Kolkata Knight Riders’ Robin Uthappa reached a memorable milestone with his innings against the Mumbai Indians, becoming just the sixth player in the history of the IPL to cross the 4000-run mark. He reached the landmark after hitting a six off Markande in the eighth over of the innings.
Robin Uthappa |Photo Credit: AP
The Kolkata Knight Riders lost out to the Mumbai Indians in a hard-fought encounter at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, falling short by 13 runs. It was the home side that batted first, putting up a strong total of 181/4 in extremely challenging conditions with valuable contributions from Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis and Hardik Pandya, with Yadav scoring a half-century opening the innings.
In the chase, Robin Uthappa survived an early scare to reach the half-century mark himself and with Nitish Rana, he forged a valuable partnership that looked to take his team to the total. However, he gave away his wicket to Mayank Markande after scoring 54 off 35 and from there on, his side lost the needed momentum and stumbled in their pursuit of the target.
However, Uthappa reached a memorable milestone with this particular innings, becoming just the sixth player in the history of the IPL to cross the 4000-run mark. He reached the landmark after hitting a six off Markande in the eighth over of the innings and was 17 runs short of the mark at the start of his knock.
With this latest feat, he enters an elite club that features four Indian superstars, including Virat Kohli, and an Australian dynamo.They are Virat Kohli (4775 runs), Suresh Raina (4801 runs), Rohit Sharma (4438 runs), Gautam Gambhir (4217 runs) and David Warner (4014 runs).
Uthappa had joined KKR in 2014 and was an important member of the Knight Riders side that won its second IPL trophy.
source: http://www.timesnownews.com / TimesNowNews.com / Times Now Digital / Home> Sports> Cricket> IPL 2018 / May 07th, 2018
Courtesy our friends Pemmanda Jepu and Jemy Ganapathy, we spent four wonderful days at the Ooty Club, a place steeped in colonial history. The trophies, the silverware, the honour lists and the photographs of the ‘Masters of the Fox Hunt’ date back to early 1840s.
During our stay, I got an opportunity to read a well-documented book titled ‘Ootacamund – A History,’ written by Sir Frederick Price in 1908, which is otherwise kept in the safe locker. Only two copies of this book exist. I was particularly interested in the visit of Governor-General Lord Dalhousie to Ooty in 1856, few details of which I had gathered while writing about Victoria Gowramma. However, what I stumbled upon was even more interesting — Governor-General William Bentinck’s journey to Bangalore, Mysore and Ooty in 1834. This trip was primarily to coordinate the attack on the ‘problematic’ Raja of Coorg: Chikka Veerarajendra.
Chikka Veerarajendra and the East India Company were at loggerheads since 1830. Governor-General William Bentinck, who was more interested in reforming India than in annexing new territories, had to finally deal with the Raja of Coorg who had dared the British by keeping in custody one of their emissaries — Kullapalli Karunakaran Menon.
A frontal view of the Ooty Club, which was originally Sir William Rambold’s Large House.
Lord William Bentinck set out from Calcutta on 3rd February 1834 on board the Curacoa to Madras. Bentinck reached Madras on 15th February 1834 and journeyed to Bangalore via Vellore. Travel those days was by horse carriages, bullock carts, palanquins and on horseback, with frequent camping en route.
He wanted first-hand assessment of the situation in Coorg, and for this purpose, the Commander-in-Chief Sir Robert O’Callaghan was in attendance. Strategies on military action against Coorg were finalised in consultations with Sir Robert O’Callaghan while at Bangalore. The Governor-General also had administrative issues concerning Mysore to be discussed. The reason for him to visit Ooty for an extended stay was to improve his rather poor health.
Lord Bentinck stopped over in Mysore and was put-up at the precursor to the Rajendra Vilas Palace atop Chamundi Hill, which was originally built by Robert H. Cole who was the earlier British Resident at Mysore (1811-1827). Bentinck set out for Ooty and it was while camping at Gundlupet on 15th March 1834 that he officially declared war on Coorg. Col. James Stuart Fraser was in overall command. Coorg was encircled from three fronts. Chikka Veerarajendra surrendered on 10th April 1834 and Coorg was annexed by the East India Company. Incidentally, Coorg was the only province to be added to the John Company during William Bentinck’s tenure, for which he came under criticism back home in England.
