He is 110 years old. But he is not tired of speaking about Mahatma Gandhi, the freedom struggle, his experiences in jail and the days when he was awarded the death penalty for killing government officials as part of the struggle.

He considers Gandhi as god and sings ballads on him and other leaders.

Freedom fighter Huchcharayappa from Esoor village in Shikaripur taluk, the first village in India to declare independence and form a local government in the 1940s, gets emotional when asked about the freedom movement. He has completed just his 3rd standard but speaks English, Hindi and Kannada fluently and recalls  each and every date.

He lost his right eye after a policeman hit him during the struggle, but says, “I lost one eye. My friends lost their lives for our freedom.”

As part of the Independence Day celebrations, Express spoke to Huchcharayappa. Some excerpts:

“The Sahukar Basavanyappa family in Esoor had been supporting the freedom movement. Knowing this, the British set his house ablaze. It burned for weeks and was reduced to ashes. They raped women, robbed houses, assaulted people. When an inspector and Amaldar insulted freedom fighters, the fighters forced them to wear Gandhi topis. The police lathi-charged us and opened fire. Paniyappachar, Gurushantappa and Kenche Gowda were injured. The situation went out of control and the fighters killed the inspector and Amaldar. After this, the British exploited the villagers, including the women and children.”

“The British deployed 500 men to quell protests. Many people escaped. I was arrested and put in Sagar jail. Some 22 fighters were given life imprisonment, while 11, including me, sentenced to death. But our advocates went to the High Court where six people were given death penalty and the rest life imprisonment. Judge Yarlu had pronounced the verdict on March 1, 1943. We were released on October 26, 1946,  as a daughter was born to the Mysore Maharaja.”

‘’When Gandhi visited Shimoga, I was young. We used to inspire others through ballads, songs and dramas. When Gandhi called for the Quit India movement, we declared Esoor independent. When Gandhi was shot dead, people, including women,  committed suicide as they considered him god.’’

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home>  States> Karnataka /  by Jagadeesh Sampalli / ENS – Shimoga / August 15th, 2013