SHIVAPURA: The State Government, headed by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, recently issued an order banning garlands and bouquets at all government programmes. But, in the 1970s, garlands helped in sourcing funds for the construction of the Satyagraha Soudha in Shivapura.
For a layman, Shivapura, located 5 km north of Maddur, might look like any other village. But a history buff will tell you that this sleepy village, located adjacent to the busy Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, is home to an inspiring monument of India’s freedom struggle -- the Satyagraha Soudha, built to commemorate the Shivapura Dhwaja (flag) Satyagraha of 1938.
One of the participants in the satyagraha was Kengal Hanumanthaiah, who was 30 years old then. Hanumanthaiah went on to become the chief minister of Mysore State between 1952 and 1956. He was also instrumental in building the other soudha -- Vidhana Soudha -- the seat of Karnataka’s legislature.
In the early 1970s, Hanumanthaiah, by now a Member of Parliament, was travelling to Mysuru from Bengaluru, and as he was crossing Shivapura, he came up with the idea of constructing a memorial to commemorate the satyagraha.
Former Maddur council president BR Srinivasa Murthy (83), who was heading the Satyagraha Soudha Committee, told The New Sunday Express that a Mumbai-based architect quoted Rs 80 lakh to construct the soudha. Hanumanthaiah, however, deployed a local architect, who quoted just Rs 13.5 lakh -- still a huge sum then.
The then Devaraj Urs government sanctioned Rs 5 lakh towards the construction of the monument, and the local civic body gave another Rs 5 lakh. However, there was still a fund crunch.
At the foundation-laying ceremony of the soudha, T Narasipur MLA Kariyappa, who was welcoming the dignitaries, got up to garland Hanumanthaiah. The latter, however, refused to accept the garland, and in a split second said, “I am going to auction this garland!”
“Kariyappa, who owned the famous T Narasipura Transport Service, won the auction and paid Rs 1,001 for the garland… and this money went towards the construction of the monument,” recalls Murthy.
Hanumanthaiah took a pledge of not accepting any garlands till the Shivapura soudha work was complete. “Wherever he went, people would welcome him with garlands -- made of flowers, pearls, sandalwood etc…. He would auction them and the money collected would go to the Shivapura Dwaja Smaraka Trust. In four years, the trust collected Rs 5 lakh and the monument was inaugurated in 1979,” he added.
Once an inspiring monument, the soudha has now become a picture of sheer neglect. Hanumanthaiah wanted to turn the structure into a meaningful place by displaying pictures of freedom fighters to educate the future generations on the struggle for Independence and also wanted to set up a library. “But nothing has been done,” rues Murthy.
The monument is under the care of the local municipality and the Public Works Department. It is opened to the public once a year -- on August 15. A visitor entering the structure will find no evidence of the satyagraha except for a few portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Hanumanthaiah and Thirumale Gowda, who donated the land on which the monument stands.
Outside the monument, one can find an open drain running through the garden maintained by the horticulture department. “Doors are missing… window panes are broken… no one from the government is doing anything to protect the structure,” rues a resident.
“Earlier, children used to be taken to the monument as part of school tours. But it stopped 10 years ago. The place has become a hub for anti-social activities. The State should take steps to restore the lost glory of the soudha,” says Shivakumar.