Lord Bentinck’s entourage reached Ooty on 22nd March. At Ooty the only suitable accommodation for the Governor-General and his staff was ‘Sir William Rambold’s Large House.’ It was a grand hotel built in 1832 by an influential British entrepreneur named William Rambold. However, Rambold soon ran into financial difficulties. The hotel was frequently rented for extended periods of time by senior officers of the East India Company. It was in 1842 that ‘Rambold’s Large House’ became the Ootacamund Club, or the Ooty Club. During Lord Bentinck’s sojourn in Ooty, Lord Babington Macaulay arrived at the hill station on 25th June 1834. The Governor-General and Macaulay met each other for the first time at Rambold’s Large House. Macaulay chose a small cottage nearby where he lived for several months to draft the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Governor-General Bentinck stayed on in Ooty till the end of September 1834. On his return journey he again passed through Mysore and reached Bangalore on 9th October. He sailed aboard the Curacao on 26th October from Madras and reached Calcutta on 14th November 1834.
Rajendra Vilas Palace atop Chamundi Hill, Mysore.
I checked on Lord Dalhousie’s sojourn in Ooty from 7th March 1855 to 29th October 1855. Dalhousie’s visit was also for health reasons, and he was due to retire soon. However, he was not too comfortable in Ooty, and shifted to Kotagiri.
During Dalhousie’s stay in Nilgiris, one of his ADCs took permission to visit Coorg, where the ADC’s brother was a coffee planter. It was in 1852 that Dalhousie had reluctantly given permission to the ‘rascally Raja of Coorg’ to travel to England along with his daughter Gowramma.
The ADC, on his return, narrated an amusing incident to his boss. Coorg being a rather remote province, news from the outside world took time to percolate. Very often, wild rumours floated amongst the small but growing community of British planters and officers. One such rumour was that the British and their allies had lost the Crimean War, and that Queen Victoria and her family had fled to India! However, Dalhousie who had had a temporary telegraph line installed at Nilgiris had already received the news that the British and their allies had in fact wrested Sevastopol from the Russians.
On his journey back to Calcutta, Dalhousie stopped over in Bangalore during early November 1855, and was the guest of Sir Mark Cubbon. Dalhousie narrated the ‘Coorg rumour’ to the British officers, much to their amusement. After inspecting the troops, he formally announced the British victory at Sevastopol. Fast forward, 2014: Vladimir Putin has Crimea back in the Russian fold.
About the author: C. P. Belliappa, born in 1946, is a Chemical Engineer. Currently settled in Coorg, he is known for his writings on issues pertaining to Kodagu. Four of his books — Tale of A Tiger’s Tail & other Yarns from Coorg, Nuggets from Coorg History, Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess of Coorg, and Tongue of the Slip, have been published by Rupa Publications.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by C.P.Belliappa / March 2018
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Saturday handed out cash rewards to the medallists of the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia last month.
While Saina Nehwal was presented a cheque of Rs 20 lakh for the individual women’s singles gold medal, PV Sindhu – who lost to her in the final – was given Rs 10 lakh.
The bronze medal-winning women’s doubles specialists Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy were handed cheques of Rs 3.75 lakh each.
The men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty got Rs 7.5 lakh each.
