Yellur villagers complain of bias, say they will either merge with Maharashtra or go to jail.
Yellur village, the epicentre of the Maharashtra-Karnataka border row, is just about 12 km from Belgaum city. Every time there is a flare-up at Yellur, its shockwaves rock Belgaum.
Enter Yellur, and you will see a signboard proudly proclaiming the village as a part of Maharashtra Rajya. The village still spearheads the border movement — Seema Ladha — of the 865 Marathi-speaking villages spread over Belgaum, Bhalki, Karvar, Nipani and Bidar. Prominent leaders of the movement, like the late SM Joshi, union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal, never missed out on visiting Yellur.
Even a minor agitation at Yellur triggers reaction in Belgaum. It was the first village to protest the Centre’s affidavit in the Supreme Court refuting Maharashtra’s claim on Belgaum. The village took the lead in the no-cess strike of 1959, and in the movement against compulsory Kannada in 1986. Nine villagers had been injured in police firing during the no-cess strike.
When DNA visited Yellur on Wednesday morning, it was greeted with slogans like ‘Jai Maharashtra’ and ‘Rahenge to Maharashtra mein, nahi to jail mein (Either we live in Maharashtra, or we go to jail).’
The Yellur Maharashtra Rajya signboard at the entrance to the village has become a symbol of Marathi pride. The youths often sport T-shirts, with ‘Maharashtra Rajya’ boldly inscribed on them.
“The Karnataka government had tried to remove the board many times. We challenge it to try again if it has the guts,” Maruti Kugji, a former chairman of Belgaum taluka panchayat, said.
The 29-member gram panchayat has frequently passed resolutions seeking merger with Maharashtra. Kugji alleged that he had been removed from his post for passing such a resolution.
The entire village of 16,000 speaks in Marathi. “Even the British government did not dare to trifle with our mother tongue. But post-Independence, there had been so many onslaughts on us for speaking Marathi that we feel like prisoners in Karnataka,” Vyankoba Takekar, 85, a satyagrahi in the Seema Ladha, said.
The villagers particularly loathe that all government documents, such as ration card, electricity bill, 7/12 extract and circulars, are in Kannada. “Even nameplates on buses are in Kannada. We cannot read them,” Uday Jadhav, a local newspaper reporter, said.
The Yellur villagers blame the Karnataka government of bias against Marathi-speaking people. “We are deprived of decent jobs. Even graduates from our village work as labourers,” panchayat samiti member Arjun Goral said.
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