urs also implemented the hitherto unheard of roster system for promotions. The Dalits and the backward classes were given priority in promotion. This set out to right the decades old wrongs. The state has been witness to the results of such radical decisions. Nothing short of a revolution has taken place in the fields of arts and culture. It should not be forgotten that

The Urs Era  62 Bangarappa, Veerappa Moily, Dharam Singh and Siddaramaiah were able to become chief ministers only because Havanur commission happened. Urs’s sense of fulfillment with regard to the Havanur commission was evident in his words to Chaduranga:

What I could or could not do while in power is secondary. But one thing is for certain. I have given voice to the voiceless through the Havanur commission. The upper classes henceforth can never suppress the lower classes. The lower classes have woken up from deep slumber. They are now indomitable. I may lose power one day. I may even die. But this little work has given me immense satisfaction... That Urs could bend our society to his will, itself looks like a wonderful achievement. Obtaining the approval of the various classes to this gigantic reform was in itself a huge challenge. Over and above this, he had to maneuver a legal battle too. In later years, Venkataswamy and Chinnappa Reddy commissions were set up to review quotas for backward classes. They too conducted similar scientific studies and submitted their reports. But not a single step could be taken in the direction of their recommendations! In Bihar, socialist leader Karpoori Thakur tried to emulate Urs, but lost power in the process of providing justice for the backward classes. We should evaluate the vision, determination, and statesmanship of Urs against this background. He took everyone along. The Havanur commission was the inspiration and model for the Mandal commission constituted by the central

The Urs Era  63 government years later. Urs’ move was thus the inspiration to providing social justice across the country. Another equally revolutionary achievement of the Urs government was land reforms.

HD Deve Gowda had been a member of the Assembly from 1962. But he got projected as an able opposition leader only during Urs’ rule. Like Urs, he was not a heavy weight leader initially. But when most of the old Congress leaders migrated to Indira Congress, it fell to the lot of Gowda to become the leader of the opposition. When the Congress split in 1969, Veerendra Patil took Devegowda, who was elected to the Assembly as an independent candidate from Holenarasipur, into Old Congress. Deve Gowda remembers those days: Our party had no leader to speak of. Our president Veerendra Patil called me. He had been defeated, and drained of enthusiasm. The party had leaders like Shankaregowda of Mandya and Siddananjappa of Hassan. But no one was ready to take up the mantle. Finally, the responsibility of being the leader of the opposition in the Assembly fell on my shoulders. The position had no weight, but I was still the leader of the opposition! It was a self mocking situation then. Ramakrishna Hegde was the opposition leader in the Legislative Council then. Deve Gowda got busy exposing the government’s misdeeds in the Assembly. Socialist Party leaders such as Bangarappa, Kagodu Thimmappa and Konanduru Lingappa were ever ready to attack the government in the Assembly. In the Council it was Hegde. AK Subbaiah, then in

The Urs Era  64 the Jan Sangh, was also known for his integrity and sharp tongue. Able opposition leaders had kept the government on its toes. Even the newspapers were against Urs. It was natural for Urs’ style of politics to create enemies everywhere. However, Urs’ great achievements were all aimed at moving a stagnant society. He wanted to shake the society into a new equilibrium. This naturally upset the classes that had till then held the reins of power. They joined hands and revolted against Urs. As a result, Urs, ‘the harbinger of transformation,’ had to take on dominant communities, bureaucrats and newspapers- all at once. Officials were leaking government files to Devegowda. Knowingly or unknowingly committed to his class interests, Devegowda was thundering in the Assembly. The newspapers irked by Urs for ‘pitting the lower castes against the upper castes’, were eagerly projecting ‘scams’. It was impossible to stop this chain reaction. Devegowda could shine as a brilliant Opposition leader precisely for this reason. During the same period, Minister B Basavalingappa spoke of bringing important temples under the control of the muzrai department, and earned the label of being ‘anti religious’. When the move came in for wide criticism, leaders like Channabasappa gave an evasive response: ‘It is Basavalingappa’s personal opinion.’ Even Urs washed his hands off the controversy saying, ‘This needs to be thought over.’ The first year of Urs’ rule was thus marked by controversies, and showed little that was remarkable. But the government had pulled off something that went unnoticed. (The Havanur Commission had been set up, but for the newspapers, it was more a matter of controversy than an achievement.) The government had quietly repaid an overdraft of Rs 73 crore that year!

The Urs Era  65 The overdraft was Rs 62 crore when the previous Veerendra Patil government collapsed. This had grown to Rs 73 crores under the rein of Finance minister Ramakrishna Hegde who was considered ‘clever’, and later during Governor Dharmaveera’s rule. Finance minister in the Urs Cabinet MY Ghorpade, brought to bear extraordinary fiscal discipline on the government, and repaid all the dues by the time he presented a fresh budget. But this extraordinary feat attracted nobody’s attention, including newspapers!

In the year that followed (1973), Urs’ personality as chief minister seemed to bloom. Battered by the opposition the previous year, he now faced them with patience and maturity. In 73, the Urs government announced a scheme to distribute five cent sites to homeless agricultural labourers and artisans in the villages. This was a ‘first of its kind’ scheme in the country. This was a scheme formulated by Union Minister IK Gujral in 1972, which no one had bothered to implement. This socialist scheme was implemented in Karnataka starting from the monsoon of 1974. Within two years, ten lakh homeless families were granted sites. The successful implementation stands testimony to Urs’s grip on governance. Devaraj Urs took a historical decision at the fag end of the budget session in 1973. He tabled an official resolution to rename the state- called Mysore till then- ‘Karnataka’. Urs was not much inclined towards renaming the state. After all he was from the princely family of Mysuru and wanted that name to continue. But he honoured the majority decision and renamed the state Karnataka. His popularity reached new

The Urs Era  66 heights with this historical initiative. Urs had given a concrete shape to the sentiment of the masses. He now came to be considered a statesman par excellence and this gave a boost to his confidence. Urs had to face a testing challenge around this time. The coastal region witnessed the second biggest flood ever during the monsoon, while paradoxically, the plains reeled under a severe drought. Thousands of families lost their homes in the coastal areas while 14 of the total 19 districts were declared drought hit. Kharif crops were lost in each district in North Karnataka as well as Kolar, Tumkuru and Chitradurga districts in Old Mysuru. People from Vijayapura, Kalaburgi, Dharwad and Belagavi districts began to migrate desperately in search of jobs. Even north eastern rains eluded the state in September, October and the situation further deteriorated. The government took up drought relief without delay. The food for work scheme, meant to provide at least 100 days of work a year to rural people, was implemented quickly. Finance minister Ghorpade supervised all these works. It is unfortunate that neither his expertise nor his efficiency ever came to be highlighted. He was a graduate from Oxford University, England, no less. But the media chose to focus more on his royal background than his progressive economics. Ghorpade was the moving spirit behind the achievements of the Urs government. The newspapers did not recognise how Ghorpade provided a concrete financial framework for Urs’ dreams. The state was in the 11th position on the development map of India when Urs took over as chief minister. Under Ghorpade’s able guidance, it jumped to the fifth position.... The Urs government wanted to provide work for the needy and food for the hungry. Usually drought relief is a

The Urs Era  67 fertile grazing ground for the corrupt. ‘Everybody loves a good drought...’! But Ghorpade succeeded in instilling enough financial discipline. Urs continuously toured the drought hit districts and interacted directly with the people. He ordered officials on the spot to distribute jowar and wheat in addition to wages. Thanks to his efforts, people began to feel being cared for. As the situation was gradually coming under control, an unprecedented ‘food revolt’ took place in Belagavi district. On May 7, 1973, educated unemployed youths broke open the locks of shops at Ugarburd in Athani taluk of Belagavi district and looted 125 bags of rice, 62 bags of jowar and six bags of maize. Urs did not view this just as a law and order problem. He instantly grasped the gravity of the situation and addressed it. First, he warned that shoot-at-sight orders would be issued if such incidents repeated. And then took steps to distribute food grains at people’s doorsteps. More than the unrest, it was the fact that educated unemployed youths were involved in the incident that worried Urs. His concern led to the introduction of a monthly stipend of Rs 50 for the unemployed graduates. The scheme was implemented on a massive scale and about 50,000 young men and women had benefited from it by 1975-76. Not only this, Urs brought down the age of retirement from 58 to 55 years, and ensured that lakhs of fresh government jobs were created for youngsters. There were always opportunities for misuse of government schemes. But the government was alert. Many traders were arrested for hoarding and selling rations in the open market. A strict rule made it mandatory for traders to display the quantity of food grains and kerosene available at their shops. Supervisory committees set up under the leadership of MLAs and distinguished citizens, came into being.