The mixed team gold medal-winning squad was rewarded with a cheque of Rs 50 lakh.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> Sports News> Badminton News / IANS / May 05th, 2018
They say Coorgis were descendents of Alexander’s Great Greek army. Is that true? Find out more about Coorg and its aromatic society in Coorg Diary
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Alexander’s Army
Coorg has always fascinated me. How come this tiny area with such a small population has produced so many outstanding soldiers? Among the best known are Field Marshal Cariappa—independent India’s first army chief and also the first King’s Commissioned Officer decorated with the Order of the British Empire for “exemplary service during World War 11—and General Thimayya, an army chief as well, who famously clashed with then Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon. Former ladies’ national tennis champion Dechu Appiah, her musician brother, Biddu Appiah (composer of the international hit, “Kung Fu Fighting”) and famed architect Brinda Sommaiya also come to mind. And what of the Coorgis’ complexion, which is a few shades lighter than that of the people from surrounding regions? And the brown or grey eyes? Another mystery: What explains their unique customs, far removed from Hinduism? They worship their ancestors, not any Hindu gods, and don’t believe in reincarnation. One rather far-fetched theory is that the Coorgis were descendants of Alexander the Great’s Greek army. That would explain their fair features and martial tradition. But, then, Alexander only came into a part of present-day north India, far away from Coorg (though he did leave a general behind to form a kingdom). How could any descendants of that Greek army have travelled such a long distance?
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ILLUSTRATION BY SAJITH KUMAR
All My Sons
I finally made it to Coorg (its modern name is Kodagu, and Coorgis are now Kodavas). As it happened, my hosts were the legendary Cariappa’s son, Nanda, and his wife, Meena. They live on the vast Cariappa estate in the heart of the Coorg capital, Madikeri (earlier Mercara). A short walk from their house on a mound surrounded by artistically placed stones and wild flowers is a simple black stone slab with the following engraved on it: “Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, 28 January 1899-15 May 1993”. This is the Samadhi where he was cremated. It still attracts his admirers from all over, many of them simple villagers who come to pay homage to perhaps their greatest son of our time. Nanda, who retired as an Air Marshal, was a fighter pilot in the 1965 Indo-Pak war. He was shot down near Amritsar on the last day of that war and captured by the Pakistanis. Gen Ayub Khan was then the President of Pakistan. He had served under Gen Cariappa and when Ayub realised his former boss’s son was their prisoner, in a gesture of friendship he offered to send him back to India, and, meanwhile, to treat him well. This prompted Cariappa to send his famous reply to Ayub Khan: “They (the Indian prisoners) are all my sons. Treat him just like them.” Nanda says he was initially kept in solitary confinement for a month, but otherwise treated well. Those were the honourable days. Ayub Khan’s son, Gauhar, even visited Nanda and gave him a tin of Capstan cigarettes and a P.G. Wodehouse book!
British Arms
Fanciful theories of Greek descent apart, the Coorgis—or Kodavas, if you will—have simply been traditional hunters, fond of their weapons. Then, when their independence was threatened, first by Hyder Ali, and then by his son, Tipu Sultan (who defeated them), they turned into fierce warriors. Tipu was extremely brutal with the Coorgis, forcibly converting many of them and transporting over 70,000 to Serangapatnam, while moving a large number of Muslims into Coorg, this affecting a demographic change in the region, which persists to this day. When the British took on Tipu, the Coorgis naturally sided with the British, helping them defeat Tipu. In gratitude, the British bestowed various favours on their Coorg allies, including the right to bear arms without licences, the only Indian community with that right, which continues even now.
Dense Aroma Society
Coorg is also synonymous with coffee, a well known fact. Somehow, the climate—not too hot, not too cold—the altitude—3,000 to 4,000 feet—and plenty of rainfall, are just right for coffee as well as a variety of spices, especially pepper. Mercara is dotted with shops selling coffee and spices. It also has a modest, charming museum in what used be a church built in the Roman Gothic style. There, a variety of arms are displayed, testifying to Coorg’s martial tradition. Considering the strong British presence of pre-Independence days, there had to be a golf course! There are two of them, both of 18 holes, as picturesque and challenging as you can get—steep slopes and plunging valleys. The mighty Cauvery river has its source just a couple of hours drive from Mercara, at Talacauvery, where a much frequented Hindu temple has sprung up. Coorg was once heavily forested, teeming with wild life. However, the timber mafia has been at its worst here, as in so many other parts of India, denuding the land of its precious trees. In some ways the Coorgis remind me of the Parsees. Both are small in number—the Parsees around 100,000, the Coorgis 170,000. Both have high literacy rates. Both tend to marry late, hence have low fertility, with declining numbers. Finally, both had a kind of mutual admiration society with the British—and still do!
