Shantaveri Gopala Gowda: An antithesis of money and caste politics

He was called the Ram Manohar Lohia of Karnataka. He borrowed money to fight elections — and dutifully repaid the loan. He urged people not to vote for him due to his caste. It is no wonder that Shantaveri Gopala Gowda is still revered for his honesty, political ideals, and commitment to the poor.

At a time when politics in Karnataka, as in much of the country, overflows with leaders who lavishly spend money to win elections and are often accused of corruption, Gopala Gowda, who passed away in June 1972 aged 49, was a pioneer of the socialist movement in the state.

Mass funding

Crowdfunding was an unknown concept in those times. But when he fought to get elected to the Assembly for the first time in 1952, Gopala Gowda, who led a life of poverty, raised funds from the public with his slogan “One Vote One Note”.

Although feudal lords ganged up to defeat him in 1957, he returned to the House by a thumping majority in 1962 and in 1967.

Robin Hood

A firebrand politician who well understood and respected local culture, the man was a villager and enjoyed a huge following among the farming community. He was seen as a political Robin Hood.

“Gopala Gowda, who always told people not to vote for him because of his caste, spent Rs 5,000 when he got elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1952 as a candidate of the Socialist Party,” says Dr Nataraj Huliyar in his biography of the man.

Poor health

Gopala Gowda’s follower Konanduru Lingappa contested the Thirthahalli Assembly constituency in 1972 because the former was bed-ridden.

“After addressing each gathering, I used to spread a towel to collect donations from the people. I collected a total of Rs 8,300. While the expenditure was Rs 5,000, we spent the rest on the medical expenses of Gopala Gowda,” Lingappa is quoted as saying in a volume on the late socialist veteran.

Quit India

Gopala Gowda was drawn into the freedom movement when he was in high school. He joined the Quit India movement under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr Vishwanatha Rao introduced Gopala Gowda to socialism.

Gopala Gowda got attracted to the Congress socialist group led by Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. When the Socialist Party was formed in 1948, he became a key leader in the Mysuru state.

Kagodu Satyagraha

It was the Kagodu Satyagraha, a movement that demanded dignity for peasants, that catapulted Gopala Gowda to agitational politics. Gopala Gowda was imprisoned for this.

Gopala Gowda was elected for the first time to the Assembly from the Sagar-Hosanagar constituency in 1952 in Shivamogga district.

Fighting elections

According to GV Anandamurthy, who edited a volume on Gopala Gowda, the latter took on a wealthy landlord, AR Badarinarayan, of the Congress. As he had no vehicle, Gopala Gowda walked all around the constituency seeing votes. He won the battle.

The young legislator took the Assembly by storm. The slogan “Uluvavane Holadodeya” (Land to the tiller) echoed in the Assembly for the first time. He fought for the unification of Karnataka and contributed to the evolution of socialism. The Kannada intelligentsia looked up to Gopal Gowda as an intellectual political leader.

Thanks in part to him, by 1967 the Karnataka Assembly had as many as six socialist legislators.

Literary movement

Gopal Gowda was a voracious reader. Noted writers of one generation, including UR Ananthamurthy, P Lankesh, and Poornachandra Tejaswi, adored Gopal Gowda. He spent quality time with Kannada writers. In fact, Kannada’s Nava literary movement acquired a socialistic dimension because of Gopala Gowda’s proximity with the writers.

Kannada’s renowned poet Gopalakrishna Adiga wrote “Shantaveriya Ashanta Santa” — a long poem, a tribute to Gopala Gowda’s personal and public life.

Master speaker

Kannada poet Pu Ti Narasimhachar wrote: “I used to visit the legislature to listen to poetic presentations of social justice by Gopala Gowda. He was an extraordinary orator. When he (spoke), everyone, including the chief minister, would listen without interrupting him. It was a pleasurable experience to listen to Gopal speaking, citing poetry, epics and vachanas.”

UR Ananthamurthy wrote Avasthe, loosely based on the life of Gopal Gowda. Krishna Masadi adapted that novel for celluloid. Last year, Karnataka celebrated the birth centenary of Gopal Gowda.

Lasting tributes

“Gopal Gowda…strongly believed that election is not a medium to capture power and leadership but to express people’s universal will-power. He was a rare idealist. Gopal Gowda’s death at an early age heralded the slow decline of the socialist movement in Karnataka,” observes Dr Huliyar.

Says writer GV Anandamurthy: “Because of Gopala Gowda's sacrifice and contribution to Karnataka, he is still remembered… (He is an) epitome of how a politician should conduct himself in political and personal life.”