Mysuru :"I know the taste of honey. I don't know about the Padma Shri award. I have not grown up to that level either," said Padma Shri awardee Somanna, a resident of Moththehadi tribal hamlet in Naganahalli village of HD Kote taluk, Mysuru district.
Somanna, 66 years, has been conferred the Padma Shri in recognition of his long-drawn fight for the tribals' right to life for over four decades. Giving his reaction the national level honour, he said, "We are farmers. We make a living by bringing green leaves and cooking them to eat. I know the taste of honey. But I don't know what is the Padma Shri award."
The tribal activist says innocently, "You have to tell me the taste of that", when asked about his feelings on receiving the award. He has been fighting for the rights of the people of Hadi since 1978. "The government should implement the report that has included 35 suggestions and it should protect the rights of the tribal people inside the forest. They should not be driven out from there. They should be given land to live there. In addition, their rights should be established in the tribal areas. Poverty and illiteracy should be removed," he said.
Somanna studied only fourth standard. Once a serf, he started fighting for the rights of tribals and when there was no money for court expenses, his wife encouraged and funded him by mortgaging her gold earrings. Somanna himself remembers this now. His father has 9 children. They depended on wages for a living. Somanna worked as a bonded labourer. When her father died after being struck by lightning and his mother also passed away, Somanna took the responsibility of the entire family.
He also fought for tribals' basic facilities and their rights. On the Padma Shri Award, he said it encouraged him to fight further. "My mother used to take us to different places. We used to see all the pains of poverty there. No clothes to wear. There is no bed to sleep on. They used to light a fire in the forest and sleep. Looking at it all, I came to know that it is not only the problem of our HD Kote Hadi tribals. This is the problem of all the tribals of whole India and the world."
Recalling the tough days, Somanna said, "We were very poor, our mother cut the grass in the zamindar's garden and sold it at HD Kote, and fed us all with the money that came from it."
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