H. S. Doreswamy

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H. S. Doreswamy
Doreswamy in September 2014
Born
Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy

(1918-04-10)10 April 1918
Harohalli, Kingdom of Mysore, British Raj
Died26 May 2021(2021-05-26) (aged 103)
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
NationalityIndian
EducationB.Sc
Alma materCentral College, Bangalore
Known forFreedom fighter
MovementIndian independence movement
Spouse
Lalithamma
​
(m. 1950⁠–⁠2019)​
Children2
AwardsBasava Puraskara
Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards

Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy (10 April 1918 – 26 May 2021) was an Indian journalist and activist. He was a member of the Indian independence movement, and became a centenarian in April 2018.[1][2] He ran the publication house of Sahitya Mandira and the Indian nationalist newspaper Pauravani during the British Raj and the period afterwards.[3] The historian Ramachandra Guha describes him as the "conscience of the state (Karnataka)" due to his activism.[4]

Early life and education[edit]

Doreswamy was born in the village of Harohalli, in the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore, a princely state of the British Indian Empire. He was raised by his grandfather Shamanna after his parents died when he was five years old.[1] He had an elder brother Seetharam who would later become the mayor of Bangalore in independent India.[5] His grandfather was a shanubhog (village accountant) and a nominated member of the representative assembly. Doreswamy completed his primary education in his village and then went to Bangalore to complete his higher education. He was enrolled in the Government Intermediate College of Bangalore for his higher secondary education and later graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Central College of Bangalore.[6]

Independence movement[edit]

After finishing his education in June 1942, he began teaching mathematics and physics at a high school in Bangalore. In August, when the Quit India Movement had begun, he became involved in setting up small scale time bombs in postboxes and record rooms to burn official documents as a method adopted to disrupt the functioning of the British Raj.[1][7] He along with some associates also became involved in organising protests and general strikes in Mysore State.[8] He collaborated with N.D. Shankar, a freedom fighter and communist union leader in organising a 14 day general strike at three textile mills, namely Raja, Minerva and Binny Mills, which saw the participation of 8,000 workers. Subsequently, there were strikes in various factories and mills across the region over the following 3 to 30 days. He also formed associations with A.G. Ramachandra Rao and Sardar Venkataramaiah who were underground at the time.[5]

In 1943, one of his bomb suppliers, namely Ramachandra got caught by the police with time bombs in his possession who named Doreswamy as a contact. Following which, he was arrested and put under indefinite detention in Bangalore Central Jail.[1] He stated that during his detention he contacted his supplier and encouraged him to confess to being the one responsible for bombing postboxes so that one of them could be released and continue the operation. Despite the efforts, the authorities retained him in custody and denied him an opportunity for a trial.[8] The jail at the time was being used to hold political prisoners including his brother, H.S. Seetharam. He described the prison to have been converted into a place of learning where he studied and played volleyball with other prisoners. He learned to speak Tamil and Hindi from other independence movement activists during this time. On 26 January 1944, the prisoners including him were beaten up by the guards, confined in their rooms and denied food for celebrating the declaration of Purna Swaraj. He was later released in the summer of 1944 after spending 14 months in jail at a time when the government was releasing political prisoners.[1][5]

After his release from prison, Doreswamy established a publication house and book store by the name of Sahitya Mandira in Bangalore. He later moved to Mysore on the request of a dying friend to take over the operation of his newspaper, Pauravani which was running at a loss at the time.[3] In 1947, during the Political integration of India, the Maharaja of Mysore was reluctant to accede to the Indian Union, which resulted in the "Mysore Chalo" movement to pressurize the maharaja into acceding. Due to the movement, congress leaders were arrested and press freedom was curbed by the Kingdom of Mysore. Doreswamy among other journalists are noted to have continued publishing their newspapers from undisclosed locations.[9] The Pauravani, which was operating as an Indian nationalist newspaper was being published from the city of Hindupur, Madras State situated at the border of the Kingdom of Mysore.[10] In an interview, Doreswamy stated that a teacher named Sheshagiri assisted him in circulating the newspaper at the time. He also stated that literary figures like R.K. Narayan and K.S. Narasimhaswamy were frequent visitors at his book store during and after the independence movement.[11]

Post-independence activities[edit]

During the 1950s, Doreswamy participated in the Bhoodan movement and the movement for the Unification of Karnataka.[12] He was jailed for four months in 1975 after he sent a letter to Indira Gandhi threatening to launch an agitation against her for "acting like a dictator" during the Emergency in India.[1] He was active during the JP Movement against the Emergency rule. During the 1980s, he was involved in various movements for the rights of farmers and other marginalised communities, and later became active in the India Against Corruption movement.[4]

