Shantaveri Gopala Gowda (14 March 1923 – 9 June 1972) was a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

politician who was thrice elected to Karnataka Vidhanasabha, the

Legislative Assembly of Karnataka The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses ar ...

, in 1952, 1962 and 1967. Gopala Gowda was born in

Sagara, Karnataka Sagara is a city located in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also a sub divisional and a taluk headquarters. Located in the Sahyadri Mountain range on the banks of river Varada, it is known for its proximity to Jog Falls and to the histori ...

to a

Vokkaliga Vokkaliga (also transliterated as Vokkaligar, Vakkaliga, Wakkaliga, Okkaligar, Okkiliyan) is a community, or a group of closely-related castes, from the Indian state of Karnataka. They are also present in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. As ...

family. He is considered one of India's most important socialist leaders, and a pioneer of socialism in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He was influenced by Ram Manohar Lohia. His leadership began as early as 1951. He was considered "charismatic" and he gained many followers. He mentored several socialists in Karnataka including J.H.Patel,

Bangarappa Sarekoppa Bangarappa (26 October 1933 – 26 December 2011) was an Indian politician who was the 12th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1990 to 1992. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Karnataka between 1967 and 1996, bef ...

S. M. Krishna Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna (born 1 May 1932) is an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2009 to October 2012. He was the 16th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the 19th Governor of Mahara ...

and D. Devaraj Urs, who became the chief ministers of the state. Urs was inspired and understood the depth of Gopala Gowda's mind and life which was devoted to the poor and working classes, especially the farmers. The Land Reforms Act and renaming of the state from

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

to Karnataka are thanks to his association with Gopala Gowda. Upon the publication of his biography, N. Dharam Singh, chief minister of

, said that "the agitation and the political contribution of the late Shantaveri Gopala Gowda are significant in the history of the Legislature". He was a firebrand politician who knew the culture of the land, and being a villager himself had a great following among the farmer community of Karnataka. A well-read person with a strong love for the Kannada language, he had been a friend to many intellectual and sensitive literary figures of Karnataka like the poet

Gopalakrishna Adiga Mogeri Gopalakrishna Adiga (1918–1992) was a modern Kannada poet. He is known by some commentators as the "pioneer of New style" poetry. The Hindu - 26 September 2002 Biography He was born in an orthodox brahmin family in coastal village of ...

, the novelist Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy, the writer and journalist P. Lankesh, and the farmers' association leader M. D. Nanjundaswamy. In fact, Dr. Ananthamurthy wrote the novel ''Avasthe'' ("State of Life") based on the life of Gopala Gowda. It was also made into a sensitive film of the same name in 1987 with actor

Anant Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and En ...

playing the lead role. A real idealist and daredevil leader his 'Kagodu satyagraha' – the indefinite fast he held to provide justice to the farmers of Karnataka – is evergreen in the minds of Karnataka people. His death at an early age heralded the slow demise of socialist movement in Karnataka. M. D. Nanjundaswamy, was one of the few leaders to carry forward the movement along the lines that Gowda had envisaged. Gowda's political role was pivotal as it once again drew the attention of the nation on the plight of the farmers.

References

External links

Matadar.org: Leader Of The MonthTalk: Everybody’s Leader
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopala Gowda, Shantaveri 1923 births 1972 deaths People from Shimoga Indian socialists Karnataka politicians