The Urs Era  68 At a meeting of officials at Bailahongal, Urs said:

Our people are gullible. They don’t have the courage to meet officials and speak to them. That is why the administrative machinery should take the initiative and go to the doorsteps of the needy. What is their condition? Who needs what? A list should be prepared. The poor cannot come to the taluk office for pension. Tahsildars should go to them, fill their forms and deliver pension at their doorsteps... These words took the form of a government order within ten days. The entire government machinery began to move towards the weak. It was Urs who instilled the feeling among common people that the government was after all for common good. In the 1960s and 70s, not just Karnataka but the whole country faced the problems of scarcity of food grains and price rise. An artificial scarcity and lack of opportunities killed hundreds of people in West Bengal and Odisha. Karnataka did not come to such a pass, definitely thanks to Urs. Royalty was an attitude perhaps innate in Urs. It was often reflected in his confidence that he was the government and the law. But he was always conscious that power was meant to serve people. Urs went out among people in disguise, just like the kings of yore! Senior journalist Garudanagiri Nagaraj, who was close to Urs, remembers an incident:

He used to call me for a walk in the morning. I would take a private car from Jayanagar; I didn’t want the public gaze on me. Urs would wrap a big towel on his head and wear big loose knickers. No one could recognise him. We would walk around Vidhana Soudha, KR Circle and elsewhere....

The Urs Era  69 Entrepreneur Srihari Khoday speaks about another extraordinary trait of Urs.

Urs never hesitated while taking important decisions. And he never depended on others too. Sometimes, he would call me to ‘visit forests’. It was strange. He would go deep into the forest alone for three to four hours. He never took anybody along. When I looked at him questioningly, he would say- ‘People have elected me to take my own decisions. Why should I depend on others’ views or ideologies? I need a serene atmosphere to contemplate. I find such an atmosphere in the forest. That is why I come here.’ Garudanagiri Nagaraj cites two instances to illustrate Urs’ style of functioning. The first one relates to addressing the needs of his home town Garudanagiri. Nagaraj took Urs to his native place:

His style was his own. IAS and IPS officers were scared of him. He used say- ‘I am the government and the law. Just do people’s work and leave the rest to me’. I can give many examples in support of this. Garudanagiri, a village in the plains, is where I come from. It had no hospital, no electricity, bus service or roads. So people from my place wanted me to have Urs do something for them. I went to Urs and invited him to visit Garudanagiri. But the MLA of our constituency tried to prevent Urs from visiting us saying, people of Garudanagiri had voted against Congress. Urs shot back, “Who are you to tell me? I am not a Congress CM, but the CM of the entire state.” He visited our village. People welcomed

The Urs Era  70 him and Urs enquired about their problems on the very spot. They said the village had no electricity. Urs called the engineer and said, “I am coming here next 25th to switch on the power supply. Do you understand?” The engineer tried to say something. But Urs cut him off, “I don’t know what you will do, but everything should be ready by the time I come.” Similarly, people wanted a bus service. Urs called the bus depot manager and told him to run a bus to the village from the very next day. The manager said it had no proper road. Urs called another engineer and told him to lay a road. Then people said they didn’t have water. Urs called an engineer and asked him to prepare for a Ganga puja by the time he came back from lunch. The official didn’t utter a word. When Urs was still at lunch, people came up and told him they had got water. Urs left the place after the Ganga puja. This was his working style. His objective was to serve the people, since people had elected him.

Another instance was which Garudanagiri Nagaraj witnessed first hand while on a tour of north Karnataka. It was a 12 day ‘public contact’ tour in the districts of Vijayapura, Belagavi and Dharwad in 1975. In the course of the tour, Urs came to know of 100 Dalit families afflicted with leprocy, being thrown out of the village.

At 6 am the next day, he called his secretary and told him to cancel all his engagements and make arrangements for him to visit the lepers. He also told him no other officials, except the deputy commissioner, may go with him.

The Urs Era  71 Urs visited the families living in thatched huts in extreme penury. He called out a sick man and asked him to call everyone. They all came out of their huts and poured out their woes. He heard them silently for 15 minutes with his head down and told the deputy commissioner to immediately provide Rs 75,000 for their medicines and for putting them up in better huts. The deputy commissioner tried to mention some procedural hurdles. Urs lost his temper and took him to task: ‘What is the purpose of a law, if it of no use to people? Who is the government? Who makes the law? I do. Just do whatever I say.’ He instructed the official to prepare a long term relief plan for those people and to send it to him by the time he reached Bengaluru in the evening. ‘This is urgent’ he said. AK Subbaiah describes the atmosphere created by Urs administration:

What was seen on the third floor of the Vidhana Soudha was unprecedented. Poor people in tatters, beedi smokers, farmers with no money, agricultural labourers and illiterate people moved around as if they owned the place. I have never ever witnessed such scenes again. That was true democracy. Urs made it possible. I have described this in many public speeches... AH Vishwanath also echoes this:

Urs gave a life of dignity to the voiceless. He gave life to people who had no place to bury their dead, to people so poor they had no place to sleep when their son in law visited them, to farmers who

The Urs Era  72 had mortgaged their wives’ mangalasutras, and to the downtrodden, the bonded labourers and the exploited. Kagodu Thimmappa concurs:

Pitying the poor is one thing. But Urs went to them, gave them courage and the opportunities to live. That was unique of him. Urs had his own code of conduct for the ruling class. Vishwanath has not forgotten Urs’ word of advice to newly elected MLAs. He recalls:

Urs’s words in the very first legislature party meeting changed the way we think. We were under the illusion that our electoral victory was a great achievement in itself. But his speech made us understand our responsibilities. He said: ‘Most of you are young and aspire for administrative experience. But keep one thing in mind. You are not merely a legislator of your constituency. If you are to last long in politics, it is important to cultivate forgiveness. That will give sheen to your personality. You should all take government programs to the people with responsibility, honesty and love. You are the bridge between the government and the people.’ There was a glass of water on the table. Urs picked it up and compared it to a government development program. ‘If I ask you to give it to the thirsty, you should not give it just to those from your party or caste. That is against rajadharma and a blot on democracy. We should not link politics, caste, community and language to issues of public welfare

The Urs Era  73 like drinking water, street lights, roads, schools and health care. Also, doing politics in everything is dangerous’, he said. Another unique characteristic of Urs was to patiently listen to everyone, young or old. Kagodu Thimmappa remembers what happened when he spoke in the Assembly after being elected for the first time:

Once, I spoke about the farmers’ difficulties in getting land records, for three hours in the Assembly. You won’t believe it. Chief Minister Urs listened to my entire speech intently. It is certainly not an ordinary thing for a chief minister to listen to a new MLA like me for three hours.

The Urs government ran into rough weather in 1973, when a controversy broke out that eventually changed the course of the socio cultural history of the state. It is no exaggeration to say that incident shook the conscience of Kannada populace (though not immediately but gradually) and opened their eyes. A statement by the Dalit minister B Basavalingappa related to Kannada literature put the Urs government in a fix. ‘Ambedkar school of thought’- a Dalit student organisation in Mysuru University had organised a seminar on November 19, 1973. Kannada lovers of Ashokapuram shouted slogans in favour of Kannada after a couple of opening speakers spoke in English. An annoyed Basavalingappa said, ‘Why do you shout about Kannada? Their (Vaidiks meaning the upper caste)- writings are fit to be fodder to cattle.’ He also urged students to take up English literature, saying much of Kannada literature is boosa (cattle feed) when seen from the perspective of Dalits.

