Chikmagalur remembers Indira Gandhi

Chikmagalur: Wit the inauguration of the Chikmagalur-Kadur-Shimoga passenger train on Tuesday, decades-old pending demand of the locals was fulfilled. This was the demand placed by the Chikmagalur Lok Sabha seat constituents, 35 years ago, to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In 1978, Gandhi chose the constituency, which not only put the picturesque Chikmagalur on the global map, but also gave her political rebirth. However, the constituency did not undergo any noticeable change when she was representing on the development front. "We had no major demands before her, the only one was the rail link between Kadur and Chikamagalur, which coincidentally got fulfilled on Tuesday, which also happened to be her birth anniversary," a local person said.

Though Indira Gandhi's ties with the people of Chikamaglur as their representative in the Lok Sabha was hardly for two years, even after 35 years, their memories of her electioneering and her free mingling with them are still afresh. BJP MP D B Chandre Gowda who was instrumental in bringing her to Chikamagalur has only happy memories of her, though he is in a different party now.

According to Gowda, party bosses were deliberating the defeat of Indira Gandhi and her prodigal son Sanjay Gandhi and they were worried as they felt that it was disastrous to see both mother and son outside Lok Sabha. "At this juncture I volunteered to quit the seat and persuaded her to contest from Chikmagalur which was then a Congress bastion with all eight assembly seats in its kitty," Gowda said. He said he has no reason to repent or boast of his sacrifice for the party and Gandhi .

He turned nostalgic when he revealed how he along with Gandhi fought rivals and political stalwarts like George Fernandes who camped in the constituency till the electioneering was over. " We were political novices compared to these leaders, but people's overwhelming response and the charismatic leadership of Gandhi made us remain optimistic on winning the elections," he said, adding that the pro-poor 20 point programme and land reforms did the trick.

People who were then in their twenties and now aged still fondly remember how Gandhi met people striking an emotional chord with them. "I remember her visit to a dalit colony in our village and speaking to us freely as an ordinary contestant. She snubbed the Congress leaders accompanying her when they persuaded her to hurriedly end the meetings," recollects 60-year-old Chikkappa, a dalit from Gonibeedu village in Mudgere taluk of Chikamagalur district..

Chikkappa's memory appeared to be more sharp than others with he listing out the welfare programmes such as the 20-point programme and Karnataka Debt Relief Act implemented by then Congress government in the state.