(The writer is a well-known journalist)
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook Magazine / Home> The Magazine> Last Page / by Rahul Singh / June 12th, 2017
Air Marshal Cariappa in 1965 as a prisoner of war and today.
On 22 September 1965, a 26-year-old Indian Air Force squadron leader, in his Hawker Hunter fighter jet, ejected after a hail of Pakistani groundfire near Lahore ripped through his jet. Captured and taken as a prisoner of war, he would be repatriated four months later. But even in the fraternal landscape of the military, the young pilot was known for his illustrious lineage. He was “Nanda” Cariappa, son of a former Army chief who would go on to become India’s second Field Marshal, Kodandera Madappa Cariappa.
Now nearly 80, the Air Marshal lives a very quiet retired life in the hills of Karnataka’s Kodagu (formerly Coorg) at his famous father’s verdant hill abode, Roshanara, nestled between rolling hills and Madikeri town.
Cariappa Jr. and his wife Meena don’t have much time for politicians or politics, but couldn’t have been surprised when the Field Marshal’s name was invoked at a rally by Prime Minister Modi to shame the Congress, an attack that has erupted into an unsurprising controversy of its own given the errors that embellished the broadside.
For the Field Marshal’s son though, there are more urgent things to attend to than political quarrels in their state. Cariappa Jr. did, however, attempt to draw Prime Minister Modi’s attention last year, but it was to an issue that occupies the Cariappas above all else — the ecology and environment in Kodagu, the birthplace of the Cauvery, a river that local communities, including Cariappa’s own Kodavas, consider sacred.
‘Only God or you can save the Cauvery and the environment in Kodagu,’ the Air Marshal wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister in March 2017. He received a protocol reply inviting him to raise the issue with the Secretary of the Environment Ministry, and rues how the brief exchange could be indicative of a deep-rooted indifference to environmental emergencies in the country.
India Today found the Air Marshal has other concerns on his mind too, closer in keeping with his own life and career — the diminishing lure of the military upon youth in Kodagu, considered the ‘Land of Generals’, a district that has supplied generations of tough officers to the three armed forces, but primarily the Army. The Kodavas, native to Kodagu, were designated a martial race by the British in a list that included Sikhs, Marathas and Gorkhas.
“Unfortunately the lure of the armed forces has come down considerably. I’m aware of fewer young men and women who are keen on joining the army, navy or air force. It is certainly less than before,” Cariappa told India Today.
Serving on the Coorg Wildlife Society that fights an uphill battle to conserve the environment in the face of rampant tourism and commercial development, Cariappa’s eyes mist over when he’s asked what he’d like to say to the young generations of Kodagu, and indeed the rest of the country.
“All I would say to the young generation is that there is no finer profession than that of arms,” he said. “You have a sense of belonging. You live in a community where everyone cares for everybody else. Whether its at an air force base or on a ship or an army cantonment. In big cities, you may live in a ten story tower and never know your neighbours. You couldn’t care a damn. But here it’s all for one and one for all. Today the only binding force as I see it, is the integrity and loyalty engendered by the armed forces. There’s nothing else that compares.”
source: http://www.indiatoday.in / India Today / Home> News> India / by Shiv Aroor / Madikeri – May 04th, 2018
India, for the first time, will chair the board of International Coffee Organization (ICO) for a term of one year with Anil Kumar Bhandari, president of India Coffee Trust (ICT), getting elected as the chairman of Private Sector Consultative Board (PSCB) of ICO.
PSCB is an international coffee organisation body comprising 16 leading industry representatives from producing and consuming countries. The board’s main mission and objective is to increase the world coffee market in value and volume and also support various initiatives in the field of coffee and health.
Bhandari is the first representative from India to occupy the important position and his election is significant in the backdrop of World Coffee Conference (WCC) scheduled in Bengaluru, in April 2020.