The Urs Era  74 Reports appearing in most newspapers, except Deccan Herald, were one sided and provocative. They reported it as though Basavalingappa had called the entire body of Kannada literature as ‘fodder’ and insulted all great writers in the language. This set the state aflame. Basavalingappa had already earned the wrath of the upper castes through his- not infrequent- bold and provocative statements. The intolerance against him rose further after this incident. Soon, the question of Kannada literature was sidelined and it became a clash between Dalits and caste hindus. A big movement began all over the state, more so in Mysuru and Bengaluru, demanding Basavalingappa’s resignation. Though Kuvempu and UR Ananthamurthy issued statements in support of Basavalingappa, most lecturers and students of the upper castes bayed for Basavalingappa’s blood. They clamoured for his resignation. Poet Siddalingaiah, DR Nagaraj, Agrahara Krishnamurthy and others, who were students then, took to the streets in favour of Basavalingappa and were beaten up. There was news that Hucchamasti Gowda, KH Patil and HN Nanje Gowda, ministers in the Urs cabinet, had secretly provoked students to revolt against Basavalingappa. Noticing the rising opposition, Basavalingappa clarified he had not spoken against Kannada. He also apologised. But the situation had already gone out of control. The controversy took a violent turn in Shivamogga, Dharwad, Kalaburgi, Belagavi, Mandya and other places. Ad hoc committees to head the movement came up in all colleges of the state. Kannada activists like Vatal Nagaraj, G Narayana Kumar and Nadiger Krishnarao announced they would not rest till Basavalingappa was dropped from the ministry. Opposition leader HD Devegowda sought the resignation of Urs, saying the chief minister had

The Urs Era  75 not been able to control his minister! How people reacted to Basavaligappa during those days finds mention in writer journalist P Lankesh’s autobiography Hulimavina Mara (The Sour Mango Tree):

I was about to speak at Visveswarapuram College one evening. It looks like my detractors had come prepared that evening. As soon as I started speaking, they rained questions on me. The questions were not just limited to Kannada literature. But ‘boosa’ issue now included Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads. Their questions were like: ‘Do you like Bhagavad Gita or not?’ and extended to Kannada poets Pampa and Kumaravyasa too. Neither the questions nor the answers were important to them. They just wanted to insult and beat up those speaking in favour of Basavalingappa and the Dalits. The program plunged into chaos. Basavaraj (an activist) began shouting and trying to pacify the crowd. He was thrashed and taken away. I requested the police to protect him, but they turned a deaf ear. Some Socialist youths, who feared I would be attacked next, whisked me away into the college. I don’t know what happened to Basavaraj. Once, my opponents were waiting to pounce on me at Central College. Basavaraj was not with me then. They had no prudence, nor patience, nor humanity. My students had left the college as soon as my class was done. Some boys surrounded me and asked, “Are you Lankesh?” I said “Yes.” “You bastard! Thrash him!” they said.

The Urs Era  76 “Listen to me. Basavalingappa..” “Is he your father? Why do you support him? Is what you write boosa too?” I said, “No, no. Listen to me.” “Why should we listen to you?” A boy then pushed me from the back. A boy in front of me held my collar. “We will bury you if you don’t write and sign that everything you said is wrong and you are sorry.” When the situation got worse, I said, “I will write whatever you want.” One of them took out a sheet from a notebook and another gave me a pen. I scribbled something and signed it. They shouted, “Apology! Apology!”. That is when I understood how a crowd can become totally cruel and blind.... This cruelty and blindness characterised the entire boosa movement. At its peak, a plan was afoot to finish off poet Siddalingaiah, according to his friends. But the controversy did not remain one sided. The intensity of the pro Basavaligappa movement also got equally high. It can be said the episode was a precursor to the dawn of awareness among a new generation of Dalits.... Amidst all the clamour, Urs asked people to neglect this ‘inconsequential incident’. He did not seek Basavalingappa’s resignation. Basavalingappa did not think of putting in his papers either. Cabinet colleagues then exerted pressure on Urs, saying law and order would worsen if Basavalingappa was not dropped. On December 5, all but two ministers of the Urs’ Cabinet- KH Ranganath and M Mallikarjunaswamy included- resigned. Finally, Basavalingappa resigned on December 6, the Parinirvana Day of Ambedkar. Urs took the resignations to

The Urs Era  77 Delhi and explained the situation to Indira. He dropped Basavalingappa as well as HN Nanje Gowda and reconstituted his Cabinet. Another development calls for mention here. Three ministers in Urs cabinet including Basavalingappa, lost their positions in the wake of allegations. But it remains debatable whether they were serious enough to cost them their positions. Who were the ones to lose power? Basavalingappa, Renuka Rajendran and RD Kittur- all Dalits! This probably shows the drift of our politics. The flames of the boosa movement continued to simmer. Urs got to experience the heat of the new Dalit awareness first hand. His speech was obstructed at a meeting in Kalaburgi. Also, the Congress candidate was defeated in the by election in his own district! Urs woke up, and decided to get Basavalingappa back into the Cabinet. Basavalingappa was sworn in as revenue minister after his reelection to the Legislative Assembly in 1978. In the meanwhile, from 1974 to 1977, he had worked as secretary of a committee, appointed by the Congress at the national level, to study the condition of Dalits and backward classes... Dalit ideologues Devanuru Mahadeva, H Govindaiah, Kotiganahalli Ramaiah and others met in Mysuru after Basavalingappa had resigned and appealed to him to lead a Dalit movement. But being more pragmatic, he said he would stand by them, but not quit power politics, as he would become irrelevant if he did that. The Dalit movement, the Samajawadi Yuvajana Sabha, the Jati Vinasha (annihilation of caste) convention, the non Brahmin writers and artists’ convention of 1974, and the farmers’ movement launched later- all had their roots in the

The Urs Era  78 boosa agitation. This single incident changed Karnataka’s cultural scene, and reflected the energy of the decade. Some interesting aspects may become apparent from a study of the relationship between the movements of the time and the progressive politics of Urs, and how they influenced each other. It was a time when the inner spring of democracy looked so alive... Land to the landless through land reforms, freeing bonded labourers, and prohibiting manual scavenging were significant achievements of the Urs government. The Dalit movement had also taken up these causes. So it now seems the government indirectly supported the movement! But Dalit movement was vehemently opposed to the Congress administration..! Is this an inherent paradox of the era?

The Urs Era  79 Land to the Tiller

Though everyone from Nehru’s time was saying, land should go to the tiller, the idea had never taken the form of a law. In our own state, the Land Reforms Act of 1962 formulated by Nijalingappa as chief minister, had just remained on paper. But Urs took a revolutionary step in this regard in 1974. He brought forth the land reforms act. He did not remain content at that; he ensured it was implemented throughout the state. Land is an asset- a property- in our country, which is predominantly an agricultural society. Hence, it is a fundamental right granted by the Constitution. In fact, land ownership is the only power that determines the economic relations in the villages. Changing these relations is like shaking the basic structure of the villages; in effect, shaking the very roots of the caste system. Urs, well aware of the long term effects of his actions, was determined to get sharecroppers the land they had been tilling for years. Thereby he was opening a Pandora’s box. Society would automatically unite in opposition to this change. First of all, IAS officers, who were benami (absentee) owners of land, created hurdles at every step. An exasperated Urs then entrusted the task of formulating legal frameork to Venkatesh, secretary of the Law Department, loyal to the CM.

