Ram Manohar Lohia’s thoughts had a major influence on the social and literary movements in Karnataka. Inspired by Lohia’s ‘Angrezi Hatao’ campaign, Konandur Lingappa founded the Kannada Yuvajana Sabha (KYS) in Mysore in 1957.
In the mid-1960s, the Samajavadi Yuvajana Sabha (SYS), a forum that grew out of the KYS in Mysore under the leadership of Prof M D Nanjundaswamy and writer Poornachandra Tejaswi, tried to popularise Lohiaite ideals. Nanjundaswamy and Tejaswi compiled and translated passages from Lohia’s major works and published them as a short book. In the ’70s, SYS activists organised numerous public discussions on, among others, Lohia’s passionate ideas of ‘jati-vinasha’ (destruction of caste), the importance of rejecting the English language, the need for avoiding extravagant marriage ceremonies, etc.
Lohia was an inspiration to farmers’ organisations, especially the KRRS, which launched a powerful farmers’ movement in the ’80s under the leadership of Nanjundaswamy. The KRRS’ successful demand for farm loan waiver and its activism against the GATT proposals and the agribusiness MNCs embodied Lohia’s socialist ideals.
Two of the three founders of the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS), B Krishnappa and Devanur Mahadeva had been active Lohiates. Siddalingaiah, the other DSS founder, observed that the Lohiaite influence helped them temper the hostility towards Gandhi among Dalit activists in the state. Their ideological canvas made space for the oppressed among the non-Dalits and allowed them to interact with progressive upper-caste activists.
Full report here Deccan Herald
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