Speaking about his election, Bhandari said, “My election as chairman, Private Sector Consultative Board of International Coffee Organization is an honour for India and India Coffee Trust. This is the first time that India has chaired the PSCB. I see this as the confidence reposed in India and ICT, going into the World Coffee Conference in 2020, which would be hosted by India and will be held for the first time in Asia. It also indicates the interest that the global coffee sector has in the Indian coffee industry and the Indian coffee market.”
The 121st Session of International Coffee Council (ICC) under ICO was held in Mexico City from April 9 to 13, 2018. ICO is an intergovernmental body of coffee buying & producing nations, having more than 72 member countries and India is one of the founding member.
It is the main intergovernmental organisation for coffee, bringing together exporting and importing governments to tackle the challenges facing the global sector through international cooperation. Its objective is to strengthen and promote its sustainable expansion in a market-based environment for the betterment of all participants in the coffee sector.
source: http://www.fnbnews.com / FnBnews.com / Home> TopNews / by FnB News Bureau, Bengaluru / April 30th, 2018
Harshika Poonacha is not one to shy away from a challenge, and reveals how the casting couch in Bollywood was the reason she stayed away. Harshika Poonacha
It has been 10 long years in the film industry for this Coorg beauty who started acting at the age of 15. She has at least 20 films to her credit across various languages including Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. Actress Harshika Poonacha, who turned a year older on May 1 celebrated her birthday marking her decade-long special journey. She was also supposed to make her debut in Bollywood but backed off from it due to ‘casting couch’ incidents which have become a major concern in the industry, after a series of actresses came out in public, expressing their anguish against it.
Harshika speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle about her reason to opt out of Bollywood for now, and even shared her birthday plans.
“I was 15 when I started my journey in the industry. Then, I was juggling school and films, and continued to do so till I graduated in electrical engineering in flying colours. I never had the opportunity to celebrate my birthday, apart from a few charitable causes. But this time, I thought I should thank each and everyone who has been a part of my special journey with a special treat. I have been busy calling everyone to be a part of the celebration. It’s been so special that the smile on my face hasn’t disappeared for three days,” says Harshika Poonacha.
For someone with no godfather in the industry, it’s been a great achievement to survive this long. “Many have started their journey into the industry, but none survived this long. It was only Radhika Pandit who made her debut a year before me, who has stayed this long. There were several ups and downs in my career but I have managed to make an identity for myself. People, both in the industry and the lovely audience recognise me for my work, irrespective of how the films have faired at the box office,” she adds.
The actress also addresses the elephant in the room, the casting couch. “After a great experience working in the South Indian film industry, I had the opportunity to work in a couple of Bollywood films, names which I cannot reveal as I left them even before they took off. In fact, they were released and I am told that they ‘bombed’ at the box office,” she shares.
Ask her about the reason she has stayed away from an industry which is considered the best platform, she says that after finishing the photoshoot for the Bollywood projects, she was contacted by the manager and was told that they were expecting other ‘commitments’ too, and this is when she decided to drop them.
“As soon as I came to know about it, I decided to quit the project. I have worked with most of the leading production houses in the south, and I never felt such bad vibes while working with them, but unfortunately I had to come across such a thing even before I could start in Bollywood. Moreover, I have never taken any shortcuts and strongly believe in professional ethics,” Harshika adds.
Her debut Malayalam movie Charminar, has earned her appreciation even as the movie is set for a Dubai release in the coming days.
“It was only in the past four years, I have had the opportunity to work in films without also juggling studies. Previously school and college kept me busy, and I worked during breaks. Getting admission to a reputed college was another challenge as the cutoff percentage was so high. I managed both studies and films well. I would shoot in the day, and stay awake for long hours to study at night. It paid off when I passed engineering with a distinction,” she smiles.