The Urs Era  80 Land as property, is a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right. This right was bound to become the first legal obstacle. Besides, most farmers tilling others’ land, had no proper documents. For this reason alone, they would not be able to obtain the ownership of the land they were tilling. But Urs was not the sort to make a law, then say he had done his best and keep quiet. He wanted to see that the Land Reforms Act came into force at any cost. He took care from the very first step of framing the Act. As a result, ‘People’s Courts’, unheard of even in Communist party ruled states, came into being in the state. Urs appointed Kagodu Thimmappa, Byregowda, Kakkillaya, Bommai, Subbaiah Shetty and the like, to a Joint House Committee. The committee conducted an extensive field survey, collected information, heard grievances, and prepared a report. The report recommended a three stage process: -Granting right of land to sharecroppers, -Taxation in place of unscientific crop sharing, -Constitution of Land Tribunals to sanction land ownership on the spot. In addition, the decisions of the tribunals were to be final and appeals were not allowed. These were the main features of the revolutionary legislation enacted by Urs. Identifying real tenants and getting rid of all legal tangles was the real revolutionary achievement of these land tribunals. Applications by the tenants were the basis. Assistant commissioners headed the land tribunals set up in each taluk. The local MLA and two important local persons were members of the tribunals. One of them had to be a Dalit. Though the tribunals worked like a full fledged court, lawyers had no place in the proceedings. Members inspected

The Urs Era  81 the land and their decision on the veracity of the farm tenant’s application was final. The decision could not even be challenged in a higher court. In the event of disputes, the police and the revenue department officers were called in. Urs ensured constitution of tribunals and appointment of members was free from scandals and corruption. Had his concern been not so genuine, land reforms would have remained mired in legal tangles for decades. The tribunals began working on a war footing. As many as 85,000 tenants became land owners. 21 lakh acres of land was distributed through these tribunals. Among them were 14,700 landless Dalits who received in all more than a lakh acres. Also, 3,700 agricultural labourers became owners of the houses in which they were living. Rs 20.3 crore was paid to land owners who lost their land as compensation. Most land owners in Dakshina Kannada district were Bunts. Urs displayed his astuteness by giving the land reforms portfolio to Subbaiah Shetty, who hails from that community. Urs also ensured that Shetty himself set an example by ditributing his own land among his tenants. Though the community revolted against Shetty, the Land Reforms Act was implemented effectively in Dakshina Kannada district. The act though not as vigorously implemented in north Karnataka, directly hit the Veerashaivas, the dominant community there. This provided another excuse for Veerashaivas’ aversion towards Urs. It is true the Act was not uniformly successful across the state, as it was in a few districts like Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga and so on. Many tenant farmers did not get the land easily nor did the compensation reach people smoothly. It is true the bureaucracy as usual hampered this process too.

The Urs Era  82 Former IAS officer Chiranjeevi Singh, who worked with Urs says, ‘The Land Reforms Act was successful in the coastal region. But it was not effective in other parts. If we look back now, it seems land reforms did not happen at all.’ Well known writer, thinker Dr Rahmath Tarikere adds:

Most owners harassed their tenants and snatched their land back. They registered land in the names of their own relatives and escaped the law. If they hadn’t done that, how do you explain the existence of feudal lords owning hundreds of acres to this day? The zamindari system is still prevalent in the Hyderabad Karnataka region and their atrocities continue. True. The Land Reforms Act did not see uniform success across the state. But the impact of the legislation was not limited to individual gainers and losers. It comprehensively changed the social equations in the villages. It breathed confidence into the working class. A stagnant society began to move and that movement did not stop. Interestingly, Urs was inspired by Jnanapith laureate Shivaram Karanth’s novel ‘Chomana Dudi’ to formulate this legislation! Literary critic CN Ramachandran writes Urs personally shared this fact with him. Land reforms had been a beloved cause for Urs from the very beginning. RM Desai, his confidante and inheritor of 6,000 acres in 14 villages in Beelagi taluk of north Karnataka, stands personal testimony to this. Rachappa Mallappa Desai was a graduate and hailed from a family of landlords. He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 1952 and to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1956 after the unification of the state. The Legislators Home did not have

The Urs Era  83 enough rooms then. So a single room was allotted to Devaraj Urs, Rajashekhara Murthy and RM Desai. Desai became very close to Urs and their friendship continued as long as Urs was alive. Urs had initially shared his ambition of challenging Veerashaiva dominance with this Veerashaiva leader! He had also shared his grand dream of bringing about land reforms with this big landlord! But Desai was a loyal follower of Urs. When landlords of north Karnataka pleaded with him to speak against the Land Reforms Act, Desai instead spoke in favour of Urs. Not only this, when the Act was implemented, he distributed his own land among tenants without a word....! Desai naturally followed Urs at the time of Congress split in 1969. He had worked as treasurer of the party. He stood by Urs at every step, as his personal treasurer too.

An incident, not directly related to land reforms, but revealing the farming roots of Urs, may be mentioned here. Once, Urs was sitting depressed when Srihari Khoday went to see him:

I asked him what had happened. He said everything was over and sat quiet. The government had brought in a new law to open a warehousing corporation to store food grains. He said “Granaries are gone. Farmer’s confidence is gone. Farmers can no longer be happy”. I asked him how. “A family can be happy for four to five years if it has a granary. It doesn’t have to beg for anything or be scared of anything. Farmers are finished if they have no granaries” he said and grew silent. I called farmers’ leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar and asked him what this meant in today’s circumstances. He

The Urs Era  84 explained, ‘Urs had given a serious thought to the issue. A farmer with a granary carries on boldly for years. The agricultural economy has changed now. A farmer sells all his produce after the harvest. How can he store his yield?’ Social transformation was the sole aim of the programs and laws formulated and implemented by Urs in his first term as chief minister (1972-77). He wanted to bring changes in our stagnant society. Shaking the caste system and bringing down economic inequality were his goals. In all, he wanted to create a new equilibrium in society. Two important laws came into force in this direction in 1975. The first related to freedom from bonded labour. Or prohibition of bonded labour. The ‘bonded labour system’ refers to a system of forced labour under which a debtor enters into an agreement saying he will serve the creditor either by himself or through a member of his family or a person dependent on him for a specified or unspecified period, without wages or for nominal wages, in consideration of the loan. In some cases, the debtor’s children and even grandchildren were working at the creditors’ houses if their loans remained unpaid. Though the system was not widespread in the state, it haunted Dalit families the most. The government brought a law banning it, but the implementation was not easy as it was difficult to trace bonded labourers. But Urs had tuned the government machinery so well, thousands of bonded labours throughout the state were identified and freed in a short time. In addiiton to this, Urs was aware of the plight of small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, potters, washer men and other poor people who had pledged whatever valuables they had in order to lead their life. A piece of land or

The Urs Era  85 even the utensils at home were not spared. Urs decided to end their misery at one go and implemented the Loan Waiver Act . As soon as the act was promulgated, he convened a meeting of deputy commissioners, explained the main purpose of the Act and directed them to implement it. It was for the officials to track Marwari shops, pawn brokers and return the valuables to their owners. The Act was successfully implemented within months, thanks to the enthusiasm of the officials. The gentleman leader and Dalit Minister KH Ranganath stood by Urs in framing and implementing these two important laws. Prohibition of manual scavenging (carrying human excreta on the head) is another important legislation in this line. It was implemented in 1977 and Karnataka was the first state to implement such a legislation in the entire country. Minister B Basavalingappa had formulated this legislation. But he had lost the post of minister in the wake of ‘Boosa’ controversy when this legislation took the shape of an Act and was brought into force. There is a footnote to this Act. ‘Panchama’, a journal of the Dalit movement, had been publishing a series of articles and seeking the abolition of manual scavenging. But ‘civil’ society was against it. Former minister Srinivasa Prasad recalls a minister of Indira’s Cabinet meeting Basavalingappa and urging him to ensure that Dalits were spared at least for an hour each day for manual scavenging! But Basavalingappa had made up his mind. The Act came into force. The government claimed that the law had been successfully implemented all over the state. But reality was different. The government can announce any number of revolutionary steps, but it is then up to the bureaucracy. If officials don’t act, everything will remain just on paper.

The Urs Era  86 Indudhara Honnapura, who had just begun his journalistic career in Prajavani, went to Hunsur, the chief minister’s constituency, and came back with report and photographs of manual scavenging still in practice there. Prajavani published the story on the front page. The story led to an outrage. ‘Fire brand’ opposition leader AK Subbaiah raised a hue and cry against it in the Legislative Council. Serious efforts were then made to really implement the Act. Those engaged in manual scavenging were taken in municipal corporations as civic workers. Construction of toilets was encouraged in all villages. But the sad reality is that manual scavenging still persists and news of innocent lives being lost in manholes still continues to haunt us... But the zeal Urs displayed for the eradication of this inhuman practice is historic.

