01/11/2013
BLACK DAY: November 1, 1956
BLACK DAY: November 1, 1956, will go down as a Black Day in the history of Coorg, now officially known as Kodagu, the tiny hill district in the state of Karnataka. The Coorg State was snuffed out of the Indian map on that day due to political machinations.
Though Coorg had remained an independent entity for centuries, it lost its separate existence following the recommendations of the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to merge the Coorg State with the newly created Mysore State in 1956.
The once bountiful Coorg State has been reduced to the status of a colony by the rulers of Karnataka since its merger. With Kodagu represented by just two MLAs, successive governments in Karnataka have neglected the development of the district. Though the hill district of Kodagu, the highest producer of coffee in India, contributes enormously to the state exchequer, the revenue generated from the district has not been adequately ploughed back for the area’s development. The self-serving politicians of Karnataka have been backing the timber lobby in looting the forest wealth in the hill district located in the Western Ghats.
The timber merchants, mostly hailing from the neighbouring Kerala State, did not spare even the Devara Kadus (sacred forests), the forest buffer maintained by Coorg clans for centuries.
Though Kodagu is the main catchment area of the river Cauvery, the life-line of people living in southern India, the rulers sitting in Vidhana Soudha, the secretariat of the Karnataka government in Bangalore, have actively backed the timber lobby in denuding the forest wealth in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats. This could spell an environment disaster in the coming years. A time may come when the flow of Cauvery waters in the taps of Bangalore and Mysore households may stop altogether.
Even though river Cauvery takes its birth at Talacauvery in Kodagu, the people of Kodagu have not benefited from the river. Powerful politicians from the neighbouring Mysore district in the past have prevailed on the Karnataka government to divert the water for irrigation to the fields in their Assembly constituencies to woo the voters. The backwater of the Harangi dam built across the Cauvery near Kushalnagar has inundated thousands of acres of land in Kodagu.
There is an acute shortage of drinking water at Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu. While hundreds of crores of rupees have been spent to take the Cauvery water from Kodagu to the neighbouring districts, successive Karnataka governments have failed to implement a viable drinking water scheme to supply adequate water to Madikeri town.
The condition of roads, both at Madikeri town, and elsewhere in the district have been woeful. The deteriorating condition of the approach roads to Kodagu, makes the situation terrible for people, especially tourists travelling to the region, considering the fact that there is no rail or air link to Kodagu.
The bad infrastructure has affected the booming tourism industry. The lack of infrastructural development in the district has given scope to the perception among the natives that Kodagu should have remained a separate State and it was a major blunder committed by their forefathers to merge their state with Karnataka.
Prior to its merger with Karnataka, corruption was unheard of in Kodagu. Now, it has taken deep roots. The local people of Kodagu, known for their honesty and straightforwardness, have been forced to indulge in corrupt practices to get their work done in government offices.
The land mafia from Bangalore has bought huge tracts of land in Kodagu to indulge in speculative land deals. The entry of underworld figures into Kodagu has affected the tranquility of the district.
After Independence in 1947, though Coorg remained a Part ‘C’ State, certain forces in Coorg conspired to wipe out the existence of the State. For the sake of vote bank politics to win elections, people from outside the state were encouraged to settle down in the district. This has led to social tension between the locals and the migrants.
There has been a growing demand for restoring statehood to Kodagu. Besides, the demand for greater autonomy in governance has been voiced by some of the local organizations.
The Union Home Ministry recently stated that it had received demands for the creation of 10 new states, including a representation for the creation of the Kodagu State in Karnataka. An official of the Home Ministry stated: “The government takes a decision on the matter of formation of new states after taking into consideration all relevant factors. Action by the government would depend on the felt need and general consideration.”
Unless the Karnataka government takes remedial measures to stop the alienation among the people of Kodagu, the situation could escalate into a serious law and order problem in the region in the coming years.
Source: ‘Rise and Fall of the Coorg State’ by P.T. Bopanna. Published by Rolling Stone Publications, Bangalore, 2009.
