Advertisement
A village named Esuru became the first village in India to declare itself independent.
While Gandhi was calling for the British to ‘Quit India’, a small village in Shikaripur Taluk of Shivamogga district had already declared Independence from colonial rule.
However, the consequences were brutal. On September 28th, 1942, Esuru declared its Independence and set up its own ‘prati sarkar’. A protest was held at the village against the high taxes that year and a decision was taken not to pay taxes and appoint ‘prati sarkar’.
They also put up a board reading, ‘Swaraj Sarkar’ and hoisted the tricolour.
Advertisement
When British officials tried to enter Esuru, there was a ‘riot’ that led to the death of a revenue officer and a revenue ‘amaldar’. Angered by this, the British government sent police troops to reclaim the village. Esuru paid a price for the rebellion, five youth were hanged and hundreds were imprisoned.
The youths who had worn the Gandhi caps, hoisted the tricolour flag on the Veerabhadreshwar temple. They also displayed placards, warning irresponsible officers of the government not to enter the village.
Two 16-year-olds were appointed to this provisional government, Jayanna (appointed Tehsildar) and Malapayya (appointed sub-inspector).
Influential leader Sahukar Basavenappa took the decision to appoint these teenagers as they were minors, and couldn’t be jailed.
Basavenappa also came up with a set of rules and regulations for the village in complete defiance of the administration.
Officers of the revenue department who came to collect taxes were sent back by the farmers. The farmers tore up the documents of taxation.
As a result, a complaint was lodged against the village for non-payment of taxes, and 10 officials, including a tehsildar, sub-inspector and eight policemen, were sent to manage the situation.
When they arrived, a crowd had assembled at the open field near the temple. This time the villagers forced the Tehsildar and Sub-inspector to wear Gandhi caps.
Threatened by the heated atmosphere, a man named Kenchegowda fired a few shots in the air. However, it only worsened the situation which ended up in the lynching of both officers.
Enraged by this, British administration sent the army four days later to quell the rebellion, and these government soldiers began looting the locals who hadn’t managed to escape.
Those who did manage to escape were hiding in the nearby jungles. After the raid by the British administration, the local police made several arrests, following which five of the mutineers Gurappa, Malappa, Suryanarayanachar, Halappa and Shankarappa were sentenced to death for their role in the death of the two British officials, while three women were given stringent life sentences.
However, upon hearing the news of Esuru rebellion, the Mysore Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyer coined the phrase, “Yesuru kottaru Esuru kodevu” (We may give you many villages but not Esuru)”.
Although he couldn’t save the five men, he managed to convince the local governor into commuting the death sentences of many who had fought against the British.
Today, there is an engraved black stone at the renovated courtyard of a temple honoring those who sacrificed themselves for the dream of freedom from the British Raj.