The implementation of programs aimed at social transformation is just one facet of Urs’ achievements. For students of political science, his extraordinary efficiency as an administrator is equally important. He was a visionary whose sights were set on the all round development of the state. We have already seen how Finance Minister MY Ghorpade cleared the overdraft of the state under the leadership of Urs, and how Karnataka rose to the fifth position from the 13th in the map of development. To recount briefly the other important legislations that Urs brought in: The Tree Protection Act: Urs brought it in on the advice of forest officer AN Yellappa Reddy. According to this foresighted law, Government permission was made mandatory to axe trees. And a few saplings had to be planted in place of

The Urs Era  87 the cut trees. This was the first of its kind law in the world. Also, Urs was instrumental in creating a green belt around Bengaluru. He gave a legal stamp to it and handed the responsibility of effective implementation to the Forest Department. This ensured lung space for the metropolis. This was also implemented following the advice of Yellappa Reddy. It is another matter, subsequent Chief ministers and their officials threw this law to the winds and destroyed the green belt! Housing, food, clothing, jobs, education and empowerment of women- all the programs brought in by Urs were aimed at fulfilling these basic needs of the people. Sites were distributed among homeless people in rural and urban areas. Houses were given free for the poor. About 55 per cent of government housing was given to the backward classes. The Janata Housing Scheme came into being. Electricity connections were provided free to 40,000 houses of underprivileged families through the ‘Bhagajyothi’ scheme. A stipend was provided to educated unemployed youths, and old age pensions for the elderly. A monthly pension was also announced for needy writers and artistes. A separate department was established for the development of the backward classes. The Harijana- Girijana Corporation was set up for Dalits. Other achievements were programs encouraging dry land agriculture and increase in power generation, Launch of irrigation projects including the one at the Kali river, initiation of the Kudremukh iron ore project, Promotion of small scale industries, Laying the foundation stone for Electronics City near Bengaluru,

The Urs Era  88 And strict implementation of the 20 Point Program (that included at least 100 days of work, increase in minimum wages and vocational training for educated unemployed youths). Urs was not content with the tag of Karnataka being a progressive state alone. He wanted this to become a prosperous state as well. He dreamt of a comprehensively developed state. He prepared a team of officials like his personal secretary JC Lynn, DM Nanjundappa and Chiranjeevi Singh and worked tirelessly to that end.

The Urs Era  89 Emergency

Emergency is a dark chapter in the history of Independent India. That was a period when democracy faced the danger of extinction; was an alarming shock that shook the populace out of their slumber, and an event that changed the course of Indian history. But it was also a period that changed the course of Devaraj Urs’ political career. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared Emergency in 1975 when she was on the verge of losing power, following an Allahabad High Court order. She claimed she had to declare Emergency as some forces were trying to destabilise the country and obstructing her efforts at revolutionary measures. The country bore the brunt of the Emergency. Independent India had for the first time a taste of totalitarian rule. Whoever raised their voice against Indira was sent to jail. Thousands of people including Jayaprakash Narayan were put behind bars. In Karnataka, the Emergency was not so draconian though. Urs instead used this new unlimited power to implement his radical programs and Indira’s favourite 20 Point Program. Besides, there were several instances to show how gentle he was with his political opponents during those days. Once, Urs on a visit to Victoria Hospital ran into JH Patel, jailed during the Emergency and receiving treatment there.

The Urs Era  90 Urs enquired about his health and even instructed the doctors to take good care of him. Not only this, he wanted to release Ramakrishna Hegde and Deve Gowda on parole, but the latter refused. Journalist Garudanagiri Nagaraj writes Urs did not arrest Shivaram Karanth, Gopalakrishna Adiga, Master Hirannaiah and Lankesh, who went on addressing public meetings against the Emergency at various places. The government would arrest people only on instructions from the Centre, and treat them as guests, Nagaraj recalls. The Shah Commission too noted how the Urs government was lenient during the Emergency. The whole country was surprised when Indira Gandhi lifted the Emergency and announced elections in 1977. No one anticipated it. The opposition parties hastily united under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan to challenge the dictatorial regime. Their leaders, who had just come out of jail, formed the Janata Party and faced elections. The Indira Congress bit the dust in North India. Both Indira and her son Sanjay tasted personal defeat. The voter had demonstrated his Herculean power at the polling booths. The first ever non Congress government came to power at the Centre and Morarji Desai became prime minister. But in Karnataka, the Congress won 26 of 27 Lok Sabha constituencies! The Indira Congress could not secure these many seats in any other state. By then, Urs’ demeanor had changed. He had started neglecting MLAs as soon as he became chief minister in 1972 for the first time itself. Now his cigarette brand shifted from Panama to 555. It was now not surprising if Urs believed that he was the architect of Congress’s victory in Karnataka while it was decimated all over the country.

The Urs Era  91 When Devaraj Urs had reached the zenith of his career, ironically hard days were not far away for him. Forty six MLAs, under the leadership of Urs’ political rival HD Deve Gowda, got the Janata Party government, which had just assumed power at the Centre, order a judicial inquiry into the scandals of the Urs government. Justice Grover was nominated to head the enquiry commission. Although it did not come as a blow to Urs’ political life, this provided enough fodder for his critics. Urs went to court arguing that the Union government had no powers to order an enquiry against him. Also, he appointed an inquiry commission, headed by retired High Court judge and vigilance commissioner Meer Iqbal Hussain, to conduct a probe against himself. But as the High Court declared the Hussain commission null and void, the Grover commission started its trial and completed its deliberations within a short time. The commission recommended action against Urs on many counts, including an act of nepotism- sanctioning land to his son in law. The Janata Party government did not initiate any action against the Urs government; but it simply dismissed the Urs government and imposed President’s rule. It had by now developed the habit of dismissing all Congress led state governments. When Urs was reelected chief minister in 1978, no one remembered the Grover commission!... Several Congressmen revolted against Indira Gandhi within five months of her electoral defeat, and formed the ‘Reddy Congress’ under the leadership of Brahmananda Reddy of Andhra Pradesh. Most Congress leaders, except Urs and YB Chavan in Maharashtra, were ready to explore other options than Indira Congress.

The Urs Era  92 In the meantime, Urs had to face another crisis.

The farmers of Mandya district revolted against him on baseless suspicions, when he took up the Varuna Canal Project in 1977. His idea was to utilise the additional Cauvery water in the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam (KRS) flowing to Tamil Nadu, for Karnataka’s benefit. People were needlessly apprehensive that the Visveswaraya canal, which supplies water to their land, would go dry if the Cauvery river water was diverted to Mysuru district through the Varuna Canal. In fact, Varuna- was not a project formulated by Urs. It had been thought of as early as when the KRS dam was built. The project had then been dropped for want of funds. Chief Minister Nijalingappa too did not take it up as it was a ‘costly and technically difficult’ scheme. It seems there were political reasons to instigate farmers against Urs as several experts, including Sir M Visveswaraya, had clarified that the Varuna canal would not affect the flow of water to the Visveswaraya canal. (The project was eventually completed and named after Devaraj Urs. Mandya farmers are in no way affected by it either!) Gullible farmers had been misled into believing that the water from Cauvery, responsible for the prosperity of Mandya district, would be diverted to Mysuru district. KV Shankaregowda led the farmers’ protests in Mandya. The farmers had laid siege to the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru and taken out a huge rally wearing chaddis (knickers). Thus the rally came to be known as the ‘Chaddi Demonstration’. Former minister KH Srinivas, who was Urs’ political secretary then, gives an account of the situation:

The Urs Era  93 Minister SM Krishna resigned from the Cabinet and embarrassed the Urs government by taking part in a farmers’ protest in Mandya, saying the district would become a desert if Urs’ ambitious Varuna canal project was implemented. So, I went to Urs and suggested that the project be dropped. He asked me to go home, have dinner and come back at 10 pm. A class was waiting for me when I went back to him. A black board stood there with a detailed map of the Varuna canal drawn on it. Urs had drawn the map like a civil engineer. He explained to me that the project was intended to quench the thirst of people in Chamarajanagar, and farmers of Mandya would not in any way lose anything because of the project. He said he was a farmer himself and understood the travails of farmers, and would not cheat them. He explained everything like a teacher and told me he would correct himself if he was proven wrong. I then understood Krishna’s political motives. The farmers of Mandya, who were totally unaware of the background, were protesting on the streets. On two occasions, Urs tried to explain the reality to the Mandya farmers. But no one was ready to listen. When the agitation had become emotionally charged by September, luckily a great tragedy was averted. A violent crowd was ready to butcher Urs by laying siege to the Mandya Town Hall, where he was staying! He escaped thanks to the timely intervention of a police sub inspector. Urs was whisked away from the back door and secretly sent in a car to Mysuru! The Varuna canal row took another turn in November. Efforts to unseat Urs had begun in the state Indira Congress

The Urs Era  94 at a time when SM Krishna resigned and sat with farmers at a demonstration in Mandya. Dissidents claimed that many MLAs were not with Urs. A headcount was done in Raj Bhavan to show Urs did not enjoy a majority. In addition to all this, the Janata Party government at the Centre dismissed the Urs government at the midnight of December 31, 1977. Why was such a step taken? Nobody had a chance to ask. The Janata government had ousted the Congress governments not only in Karnataka, but also in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh and declared midterm polls. In any case, Urs’ term was to expire in March 1978. But the Central government did not want to hold elections with Urs still seated in power. Thus, as the New Year dawned in 1978, Urs had become a former chief minister.