The actress who a won state award for her supporting role in the film Tamassu, also awaits the release of her Kannada film Chitte.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Entertainment> Sandalwood / by Shashiprasad SM / May 02nd, 2018
Mukkatira Punith Kuttaiah from Kodagu has secured an All India Rank of 324 in the Civil Services examinations that were conducted by the UPSC in 2017, the results of which were announced on Apr.27.
He is currently undergoing training in New Delhi for Indian Defence Estate Service under the Ministry of Defence.
Punith studied at Good Shepherds Convent Ammathi and at Coorg Public School. He has scored 90 percent in SSLC and 92 percent in PUC. He appeared for UPSC Central Armed Police Force in 2015 and secured 8th rank (all India) and was selected for Central Industrial Security Force.
In 2016, he appeared for UPSC Civil Services Examinations and secured an All India Rank of 501. This time, he has improved in his ranking and has secured 324th rank.
Speaking to Star of Mysore yesterday, Punith said that he loves trekking and his other interests are reading, football and hockey.
Punith is the son of Mukkatira (Devanageri) Prakash Belliappa of Byrambada village in Kodagu and Jamuna Akkamma (Baduvanda).
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 01st, 2018
Neglected: A tribal hamlet at Kollangere in the Nagarahole National Park where no candidate has campaigned for votes. | Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM
Few candidates want to invest their time and resources to reach interiors of Nagarahole forests to seek votes from Jenu Kurubas.
The dense jungles of the Nagarahole National Park, 60 km from here, are an unlikely setting for the heat and dust of an election campaign.
The national park where nearly 90 tigers and 800 elephants roam free in their natural habitat is a no-go area for the general public, except for the guided safari. But there are about 1,250 Jenu Kurubas — an indigenous tribal community — still living in the national park and approaching them is inevitable during election times when every vote matters. But few candidates want to invest their time and resources to reach the forest interior, given the lack of easy access to the hamlets and the distance to be commuted.
Kolangere — a tribal hamlet of about 25 families — is a case in point. It is located about 20 km from the Veeranahosahalli checkpost gate at the entry of Nagarahole from the Hunsur side and around 35 km from Nanchi gate from the Kutta side.
The meandering potholed road is open only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during which there is limited access to vehicles. There are 29 votes in this hamlet which falls under the Virajpet Assembly segment in Kodagu district. The nearest polling booth is at Moorkal, about 6 km by walk through the jungles, but there is a motorable road leading to it.
“No MLA has visited any of the tribal hamlet so far, but their representatives approach us for votes once in five years,” said Muthanna, a Jenu Kuruba.
The adivasis subsist on roots and minor forest produce. Though their needs are few, they work in coffee plantations in Kodagu to earn a living.
“All we seek is a settlement on the forest boundary along the elephant-proof trenches but our requests are rejected,” said Mr. Muthanna whose community has refused to relocate away from the forests.
Political awareness
It is the same scenario at Nagarahole, Nanachigadde Haadi, Gonigadde, Kolle Haadi, Tattekere or Kumbarkatte. But not withstanding the indifference of politicians, political awareness among the tribal people has increased over the years.
“Jenu Kurubas have traditionally supported the Congress. But the new generation has different views,” said Sanappa, head of the tribal community who relocated from the forests to Nagapura at Veeranahosahalli. Drinking water scarcity, lack of basic health care and educational facilities, and unemployment plague them even after relocation. The tribal people who volunteered to be relocated in 1998 were promised 5 acres of land as compensation, but 20 years on, it is yet to be fully implemented. “Yet there is no talk of boycott as we are hopeful that the government will act,” said Kalappa, a resident of Nagapura.
Survey under way
But a section of the adivasis of Nagapura whose patience is running out, launched an agitation on January 26, 2018, which lasted 75 days, forcing the authorities to take up a survey to demarcate the land. “We have now adopted a wait-and-watch policy on whether to boycott the polls or not in view of the ongoing survey,” said M.B. Prabhu, a tribal leader spearheading the agitation.
Tribals in Hunsur threaten poll boycott
Jenu Kuruba tribals from six hamlets in Hunsur have threatened to boycott the elections if their long-pending demands for proper rehabilitation and land allotment are not fulfilled.