In later years, Doreswamy was involved in a number of agitations and committees working against the encroachment of water bodies and dumping of garbage near impoverished areas in and outside Bangalore.[13][14][12] The Hindu credits his activism in Bangalore with having led to the construction of six new waste processing plants in the city in 2014.[4] In October 2014, he led an anti-encroachment protest in Bangalore with the support of A. T. Ramaswamy and the Aam Aadmi Party, demanding the implementation of Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2007 from the state government. The protest came to an end after 38 days with the government yielding to the demands.[15] In 2016, he launched a 24/7 dharna (picketing) outside the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha when sessions were being held in the legislative assembly in Belgaum demanding the grant of land to the landless in the state which forced the Chief minister, Siddaramaiah to personally give him assurances that the promise will be kept. He was also involved in agitations against the eviction of adivasis from their tribal lands in Kodagu district.[16][12]

Doreswamy took active participation in the 2019–2020 protests in India.[17] According to him, the country's democracy was being threatened by the government of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah and that the situation created by them is becoming similar to that created by the British Raj.[18][19] In response, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka had attacked him by alleging that he was a Pakistani agent and an "anti national". The party justified the attacks stating that he had done the unthinkable by criticising the prime minister, Narendra Modi.[4]

Personal life[edit]

In 1950, Doreswamy married Lalithamma, who was 19 years of age at the time, and with whom he later had two children.[1] Lalithamma died on 17 December 2019 at the age of 89 from post COVID-19 complications.[20][21] Doreswamy died on 26 May 2021 due to cardiac arrest.[22]

Awards[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

  • From Princely Autocracy to People's Government, Bangalore: Sahitya Mandira, 1993.[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Pandey, Geeta (21 December 2016). "The 98-year-old freedom fighter still battling for his idea of India". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  2. ^ "PM Modi is behaving like a 'dictator': Freedom fighter HS Doreswamy". The Times of India. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Rajappa, Amoolya (15 August 2017). "99 yr old freedom fighter: 'Jail was like university for me'". Rediff. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Bharadwaj, K.V. Aditya (20 March 2020). "I think it is time I launch my campaign: H.S. Doreswamy". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Joshi, Naveen, ed. (1997). Freedom Fighters Remember. India: Publication Division - Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India). p. 161. ISBN 81-230-0575-X.
  6. ^ Joshi, Naveen, ed. (1997). Freedom Fighters Remember. India: Publication Division - Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India). p. 160. ISBN 81-230-0575-X.
  7. ^ Aravind, Indulekha (15 August 2017). "Why freedom fighter Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy's mission is still not quite complete". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b Giriprakash, K. (1 October 2019). "Oldest living Gandhian looks back in awe". Business Line. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019.
  9. ^ Chinnappa, K. Jeevan (25 October 2013). "Mysore Chalo: Freedom fighters go back in time". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020.
  10. ^ Shashidhar, Dr. Melkunde (2016). A History of Freedom and Unification Movement in Karnataka. India: Laxmi Book Publication. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-329-82501-7.
  11. ^ "TV9 -- "Nanna Kathe" With Freedom Fighter H S Doraiswamy - Full". TV9 (Kannada). 28 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016.
  12. ^ a b c BR, Rohith (9 April 2017). "Fighting for causes, Doreswamy all set to step into centenary year | Bengaluru News". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Residents stand up against complex near Sankey tank". Deccan Chronicle. 18 October 2015. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  14. ^ "He's frail, but hearty". Bangalore Mirror. 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Dharna against land grabbing to end today". Deccan Chronicle. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  16. ^ Aravind, Indulekha (15 August 2017). "Why freedom fighter Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy's mission is still not quite complete". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  17. ^ "102-year-old Doreswamy vows protest against CAA every month till 2024". The New Indian Express. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Modi-Shah rule is danger for democracy: Freedom fighter Doreswamy". Deccan Herald. 9 April 2018. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  19. ^ Periera, Stacy (6 February 2020). "It's Freedom Struggle All Over Again for 101-Year-Old HS Doreswamy Who's Now Fighting the CAA". News18. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  20. ^ "103-year-old freedom fighter HS Doreswamy dies in Bengaluru of post-Covid complications".
  21. ^ "Freedom Fighter H.S. Doreswamy's wife Lalithamma passes away". Star of Mysore. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Freedom fighter H S Doreswamy passes away at 103". Deccan Herald. 26 May 2021. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Doreswamy feeted with Gandhi Seva Award". Deccan Herald. 3 October 2017. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  24. ^ "National Awards to H.S. Doreswamy, C. Chandrashekar, T. N. Krishnan". Star of Mysore. 12 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  25. ^ "HS Doreswamy gets Ramnath Goenka Award". The New Indian Express. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019.
  26. ^ Guha, Ramachandra (2007). India After Gandhi. India: HarperCollins. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-330-50554-3.

External links[edit]

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