Urs was reelected in 1978 and became chief minister again, beyond everyone’s expectations. This result was surprising because, journalists had decided that the Janata Party, which had won elections all over the country, would win in Karnataka as well, and Deve Gowda would become chief minister. They gave second place to the Reddy Congress, and Indira Congress stood at a poor third! But the results shocked everyone. The Janata Party, considered the strongest, won only 60 seats. The Reddy Congress was decimated. But the Congress led by Urs won 145 seats and assumed power again. Urs who had practically no rivals became chief minister easily. Urs in his second term was a changed man. He had risen higher in political stature. Organisations sprang up across

The Urs Era  95 the country that began to invite and felicitate him. His attention on administration lost its focus. Even his dreams of social transformation dimmed a bit during this period. A prominent astrologer had predicted Urs’ victory in the election. He had also said Urs could become the country’s Prime Minister too! On the other hand, the difficulties of Indira Gandhi, uprooted at the national level, did not end there. A commission of enquiry was set up against her and legal steps mooted. Weighed down by the charges, she decided a re entry into the Lok Sabha was the only way out of her tribulations. This was widely published in newspapers. People ready to give up their positions for her sake in Andhra and Tamilnadu also made it to the news. Urs came forward to ensure her victory from Karnataka. Initially he wanted to send her to the Rajya Sabha. But later preferred diret elections. He sent DB Chandregowda to Delhi to speak with ‘Madam’. But she brushed aside the matter with just one sentence: ‘No, I won’t contest.’ Reason: Someone had told her that Urs had secretly met Chandrashekhar of the Janata Party in Mumbai! Indira Gandhi was so distressed in those days by her massive defeat that even an iota of suspicion was enough to rattle her. When Chandregowda came back and informed urs of Indira’s reluctance. Urs said, ‘I am no Anjaneya to cut open my chest to show my loyalty. If she wants to contest, well and good. It’s her decision in any case.’ But Urs was not the one to keep quiet. He once told HT Krishnappa: ‘She was highly depressed when I went to see her. She had decided to quit politics and leave the country. She consented to contest the election only after repeated persuasion. She was the ruler of

The Urs Era  96 the country, but there were not even servants at her house. I saw her personally washing the bottom of her grandchildren. I felt sad.’ By then, Chandregowda had already submitted his resignation to the Lok Sabha. He went to Delhi again and convinced Sanjay Gandhi. Indira then agreed to contest on Sanjay’s insistence. She entered the fray from Chikkamagaluru, which Chandregowda had vacated for her. The Janata government at the Centre, understandably took this election as a prestigious issue and fielded Veerendra Patil against Indira. Some may remember, efforts were made to get the Kannada icon Dr Rajkumar to contest against her. But Raj declined. George Fernandes was given charge of Veerendra Patil’s campaign. Indira entering the election fray again was naturally big news on national and internations platforms. Indira was shuttling between Bengaluru and Chikkamagaluru in the run up to the election. Once, her car had a puncture near Kadur. She sat by a field for a full hour, with nothing but a withered apple to eat. They say Urs was moved to tears seeing her in that condition. He had so much affection for her. So he put in his entire might and strove for her victory. The atmosphere was tense. George Fernandes was capable of provoking people. To see that everything went off smoothly without untoward incidents, HT Sangliana, superintendent of police in Mandya, was posted in Chikkamagaluru and made in charge of elections. Though anticipaed to be violent, the election passed off quite peacefully, barring a firing incident near Ujire in Belthangady taluk. Indira won the election by a massive margin of 77,000 votes and entered the Lok Sabha again in October 1978. Urs’

The Urs Era  97 fame reached new heights. Even Central leaders now treated him with more respect. He had earlier got elected in Indira’s name. Now he gave rebirth to his leader. This must have boosted his ego. Indira had become irrelevant at the national level for sure. So Urs thought his victory this time was his own and he did not owe it to Indira. A grave misconception, that.

The Urs Era  98 Drifting apart

From here on, it is a story of Urs and Indira drifting apart, and of his own tragic end. Urs’s blunder was in that he could not fathom Indira’s blind love for her son Sanjay and how much she came to depend on him, especially after the Emergency. He did not ever try to please Sanjay even once in his entire poilitical career. In December 1975, a big event was hosted in Bidar to honour Sanjay. With the plank of Family planning, it was projectected as a government program. A large group of Congress leaders rushed to take part in the event organised by R Gundu Rao and KH Patil. Urs joined in half heartedly, but he did not go to receive Sanjay. In 1976, senior minister SM Krishna invited Sanjay to Mandya and felicitated the ‘Prince‘ with a silver crown. At that time, the anti Urs wave was strong in Mandya in the wake of the Varuna canal controversy. This irritated Urs even more. He had not entertained Sanjay even during the Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha election. Gundu Rao had gossiped about this with select journalists and it had already reached several ‘important’ ears. Chief ministers who did not fall in line with Sanjay were losing power. But Urs did not bother. This might have angered Indira Gandhi. Also, she must have thought Urs was trying to grow bigger than her. Besides, a few Congressmen from the state who were conspiring against Urs, could also have poisoned her mind against him.

The Urs Era  99 As if this was not enough, Urs spoke out against dynasty politics at the AICC session in Delhi in January 1979. He came across as a rebel in public when he said, ‘The party should avoid the tag that it was a bunch of bonded labourers in service of a dynasty’. Urs had also directly criticised the high decibel politics of Sanjay. That became the decisive moment. Later, Sanjay went about saying openly- he would finish off Urs. Urs recalled this development in his last interview (to DV Rajashekhar of Prajavani):

The people thought the Chikkamagaluru election was more about my prestige than Indira’s. They also started saying I was the reason for her victory. She could not tolerate this. I opposed Sanjay Gandhi’s entry into politics. My speech at the Delhi Congress session angered her. She wanted to make Sanjay the next Prime Minister. When I criticised Sanjay, she stopped talking to me for a day. I gave in to her friends’ pressure and went to her residence. Indira said I should stop speaking nonsense. I tried to explain. But she did not listen and just went inside…. Gundu Rao was close to Sanjay. Hence, I had to make him a minister first. Sanjay’s friends exerted pressure on me to give him a cabinet birth. I did not like Sanjay’s intervention in matters of my Cabinet. I rejected their suggestion. Later, a number of charges surfaced against Gundu Rao in connection with the Department of Youth Affairs. I built up the files. Left with no option, I removed him from his portfolio one day. I received a call from Delhi that day. I had to meet Sanjay. We argued over the issue. I told him it was not possible to make him a Cabinet

The Urs Era  100 minister. After two days, Sanjay personally spoke to me and pleaded with me to make him a Cabinet minister. If somebody makes a request, I don’t like to say no. That’s my nature. I met Indira Gandhi that day. She flared up, saying I had done injustice to Gundu Rao. I couldn’t explain anything to her. What could I do? Gundu Rao became a cabinet minister.... The friction between Indira and Urs continued through several stages of subtle rebellion. Not that it was beyond Urs’s comprehension. He rather naively believed he had the power to face any challenge from the mother and son. In April 1976, Indira wanted Urs to step down from the Pradesh Congress Committee president’s post and she made it known through followers. Urs did not wake up even then. He was lost in the felicitations he was receiving all over the country. He opened his eyes only when Indira personally spelt out her intention at the Congress executive committee meeting in the last week of April. Gundu Rao and FM Khan had already prepared a list of Indira loyalists as opposed to Urs loyalists in the Pradesh Congress. Urs had no clue about it either. The rift between Indira and Urs became big news within a month. He refused to step down from the post of president. Even at this stage he innocently believed Indira would not do any injustice to him! But Indira may have had reasons to be scared- Urs could emerge as her rival. Among the programs organised to felicitate Urs after the Chikkamagaluru election, the one at the Gujarat Kshatriya Samaj is worthy of mention. Urs was conferred the title ‘Prithvivallabha’ (Lord of the earth) there. In the long history of the Indian sub continent, it was Pulikeshi II of the 7th century,

