MADIKERI, Nov: The cool environs of Kodagu district - which Britishers named Coorg - cannot perhaps camouflage the simmering dissension.Discontent is brewing among the native Kodavas following the continuous neglect of the region and the people, who have contributed many a man of valour to the country from General Thimmaiah to Field Marshall Cariappa.Now, the Kodavas are crying for a separate ``homeland''. And they blame the successive governments for pushing them to the corner and forcing them to make the demand.The demand for a separate State has been there for quite some time. But the undercurrent of the cause has come to the forefront only recently. As a prelude to the battle of achieving this goal, the Kodagu Rajya Mukthi Morcha (KRMM), a frontal organisation which is very vocal on statehood, will organise a mass rally on November 21 at Madikeri, the headquarters of the district.The KRRM has been collecting signatures from Kodava households for submitting a memorandum to the President to press their demand. The Morcha has commenced its door-to-door campaign and also erected sign boards all over the district seeking self-determination of the Kodava people.The chief convenor of the Morcha, N U Nachappa, in his appeal to the people of Kodagu, says, ``Kodagu was an independent state from the days of Upanishads. It was an independent province under the British regime and until 1956, it was a Part C State under the Constitution of Independent India. It was renowned as peaceful, prosperous and ideal state. With the unscientific formation of linguistic States, Kodagu was amalgamated in the broader Mysore State, losing its identity and relegated to remote backyard.''It is because of this neglect ever since Independence, the Kodavas detest being associated with Karnataka. Nachappa says that successful governments neglected the province for reasons unknown, though it was the highest revenue-earning and tax-paying district in the State, with its abundant cash crop, coffee.The Morcha feels that Karnataka is treating Kodagu as only a tax-paying ``fuedal tributary State''.``The land and mineral wealth of Kodagu are subjected to extensive exploration in the name of developmnt by foreign companies and tycoons. The inner lands of Kodagu are being defaced by the construction of hydel projects and reservoirs which are meant for people outside the district and even the State. Under the name of tourism the holy places in the district have become abodes of debauchery,'' Nachappa says.``Let us take River Cauvery that takes birth in Kodagu. Karnataka is behaving as though the waters are its ancestral property and is engaged in dispute with Tamil Nadu on sharing its waters, while the people in the district are not being allowed to utilise a single drop of it,'' he adds.Does the KRMM has enough mass support? Yes, says Rajendra, who runs the most influential newspaper, Shakti, ¡ë#¸Åfrom Madikeri. He said the three successive rallies organised by KRMM on Feb 2 at Gonikoppal, on April 7 at Napoklu and on May 19 at Somwarpet had drawn huge gathering. He said the KRMM had enough ``clout'' in the Kodava mainland and almost all Kodava household in the district are backing the KRMM financially and morally.The KRMM has submitted several memoranda to the Prime Minister and the President of India in the past to press the demand for independent homeland.It has also launched a ``concept-pushing programme'' to make the political leaders of various parties to appreciate the reason and the dire need for the emergence of Kodagu State after meeting A B Vajpaye, George Fernandes, Union Home Minister Inderjit Gupta and Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma.The KRMM has also been recognised as the member in the National Federation of Small States at Delhi.But things seem to be not bright for the KRMM, feel experts. The parties will not be supporting the move as it may have repercussions in the other parts of the State.
