BENGALURU: A man who spends a lot of his life fighting for the rights of the oppressed also used to supply ‘time bombs’ to destroy British government records. No wonder H S Doreswamy, now 99, is among the most respected Bengalureans.
He was 29 the night India gained Independence but was already the editor of a publication called Pouravani. He says on the night of August 14, people assembled at a ground near Majestic to hoist the tricolour.
Bangalore was ruled by the king of Mysore. So the flag atop High Court was that of the kingdom. He recalls how his friends Narayan Swamy and Muniswamy told him they will try to hoist the Indian flag. “While Muniswamy engaged the jawans in conversation, Narayan switched the flags,” he says.
His more defiant acts were carried out during the Quit India Movement of 1942. He said he supplied ‘time bombs’ to people which were meant to burn things in their vicinity for about 5-10 minutes. “We would plant them at post offices to burn government’s letters. Some people would tie it to a rat and leave it in the room where the government records were,” he chuckles. Doreswamy was detained for 14 months in jail.
He recalls how people had sky-high expectations from the new regime. And like crores, Doreswamy too was left disillusioned. However, that hasn’t stopped him from being an active campaigner for the oppressed. He now heads United Bengaluru, the watchdog committee for Bengaluru’s lakes.