The Urs Era  101 a king from South India who extended his empire upto North beyond the Vindhyas. The organisers likened Urs to that emperor and praised him as the first Mahakshatriya after Pulikeshi II to conquer North India. Pulikeshi II was called ‘Prithvivallabha’ after he had defeated emperor Harshavardhana on the banks of the river Narmada. When Urs was thus immersed in his dreams of national leadership, Indira began to research the title ‘Prithvivallabha’. She came to know that Sohrab Modi had made a film titled ‘Prithvivallabha’ based on the life of Pulikeshi II in 1940s. She got a copy of the film through FM Khan and watched it at Kanteerava Studio in Bengaluru sometime in March 1979. She then began scheming to prevent the advent of another Prithvivallabha! As a first step in the direction of breaking chief minister Urs’ ‘political arrogance’, she asked him to step down from the post of the Pradesh Congress Committee president. This brought their differences to a head. They reached a flashpoint by June 1979. On June 20, she abruptly removed Urs and appointed S Bangarappa, a minister in his Cabinet, to the post of Pradesh Congress president. It may be said, this development marked the beginning of Urs’ political downfall. Urs wondered how Bangarappa, who had been with him till the night of June 20, had not given a hint of what was to come. Within a few days, several MLAs from backward classes switched loyalties to the Indira camp in groups. Urs had trusted all of them. All important leaders of the party moved to Indira’s side. The strength of Urs’ group came down substantially in the Assembly. A seperate group of Indira loyalists came up in the House.

The Urs Era  102 Urs at that time was afflicted with herpes. When he was lying on bed, Indira served him a notice charging him with violating party discipline. Urs’ reply to that notice was an indication that he was already on the way out:

It is you being dictatorial, who is on the wrong side; not me. You scare away good, efficient and capable people. You cannot rule the country with incompetent people, your son and sycophants... Who is it that has violated discipline? Have I in Karnataka or you in the executive committee? Don’t forget discipline begets discipline. Discipline is a double edged sword. It cuts both sides…

Indira suspended Urs from the party on June 24, 1979.

Several explanations are afloat even today about the episode of backward class leaders and MLAs deserting Urs. They say he encouraged such worthless people, and that they were ungrateful opportunists, and so on. But an undertone in all these theories is that as a whole ‘the backward class MLAs were good for nothing and unworthy of trust’. But we shouldn’t forget Indira was a national leader, daughter of Jawarharlal Nehru and one with the ‘Gandhi’ surname. She had it in her to bring the party to power single-handedly, except after the Emergency. Urs after all, was only a regional leader. Not just this, the credit for all of Urs’ radical programs went to Indira. Given this situation, it was natural that not just backward class leaders, but everybody else followed Indira after her reelection to the Lok Sabha. Besides, her game plans were subtle and deep. That is why, one has to take these

The Urs Era  103 derisive comments against the backward class leaders with a pinch of salt. Because even upper class leaders deserted Urs. HT Krishnappa said, ‘Urs had brought up many leaders from the backward classes. They all left him. Not only them, even the upper classes left him. I myself did not go with him either. I have always felt remorse for that action of mine.’ Anyway, as soon as Urs lost numbers in the Assembly, Janata Party came to his rescue. To ensure that his government did not collapse, JH Patel, Jeevaraj Alva, Prameela Nesargi and 35 other MLAs of the Janata Party came forward to support him. Urs was forced to rely on the support of the Janata Party at both the state and national levels. But all equations changed soon and Urs received a jolt from unexpected quarters. The Janata Party was rattled by political developments sooner than expected. By July 15, the party faced a split and Prime Minister Morarji Desai had to resign. This facilitated an easy come back for Indira. Despite all the turbulence, Urs did not budge. He did not stop his struggle either. After the fall of the Janata Party government at the Centre, Charan Singh came forward to form the government. Urs declared his support to Charan Singh. Most of the MPs from Karnataka were with Urs. Even Indira Gandhi lent support to the Charan Singh government from the outside. Strange are the ways of politics. Urs, who had declared war against Indira at the state level, had to become a part of the government that relied on her support! Indira ditched the Charan Singh government within 25 days. The government collapsed and the stage was set for midterm elections to the Lok Sabha. I was part of a team of journalists that went on a campaign tour with Urs in the

The Urs Era  104 Hyderabad Karnataka region then. I had just then started my career in the evening newspaper Janavani. Urs’ calculations went completely awry and Indira assumed power at the Centre again with a huge majority. Her party won 27 of 28 seats in Karnataka. All candidates from Urs’ party were defeated. Not only that, 24 of them even lost their deposits. A shaken Urs resigned from the post of chief minister in January 1980. MLAs that had remained with Urs till then, jumped over to the Indira camp overnight. People ready to ‘jump into a well’ for Urs were now nowhere in sight. DB Chandregowda describes how Urs faced this situation with dignity:

We understood the sensitivity of the situation when the people who had been with us changed sides. KH Srinivas, Subbaiah Shetty, Moyideen, Havanur and I myself went to Urs’ residence. We asked him what next. He told us, ‘Let’s all go to Raj Bhavan.’ When we were looking for his car and driver, Urs said, ‘CM, car... All that’s over. Let’s go in your car.’ I drove the car and Urs sat in the front seat. Srinivas, Subbaiah Shetty and Havanur were in the back. At Raj Bhavan, we sent word to the Governor that the chief minister wanted to see him. Urs corrected us and told the staff to tell the Governor it was Devaraj Urs at the door. He was gracious enough to give up the post of chief minister then and there. He informed of this to the Governor as well. The governor asked him why he was resigning when he had not been defeated in the Assembly. Urs replied he had resigned on moral grounds. He did not ask anyone about it, or even call a Cabinet

The Urs Era  105 meeting. He accepted his defeat and resigned quietly. R Gundu Rao was elevated to Urs’ position. With 40 MLAs, Urs sat in the seat of the leader of opposition. After all this, an occasion came up for Urs and Indira to unite again, remembers KH Srinivas:

Urs had stepped down from power and was interacting with Delhi leaders. Indira was also shattered after the untimely death of her son Sanjay. In Karnataka the Congress image was getting tarnished owing to Gundu Rao’s administration. During those days, I received a call from someone close to Indira. He told me ‘madam’ had softened towards Urs, understood his powers, and was inclined to take him back into the party. I was asked if I could convince Urs into reconciliation. I spoke to Urs. He rejected the idea at first. Eventually, because of my persuasion, he agreed to go to Delhi and meet Indira. I flew to Delhi with him. An appointment was fixed to meet her the next evening. But once there, he took part in a public meeting with Vajpayee at Bhiwandi, and launched an attack on Indira. It was big news in the papers the next day. People around her brought this to her notice at breakfast. This angered her and she cancelled the meeting with Urs. That was the end of their relationship. I suspect some Karnataka Congressmen, who had figured they would be sidelined if Urs returned to Indira Congress, had planned it all neatly- the Bhiwandi meeting, the news stories, and then taking the tale to madam. It was all

The Urs Era  106 fixed. They were successful. But the tragedy is that all of them were trained by Urs!

