by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore

It is a matter of great joy to me that God has enabled me to come to this beautiful land of Coorg. Eversince I have come here, I have been simply drinking the natural beauty of this place; and I presume your hearts are as beautiful as your scenery. And yet there is lurking in my mind as to the beauty of your hearts; for I see that though there is not poisonous untouchability here that is found in plains; still there is some of it in your midst. For in your address you have said that temples are not open to Harijans. It is just like saying to some of his children ‘I give you food, clothing, housing but I won’t let you come to the sanctuary of my heart.’ Imagine what these children would feel. So long as you do not allow Harijans to enter the temples on the same terms as you do, I cannot say your hearts are beautiful. I wish therefore that you will take a lesson from nature and wash out that black spot from your hearts.” This is the first reaction of Gandhiji regarding the people of Coorg. A handsome compliment indeed!

Accidentally, I came across a book by Dr. G.A. Biradar and I was particularly impressed by a fine article regarding Gandhiji’s visit to Coorg in 1934. It is a well documented article and this narration is based on Biradar’s article.

Mahatma Gandhi was on a tour of Tamil Nadu and was camping at Madras in 1934. It was rumoured that Gandhiji would go to Bangalore and Mysore from there. P.I. Belliappa was a leading Congressman and was the editor of the newspaper Kodagu. He extended an invitation to Gandhiji to pay a visit to Coorg. Gandhiji readily agreed and accompanied by Harijan Sangha President Veerannagowda Patil and others, arrived at Gonikoppa in the evening of 22.2.1934 by car. Immediately he expressed a desire to visit the Harijan Colony. Then Gandhiji went to a village by name Kaikeri near Gonikoppa and saw the dwellings of the Harijans. Gandhiji addressed a meeting attended by about one thousand people, mostly women. A purse of Rs. 25 was presented to Gandhiji and the garland given to Gandhiji was auctioned for Rs. 3. Gandhiji spoke about the plight of the people in Bihar due to earthquake some days ago and requested people to contribute liberally for the relief fund. Then he made an appeal for the Harijan welfare fund, and requested the women to donate their gold jewellery and some ornaments were collected.

From there Gandhiji went to Ponnampet and visited Sarada Ashram and collected Rs. 22 and 1 anna. Then he went to Titimati and met some people and collected Rs. 39 and 9 annas as their contribution. Then he went to Hudikeri and addressed 800 people. The taluk Board Present Chendira Thammayya welcomed Gandhiji and presented a purse of Rs. 72 and 13 annas. The students of the local school did not lag behind and gave Rs. 2 and one anna collected amongst themselves. Gandhiji praised the Kodavas, which has been quoted in the beginning.

Then he returned to Ponnampet and stayed in the local Ramakrishna Ashram where Swami Shambavanandaji received him. He formed a Harijan Welfare Sangha. A purse of Rs. 220 was presented to Gandhiji. In his speech Gandhiji said that he is wedded to religion and he could not live for a single second without religion. His religion was based upon the equality of men and women without any distinction of caste or community. He further stated ‘I go further and say that every activity of man must be derived from religion, because religion means being bound to God and that is to say God rules every breath.’

Then he came to Virajpet and Muslims of that place met Gandhiji and presented an address in Urdu. Gandhiji was surprised to find a Urdu scholar in Coorg. Gandhiji stressed the need for Hindu-Muslim unity as most important. Then Gandhiji came to Basavanahalli in Somavarpet. On his way he stopped at Siddapur where a purse of Rs. 7 was given to him. At Jambur people gave him oranges and some cash. Then Gandhiji went to Manjunathayya’s house where two women removed their ornaments and gave them to Gandhiji. Another young woman removed her bangles and gave it to Gandhiji in the presence of her husband. Gandhiji asked the husband for his reaction. He said that the ornaments belong to her and she can take any decision regarding them. Gandhiji admired him and said you had acted wisely and asked his age. On learning that he was 30, Gandhiji said ‘at your age I did not act wisely; wisdom came later.’ Everybody had a hearty laughter. At Suntikoppa about 200 estate workers had gathered and Gandhiji addressed them and told them to work hard with sincerity and devotion and bring prosperity to the beautiful land.

Then Gandhiji reached Madikeri and went to Raja Seat. Knowing that Gandhiji would be visiting that place, about 4,000 people gathered there to have a glimpse of that great man about whom they had heard so much. He was presented with a purse of Rs. 760. Because of his appeal Gandhiji collected Rs. 82 towards Bihar fund. Gandhiji said that though the journey was strenuous it has given him happiness not because of the scenery of Coorg but because untouchability has a slight hold on the Kodavas.

The Harijans are slowly losing cultivable lands for various reasons. Hence, I call upon the Harijan Sevak Sangha to apply the necessary remedy in order to improve their economic condition. He also made a special mention of the Bihar earthquakes and requested people to donate liberally. He further said that Bihar is a sacred land because of the birth of Sita and Buddha. It would appear to me that God has selected that sacred land for removal of untouchability. Hence, I have asked my volunteers to approach you for contribution to Bihar relief fund. Amount is not important to me because it is a token of tangible sympathy to the suffering. Thus even a copper coin is valuable to me.

After finishing this programme at Raja Seat, Gandhiji went to the house of Smt. C.P. Nanjappa at Madikeri. Gandhiji and his entourage camped there for the night. Smt. Nanjappa presented Gandhiji with a silver cup and saucer and Belliappa gave a gold chain. A wooden tray was auctioned for Rs. 9. Gandhiji conducted a prayer meeting at her house and many Kodavas participated in it. Coorg Municipal President I.C. Subbayya announced that the total collection for the fund at Coorg was Rs. 2,000. Gandhiji slept for the night but got up at 2.45 am. Gandhiji wrote letters to Manilal and Sushila in which he wrote ‘we are in Coorg today. It is a small hilly tract below Mysore. It is a beautiful region, quite small in size. The population must be at the most 150 thousand. Now it is 6 am and at 7 am we will descend from the hilly tract and proceed to Mangalore.’

Some Congressmen tried to discuss the political situation of Coorg but Gandhiji avoided the issue. He said that he had come to Coorg to show his appreciation to the Kodavas because they are different from the entire country in matter of Harijan issue. Hence, I have come here for Harijan work and also seeing the beautiful land of nature and to meet the people of this land. Thus he refused to comment on the political condition of Coorg. For the Kodavas it was a great and memorable experience to see a person whom the entire country and even the world watched with respect and admiration. Thus, the leaders and people of Coorg felt sanctified by the visit of this great savant Gandhiji. Anyway this is a rare and memorable chapter in the modern history of Coorg.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / June 28th, 2014