The hamlets come under Hunsur Assembly constituency and banners announcing poll boycott have come up in some of them. There are about 300 families in these six hamlets and they account for at least 1,000 votes. The boycott threat indicates their frustration, according to Sreekant of Development Through Education, an NGO working for uplifting tribals. “Their language betrays their feelings and it is the successive governments that are to blame for the sad state of affairs as [the tribals] are left begging and pleading for basic amenities,” he said.
The hamlets that have called for election boycott include Hebbala, Neralakupe B. Haadi, Billanahosahalli and Chikkejejjur. Though the local authorities have been directed to prevail upon the tribals not to boycott the polls, DEED has sought the intervention of the Assistant Commissioner to end the impasse.
“He should visit the hamlets affected, understand the condition of these communities and list out the pending works for their comprehensive rehabilitation. Though most of the demands are outside his immediate purview, the Assistant Commission can make recommendations to improve their living conditions,” Mr. Sreekant said.
The demands include land allotment as part of the rehabilitation package that was promised to the tribals when they were shifted from Nagarahole and clearing land encroachment reported in 10 hamlets.
Tribal communities threatening to boycott elections is not something new, and they always end up exercising their franchise, according to DEED. But the larger message being sent out is the failure of the authorities to fulfil the promises made decades ago.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Elections> Karnataka 2018 / by R. Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – April 30th, 2018
Coorg Assembly was constituted in 1924 and the only election was held in 1951
Though reduced to two Assembly segments after the 2008 delimitation, the hilly district of Kodagu from where the Cauvery takes its birth has a royal pedigree and boasted of its own Legislative Assembly to frame law for the local region and the people.
What is more, Coorg (as the district was then called), which was merged with Mysore State in 1956, also had its own Chief Minister to govern the province from 1952 to 1956.
The Legislative Assembly of Coorg was constituted in 1924 and the first and only election was held in 1951. The members represented 18 constituencies, which had 24 seats as six of the constituencies had to elect two members each.
The constituencies were Sanivarasanthe (2 seats), Somwarpet north and south, Fraserpet, Sunticoppa (2 seats), Mercara town, Murnad, Mercaranad, Srimangalanad (2 seats), Hudikeri, Berriathnad, Ponnampetnad (2 seats), Virajpet town, Virajpetnad (2 seats), Ammathinad, Siddapur (2 seats), Napoklunad, and Bhagamangalanad, according to the Election Commission of India data.
Of the national parties, only the Indian National Congress and the Communist Party of India were represented and 15 seats were won by the INC and Independents won 9 seats. While the 15 councillors represented the prevailing majority view that Coorg should merge with Mysore, the 9 Independents were against the merger. There were 60 candidates in fray and the number of voters was 1,38,440 of whom 87,947 exercised their franchise (63.53%).
According to the district gazetteer published by the State government, the Indian Constitution recognised Coorg as a Part C State and thus it was entitled to posses a responsible government. This came into vogue in 1952 and the post of Chief Commissioner also continued and C.M. Poonacha, who was elected to the Coorg Legislative Assembly from Berriathnad, was the first and only Chief Minister of Kodagu.
When the State Reorganisation Commission recommended the merger of Coorg with the new Mysore State, Coorg became one of the districts on November 1, 1956 and Poonacha became a Minister in the S. Nijalingappa Cabinet.
He later became a Rajya Sabha member (in 1964) and was elected as MP from Mangalore Lok Sabha seat in 1969 (Kodagu was then attached to the Mangalore Lok Sabha constituency) and went on to hold different portfolios, including that of Minister of Railways.
C.P. Muthanna, son of Poonacha, recalled that there were hundreds of administrative entities, including princely States, at the time of Independence and they wanted to merge them into larger States to create a more cohesive administrative unit. “Since my father was the Chief Minister of Coorg at that time, there were many — keen on maintaining Coorg’s distinct identity — who imagine it was my father responsible for merging Coorg with Mysuru State.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by R. Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – April 29th, 2018
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