When Gundu Rao’s style was tarnishing the image of the Congress party in the state, Urs continued his efforts to unite the opposition parties at the national level. In the mean time a farmers’ rebellion broke out at Naragund in Dharwad district in June 1980. It looked as though the rebellion was not just against police atrocities but directed against the Gundu Rao government per se. Urs joined hands with the farmers. Around the same time a tragedy occured that shattered Urs. He received news that his beloved daughter Nagarathna who had been to their farm house with husband Nataraj, slipped into a well and died all of a sudden. Urs was then at a meeting in Bidar. This tragedy killed his spirit. He stayed away from public life for several months. He lost interest in uniting opposition parties at the national level too. After a few months in seclusion, Urs began to recover gradually towards the end of 1981. He felt that Karnataka needed a political alternative to Gundu Rao’s erratic rule. He decided to launch a regional party. Accordingly, Karnataka Kranthi Ranga came into existence in the beginning of 1982. By then, Dalit, farmers’ and Kannada agitations were at their peak in the state. The differences between Chief Minister Gundu Rao and his cabinet colleague S Bangarappa had also reached a boiling point. The time was ripe for Kranthi Ranga. It looked like Urs was all set for a grand comeback. Against this backdrop, the polarisation of parties at the national level gained momentum again. But… it was not to be.

The Urs Era  107 It was the morning of June 6, 1982. Devaraj Urs woke up feeling fine. He exchanged some pleasantries with George Fernandes who had come to meet him. He rested for a while after lunch and spent some time in the library. His friend and astrologer Dwarakanath came to see him at 4 pm. Urs drove out with him in a car. That became his last journey. At 6 pm, news broke that Urs had breathed his last at a house in Jayanagar. Whose house was it? Why did Urs go there? What happened there? These details were never made public. But the entire state plunged into grief on hearing of his demise. A huge crowd had gathered at his house on Crescent Road by the time the body was brought there. People were wailing at his death. The state had been orphaned. Several national leaders flew down and paid their last respects before the afternoon of the next day. But Indira did not turn up! His body was later taken to his native place Kallahalli. People lined up on either side of the road, all the way from Bengaluru to Kallahalli without leaving out an inch of space, to bid a tearful farewell to thier leader. With the exit of Devaraj Urs, a great chapter in the history of pro-people politics thus came to an end in Karnataka.

The Urs Era  108 In conclusion...

This question should be taken up for examination at least now. Misinformation campaigns and prejudices should be set aside in order to achieve a realistic perspective. The most serious charge levelled against Devaraj Urs, the rarest of people’s leaders in the state, was that he was corrupt. He was accused of legitimising corruption by fixing a price for every work. But is that all? Is it the whole picture? As explained earlier, the entire establishment was against the ‘administrative revolution’ Urs tried to bring about. As a harbinger of change, he had to simultaneously take on dominant communities, the bureaucracy and the newspapers, all at one go. The result: All his achievements were sidelined and only his corruption got projected. If Urs were really corrupt, it is natural that he should have amassed wealth. He should have acquired a lot of properties. His family had to be leading an ultra luxurious life.... Right? The charges against him are old, and we hear them to this day. Even his admirers can’t refute these charges. Because, it is true Urs collected money. It is also true that, it could not have been through lawful means. But for what purpose? And where has all the wealth gone?

The Urs Era  109 Let’s see what his colleagues and companions say about this:

Once journalists questioned Urs about his corruption. He said ‘Yes, I had to become corrupt for the sake of politics. But I won’t touch that money. Money is required to fight elections, help the poor, retain MLAs, and pay the High command’. If anyone gave money to Urs, he would ask it to be handed over to RM Desai, and Desai would distribute the money. Urs never made money personally. He never aspired for money. -MC Nanaiah

I was angry at him over corruption. I directly asked him what all this was about. He did not lose his temper. He clearly told me ‘What I took in one hand, I threw away in the other. I have not even tasted a cup of coffee with that money’. -DB Chandregowda

Urs was not corrupt personally. He became corrupt to retain the MLAs and pay money to the party High command. When Urs stepped down, no one came to see him. MS Ramaiah, who knew about his financial condition, once went up to him and requested Urs to accept an amount of Rs 1,000 a day for his expenses. And followed his word with action. When Urs died, he had not paid salaries to his servants for three months. He had run up dues at a petrol bunk and a travel agency that used to book air tickets for his Delhi

The Urs Era  110 tours. Ramaiah, who knew all this, calculated the dues and cleared a sum of Rs 1.30 lakh at one go. -Srikanthamurthy Though “pure” at heart, Urs could not escape the label that he was corrupt. Was it unavoidable? Once when confidant KN Veerappa Gowda raised the question with him, Urs pointed at the times we are lviing in.

I asked him as a friend. He asked me in turn- “How can we build the party? Earlier, people were honest. They worked selflessly for the party and the country. Now where do we find such people? We have to give money to everyone. It’s all ‘food for work’ today.” The times have changed. People’s attitudes have changed. Their expectations have changed. Most MLAs and MPs nurtured by Urs were first generation leaders. They were not idealists who stood by the big dreams of their leader. They relied on the ‘monthly allowance’ given by Urs for their expenses. Given this situation, what option did Urs have? More over, Urs was not a proponent of armchair politics. Not a mere theorist. He was determined to implement what he believed in. He was a statesman who was aware of the possibilities and limitations of power politics. He had no choice but to tread a tough path and face charges even though he was not personally corrupt. When members of the Journalists’ Association went to Urs seeking his assistance to restart the Kannada newspaper Samyukta Karnataka, he gave a realistic apprisal of the situation:

I neither have a caste base nor the support of tradition. Do you think MLAs would have allowed

The Urs Era  111 me to continue in power had I been delivering mere lectures? They would have driven me out long ago. All your backward class MLAs are with me not for the development of backward classes. They come to me for personal benefits. They are all hungry. Whenever they want something, they come to me. I have no inherited property to fulfill their wishes. I have to look after them by snatching (money) from someone else. I don’t have to do all this for my livelihood. Do you get it? Urs revealed the same harsh reality when his childhood friend Chaduranga raised this question.

When asked if so much corruption was necessary, Urs exclaimed- ‘Oh my God! Did I start corruption? Corruption has been around from time immemorial. It might have increased a bit in my time’. Is this not wrong? ‘What could I do? I do not have the numbers. I needed money to retain my people. Did I have money? I had to take money from people who had it. In return, they extracted a ‘pound of flesh’. Society is such. This is a bourgeois society. We have to use all means to stay in power and serve people. Remember what Lord Krishna had to go through to save the Pandavas.’

Urs’ personal life can be glimpsed in his daughter Chandraprabha’s words:

My father cut down trees in the forest and toiled to make the land fit for tilling. My mother worked with him too. It was heart wrenching to see them toil day and night. Work was worship for them. It also became a path to his development. He had

The Urs Era  112 bought 30 acres from his own earnings. He sold a part of it before each election. Today, we are left with only six acres... My father never cared for his family. He was engrossed in service of the people. My mother reared cows to meet our family expenses. She continued dairying even when he was chief minister. My father was very strict. I had begged as a daughter for a site when he was chief minister. He then clearly told me- ‘I have given you good education, got you married into good families. I am not the sort to make property for my children. So you should not expect anything more from me.’ We all pressed him to buy a house in Bengaluru. He said, ‘Why do we need a house in Bengaluru when we already have one at Kallahalli?’ He silenced us by saying we could get a good house for a monthly rent of Rs 500 in Bengaluru. Eventually, we had to take his body to the funeral from the rented house… What more do we need by way of explanation? It is true Urs was corrupt. But for what? He never used tainted money for personal ends. It was as though he collected honey, but never tasted it. Urs wanted money to achieve his ends. He became corrupt for that cause. Writer Devanura Mahadeva puts it very accurately:

It’s not that corruption was non existent before Urs. But corruption lost its shame during his time, that’s all. Yes, Urs was not personally corrupt. But he has to be held responsible for making corruption shameless.

The Urs Era  113 Devanura Mahadeva in the same article of his quotes Chaduranga:

An analogy by Chaduranga accurately portrays the personality of Urs. Hanumantha sees Ravana sleeping with Mandodari in his bedroom and wonders: ‘Ravana is a garland fit for the Gods had he not been tainted by his act of abducting Sita. What a great soul!’ These words can be applied to Urs as well. Without the taint of corruption, Urs was a garland fit for the Gods. Everything is hidden in this analogy.

Today, we can look back at the era, consider the context and declare that his corruption merited forgiveness. We can safely say: Yes, Devaraj Urs was indeed a garland fit to be offered to God. What a great soul...!

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