My aim is to ensure land to the landless: Doreswamy

Leaders resorting to dharnas against government policies is quite common. But when a 98-year-old does it, one has to sit up and take note. Freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy has virtually forced the government to listen to him proving that this staunch Gandhian is the true conscience keeper of Karnataka.

Relaunching a 2.0 version of the Bhoodan Movement popularized by Acharya Vinobha Bhave, Mr Doreswamy made the government immediately order a survey of vacant government land so that it could be given to the poor.

In the last three years, he has hit the streets over the Mandur garbage issue followed by the long agitation over encroachment of government land and now comes the movement to get land for the landless.

Surrounded by a pile of books and newspapers at his house in Jayanagar in the city, Mr Doreswamy spoke about his personal and public life, his ailing wife and how he enjoys watching two serials with his wife at night. In a free-wheeling interview, he revealed how he manages to engage with people whom he criticises the most.

“It comes to me to naturally. I do not attack anyone, I respect human relationships. There are people who constantly criticise or attack. My job is different. I think, the chief minister knows about my genuine approach and my commitment to justice. Therefore, I can engage with him even if I criticise the government,” he said. Here are excerpts from the interview.

To begin with, let us discuss the fate of the previous agitation you conducted. The dharna went on for over a month and you did manage to compel the government to set up a special court try cases of encroachment of government land. A month after it was inaugurated by CM  Siddaramaiah, no cases were referred to it and only one file was sent.
Do you think they (the special court) will give up so easily? They took cognisance of newspaper reports and started issuing notices to encroachers. This left the government red-faced. They started rushing to the court. The registrar had to get reports from the revenue secretary.

Initially the government did not co-operate. I spoke to the registrar. He told me that he got nearly 40 files from the special deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district. The court has already started issuing notices to encroachers.

Mr Siddaramaiah consulted you before forming his cabinet in 2013. Why did you have to stage a day-and-night dharna to press for your demand of land for landless? He could have rushed to meet you and held discussions. Haven’t you realized that in three years, (his) respect has declined?
No, I do not think so. As a matter of fact, he becomes anxious when I step out. Last year, when I was on a dharna for 39 days, the police used to tell me: ‘Chief Minister is more concerned about your health.’ After the talks last week, he told officials in Belagavi to ensure my safe return to Bengaluru. He knows I am fighting for a right cause. I will continue to fight against the government but I will still keep in touch with him and the law minister. They know this man does not do anything for himself or for cheap publicity. During the talks, I demanded that the government impose a ceiling on land holdings. Mr Siddaramaiah said,  ‘No.’ I gave up that demand because I want my main objective of ensuring distribution of government land to the poor to be achieved. They love me. Still,  whenever I take up an issue, I have to fight. I will tell you one interesting fact. There was a  dictator in Egypt. He decided to bring down the ceiling on land holding. The cut-off limit was fixed at 100 acres. People asked why 100 acres? Why not five acres? He told the people who had asked the question. “Even I have to survive. I counted how many would stay with me if I fix the ceiling at 100 acres or a little less.” Similarly, Mr Siddaramaiah has political compulsions.

The CM said he would order a survey of vacant land. Don’t you think this is a delaying tactic?
No I don’t think so. We told him that the distribution of land should be over before the end of his tenure. If you see our agitations, at every stage, there were hurdles. We had to stage dharnas and on other occasions, we moved the court to nudge the government to do things.

You had told the CM not to induct D.K. Shivakumar (Energy Minister) in the beginning. But you know what happened later. Do you feel disappointed?
No. I do not take such issues seriously. See, if we think on those lines, we cannot achieve the real goal. When we are in social life, we have to strike a balance. They know  the law is on my side and I am morally right. If they dither, I can move the court.

There is a fundamental issue involved in the distribution of land among landless. For instance, eligibility is a criterion for getting any post. Don’t you think there should be some criteria for those who should get land?
Yes. There should be conditions. While distributing land under Bhoodan Act, we had fixed certain criteria. First, the beneficiaries should cultivate the land and it should not be sold or alienated. It should not be used for industrial purposes or any cash crop. They should grow only food crops. If they fail to cultivate for two years, the beneficiaries will lose the right and the land will revert back to the
government. These are all conditions in the Bhoodan Act. Under this Act, we gave 42 lakh acres to people across the country. What Vinoba did should be continued. The government is free to set its new conditions and re-launch the programme.

Ahead of Gandhi Jayanthi, the government decided to give the Gandhian award to a freedom fighter and a true Gandhian. Your name came up, but they bypassed you because you keep fighting against the government. Is there a possibility of you being taken for a ride by vested interests?
Did I ask for it? Does the public bother about the citation they give? People are bothered about the money they give. At 98, do you think I should lose sleep over '10 lakh? I stopped going to Gandhi Bhavan because, they started taking a lot of funds from government. To the second part of your question, I know some organisations which come to me, want to exploit me to get things done. But when I attend functions, I speak what I feel and I do not toe their line. Earlier, I used to join every agitation. Now, I have decided to work on fundamental issues.

Coming to the controversial steel flyover, what do you feel about the proposal?
This is not development. You can't decongest (traffic) with this. I made a statement and I left this issue to others. There are many who want to take up the fight. I encourage them.

Finally, are you happy with the performance of this government?
I am not satisfied. He (CM) will put one step forward to achieve a goal and still be content with it. We, Gandhiji’s disciples think differently. He tries to gain political  capital from a small step. In the last three-and-a-half years, no solutions were found to old problems and instead, they created new  ones.