‘My state has done the greatest honour by putting me in jail’: Anand Teltumbde after receiving Karnataka’s Basava award

Teltumbde, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, added, “This is not my personal award. It is actually an honour for all the faceless and countless activists who have been struggling for making this world better for people to live.”

Teltumbde also said that Basavanna’s vachanas were progressive and that the 12th-century philosopher had rejected all forms of social discrimination.

“I have read Basavanna’s vachanas and I was very impressed that it had a very progressive tone. I find that he carries the lineage of Lokayata, Buddha and down to Marx. He rejected all sorts of rituals and social discrimination that existed then. He rejected even gods and temple worship. But he valorised compassion,” said Teltumbde, who was allowed by the NIA to visit Bengaluru for two days to receive the award.

Teltumbde was among the 75 eminent personalities honoured with lifetime achievement awards by the Kannada and culture department for 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.

The Basava Rashtriya Puraskara honours an individual’s contribution to social reforms and work for bringing about communal harmony.