By Addanda C. Cariappa
This is the story of Kodagu and its original inhabitants in Kodagu who are facing the threat of losing their unique identity. The story also explains the actions of the powerful people who are the cause for it. Outwardly, Kodagu appears to be a beautiful, splendid place full of natural richness. But its inner pain may in all probability lead to the disappearance of the district. In the past, Kodagu was a country, having its own rulers; cultural identity and a population that was distinct from others. Kodagu is a land of warriors, having a rich tradition of bravery and patriotism. Over the centuries, the Gangas, Cholas, Chalukyas, Vijayanagar rulers, Ikkeri Kings, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and the British gained control over Kodagu resulting in loot of wealth and religious conversions. But despite numerous onslaughts, the Kodava culture and the language survived without undergoing any changes. Kodagu is our land. The people of Kodagu, which is the birth place of River Cauvery, continued the age-old tradition of worshipping the Holy River. It can be said that the British were the first to give a good governance to Kodagu by establishing schools and colleges, apart from cultivating coffee and thus consolidating Kodagu’s economy. Also, the British were the first to ban cow slaughter and allowed Kodavas and some others to carry guns without Government licence. The British, acknowledging the bravery of Kodavas, even set up ‘Coorg Regiment’ in the Indian Army. After India got Independence, Kodagu was declared a ‘C’ State as per the States Reorganisation Act, 1951 and subsequently a 24-Member Assembly was constituted based on the naadus. The election to the first Assembly was held in 1952 and subsequently C.M. Poonacha became the Chief Minister of Kodagu on 17.3.1952. K. Mallappa became the Home Minister while B.S. Kushalappa was elected as the Assembly Speaker. Many elderly Kodagu people recall that this was the golden era for Kodagu. But its existence was short-lived as four years later Kodagu was merged with the much bigger State of Mysore on Nov.1, 1956. As years passed by, the constituency delimitation process began. The three Taluks that the District had, came down to two with the discontinuance of Somwarpet Constituency. Following delimitation, Kodagu became a part of Mysore Lok Sabha Constituency. What a pitiful situation for Kodagu ! When Mysore State was renamed as Karnataka, political pressure groups emerged in different parts of the State that forced the Government to form new Taluks, following which Vasudeva Commission was constituted in 1973, T.M. Hundekar Committee in 1984, P.C. Gaddigoudar Committee in 1986 and M.B. Prakash Committee in 2007 to look into carving of new Taluks. Finally, the present Congress Government came forward to set up 49 new Taluks and interestingly, Kodagu got none. Even as the new Taluk formation process was yet to begin, the people of Kodagu had demanded three new Taluks for the district — Ponnampet, Kushalnagar (Cauvery) and Napoklu. But the demand was rejected by the last of the Committees — M.B. Prakash Committee — for petty reasons. The main reasons cited by the Committee for rejecting the demand for three more Taluks was that these towns were very close to the existing Taluk Headquarters and also had less population. Besides, these towns had many Government Offices much like the Taluk centres and the forest area around these towns was vast.
