Coorgis’ peaceful agitation now to extend to French embassy

The Codava National Council (CNC) — Codava/Kodava means Coorgi and Codagu is the original name of the Anglicised “Coorg” — which has been peacefully agitating for autonomy in New Delhi on November 1 every year since 1994, has decided to extend the agitation to outside the French embassy on November 2, 2018.

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956, when India’s state boundaries were reorganised, resulted in Coorg, a federal Class “C” state, covering an area of 4,104 sq. km and with an elected chief minister and Legislative Assembly, getting relegated to become a district of the then Mysore state, which was renamed as Karnataka. It may be recalled that at the time of reorganisation of states on November 1, 1956, parts of erstwhile Hyderabad Nizam province were merged with Karnataka (then state of Mysore), Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. While Bidar, Gulbarga and Raichur became parts of Hyderabad and Karnataka and later became Telangana, the parts merged with Maharashtra became Marathawada. But despite Codagu being a “C” state and the traditional homeland of the Codava race, it was merged with Karnataka.

Demanding a Codava autonomous region and Union territory status for Coorg district, the CNC led by its president, N.U. Nachappa, has since 1994 been coming to the capital on November 1, with groups of 40 to 50 Codavas and Codavatis (Codava ladies) to hold a peaceful rally at Jantar Mantar. While Karnataka celebrates November 1 as Karnataka Rajyotsava Day, CNC observes it as black day. When the UPA-2 government declared Telangana as a new state in August 2013, CNC, to express its protest, came to Delhi for its November 1 agitation in a group of 3,000 by a chartered train. On November 1, 2013, this huge group of Codavas and Codavatis, dressed in their traditional splendour, staged a peaceful march from Ramlila Ground to Jantar Mantar. While every year CNC delivered a memorandum to the government and met some of the other political leader, including Sonia Gandhi, there was no forward movement in processing its demand for granting autonomy.

The reason for the CNC to agitate outside the French embassy, as stated by Mr Nachappa to this writer, is because of alleged support of the French to Tipu Sultan. On December 13, 1785, approximately 60,000 unarmed Codavas were massacred ruthlessly by Tipu Sultan’s army. After being defeated by Codavas over three continuous invasions, Tipu Sultan conspired to eliminate the entire race by cunningly inviting them for a grand feast on the pretext of entering a friendly treaty at Devati Parambu. The CNC wants the French government to tender an official apology for supporting Tipu Sultan.

According to Blake Smith (Wire, May 15, 2016): “Although it had been reduced in size after a defeat to the British East India Company in 1792, Mysore — located in what is now southern India — remained a formidable obstacle to British designs on the region. Its ruler, Tipu Sultan (1750-99), drew on French support while pursuing an ambitious project of domestic reform and engaging in frequent wars with his neighbours. His good relations with France had been capped by an embassy to Paris in 1787-88, and were given lasting shape by ‘Tipu’s Tiger’, an automaton created by French technicians and Mysorean artisans. But now, in the shadow of his palace at Srirangapatna, a contingent of mercenaries and advisers from France (forbidden by treaty with Britain to maintain a formal military presence) gathered to seal the special Franco-Mysorean relationship in a revolutionary way.”

Historian and scholar I.M. Muthanna in his comprehensive work, Tipu Sultan X’Rayed, published in 1980, states: “The most charitable description of Tipu Sultan after a survey of these sources is to call him the tyrant of Mysore. His 17-year-long regime was primarily a tenure of military and economic terror as far as Hindus were concerned. He razed entire cities literally to the ground and depopulated them. As representative samples, we can examine his raids in Coorg and the Malabar for the extent and scale of sheer barbarism and large-scale destruction. In 1788, Tipu marched into Coorg and burnt down entire towns and villages. Mir Hussain Kirmani, Tipu’s courtier-cum-biographer describes how the raid resulted in the burning down of villages in Kushalpura (today’s Kushalnagar), Talakaveri, Madikeri and other places. Additionally, Tipu in a letter to the Nawab of Kurnool, Runmust Khan describes how he took 40,000 Coorgis as prisoners and forcibly converted them to Islam and ‘incorporated them with our Ahmadi corps’. Already a thinly-populated country, Tipu’s brutal raid followed by large-scale prisoner-taking depopulated Coorg of its original inhabitants to a severe extent. To Islamise Coorg, he transported about 7,000 Muslim families belonging to the Shaikh and Sayyid sects to Coorg from elsewhere. The intensity of Tipu’s raid was so terrifying that hundreds of temple priests fled to Mangalore along with their families. Worship came to a permanent halt in several temples. Some temples were covered with leaves in order to conceal their presence. The Maletirike Bhagavati temple at Virajpet is a good example of this. Equally, the renowned Omkareshwara temple in Madikeri was about to meet the same fate — the then ruler at Madikeri panicked at the approach of Tipu, removed its tower and replaced it with a dome so that it looked like a mosque from afar. The temple continues to retain this appearance till date. In his raid of Napoklu near Madikeri, Tipu destroyed the temples in the surrounding villages of Betu and Kolakeri. Remnants of Tipu Sultan’s savage raid of Coorg survive even today — the forcibly converted Coorgis are today known as Kodava Mapilas (Coorg Muslims) whose last/family names are still Hindu — representative examples are surnames like Kuvalera, Italtanda, Mitaltanda, Kuppodanda, Kappanjeera, Kalera, Chekkera, Charmakaranda, Maniyanda, Balasojikaranda and Mandeyanda. To the Kodavas, Tipu’s fanatical dance of death in their homeland remains a wound that will never heal.”

Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has favoured autonomous status for Codagu. Speaking at the 27th Codava National Day, organised by the CNC at Madikeri on November 27, 2017, he said the demand for autonomy for Codagu was perfectly justified to protect their race, community, traditions and customs. He promised to extend his support not only for autonomy to Codagu, but also the inclusion of the Codava language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, which lists the official languages of the Republic of India. On August 8, 2018, he tweeted: “I am happy to report that there is developing consensus in the BJP that Codava region (Coorg) of Karnataka should have an financial empowered Development Council. I am striving to see the proposal come before Parliament this November.”

Codavas have been known as brave warriors, sportspersons and growers of excellent coffee, cardamom, pepper, orange, honey, vanilla and anthurium. For their population of 5,54,000 in the 2011 Census, their contribution to nation-building has been commendable. Since World War I, 15,000 Codavas have served in the Indian Army. Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa and Gen. K.S. Thimayya were the first and fourth chiefs of Indian Army. Since Independence, many other Codavas have served in the Army, Navy and Air Force with distinction and having taken part in all wars and conflicts since then, many have been decorated for valour. Mr Nachappa’s wife recently retired from the Military Nursing Service. Former Army Chief Gen. B.C. Joshi transformed his tribute to the Codavas’ contribution and sacrifices for the country by moving the defence ministry to set up a Sainik School in Kudige, near Kushalnagar. Had Gen. Joshi lived longer and completed his tenure, he would have been able to do all the needful for establishing an Army environmental college near Galibeedu, for which he had acquired 100 acres of land.

Sports is in the very DNA of Codavas, who hold a Guinness record for the largest family sports tournament in the world. Every year, 300 Codava family teams play each other for the Family Cup. In this tourney, sportswomen have the choice to play either for their husband’s or their father’s team. All participants between 6 to 60 years of age are blood-related.

The writer, a retired Army officer, is a defence and security analyst based in New Delhi