Escaping Blaze at 7 to Congress Chief at 80, Mallikarjun Kharge’s Firefighting Continues | Son Recounts Journey​ For News18

Mallikarjun Kharge, 80, who has been elected as the first non-Gandhi party chief after Sitaram Kesari?s tenure (1996-1998), has seen many successful seasons as a politician, but his struggle in life began at a young age of seven. Kharge lost his mother and sister in a fire set off by the Razakars or the private militia of the Nizam of Hyderabad, while he himself had a narrow escape.

The tragic incident that took place in 1948 was undisclosed until recently. Speaking to News18, Priyank Kharge recounted how his father Mallikarjun, and grandfather Mapanna survived the fire.

The Razakars had gone on a rampage, plundered and attacked houses across the region, which was then called Hyderabad state. Bhalki, in the modern-day Bidar district of Karnataka, like several other villages up to Maharashtra, was under siege.

“My grandfather was working in the fields when a neighbour rushed to tell him that the Razakars had set their tin-roof home on fire. The Razakars were attacking every village in sight. They were a four lakh-strong army and were acting on their own as they did not have a leader. My grandfather rushed home, but could only save my father, who was within his arm’s reach. It was too late to save my grandmother and aunt who died in the tragedy," said Priyank.

WHO WERE THE RAZAKARS?

The Razakars were the militia of the Nizam of Hyderabad, who killed hundreds of ‘revolutionaries’ fighting for freedom against the Nizams, at a time when India was celebrating freedom from the British. The people from the erstwhile Hyderabad were fighting against this paramilitary force under the banner of Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (MIM).

Launched in the 1920s, the MIM, at first, started as a cultural and religious platform for the Muslim community, but later took a militant turn under the leadership of a Latur-based lawyer Qasim Rizvi.

In the name of defending the Nizam rule, it is said to have committed several atrocities and killed those who opposed them.

In 1947, the Razakars made a call to the people of Hyderabad to either join Pakistan or form a separate Muslim dominion.

WHEN DID THEIR ATTACKS BEGIN?

On August 15, 1947, when the Indian sub-continent got its Independence, hoisting the Tricolour was considered an offence under the rule of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the then Nizam.

He refused to integrate his princely state of Hyderabad, which included Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana, with the rest of India. To bring Hyderabad under the Indian regime, Operation Polo, a military operation, was launched by the Indian government. It was aimed at merging the state of Hyderabad, which was under the Nizams at the time, with the Indian union. Opposing Operation Polo, the Razakars began attacking villages and setting homes on fire after plundering them.

A FRESH START

Kharge was born in 1942 to Mapanna and Sabavva in a small village, Varawatti, in Karnataka’s Bidar district.

“After being attacked, my father and grandfather hid in a dense shrubbery fearing for their lives. They then decided to meet my grandfather’s brother, who was serving in the Army and was posted in Pune. They travelled for almost a week on bullock carts to reach Pune, only to realise that my grand-uncle had moved back to Gulbarga (modern-day Kalaburgi)," he said.

So Kharge and his father moved to Gulbarga and began their life afresh. Having found a job in a textile mill, MSK Mills, Kharge completed his studies and got a degree in law from the Gulbarga Law College after completing his BA from the same college.

“My grandfather had assured my father that as a lawyer, he could fight for the rights of the labourers and improve their conditions. This is how he became very popular with the trade unions and the labour class," Priyank said.

POLITICAL CAREER

With a successful career as a lawyer, Kharge slowly moved towards public life. Inspired by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, he joined the Republican Party of India (RPI), only to be spotted by then Karnataka chief minister D Devaraj Urs, who insisted he join the Congress to “make a difference".

“Devraj Urs told my father that if he wanted to achieve the socialism of Ram Manohar Lohia or the radical changes as an Ambedkarite, it could be done only by joining the Congress as they will be in power. Urs Avaru asked him how he would make policies without the political master key of power. This convinced him. He was made to contest from Gurmitkal, even though he wanted the Sedam seat, and the rest is history," said Priyank.

NINE TIMES UNDEFEATED

In politics for over five decades, a staunch loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the veteran Congress leader is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He earned the moniker “sol illada sardara’ (the leader who has seen no defeat) for being elected nine times in a row. He, however, suffered an embarrassing defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which brought his winning streak to a grinding halt.

Although a popular face of the Dalit community, Kharge would rather be called a “dedicated Congressman", who is the “voice of people across state borders and communities".

THREE MISSED CHANCES TO BE CM

N Dharam Singh, another leader from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region that Urs spotted and groomed along with Kharge, forayed together into Karnataka politics. Such was their bonhomie that Singh and Kharge were called the Luv-Kush of the Congress.

However, Kharge missed three chances to become the CM of the southern state. He was seen as a front-runner for the Karnataka chief minister’s chair in 1999, 2004, and once again in 2013.

But ‘disciplined soldier? Kharge lost his chance in 2004 as Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Deve Gowda, the big brother in the alliance, preferred Dharam Singh. As the state party president between 2005 and 2008, the Congress won the largest number of seats against the then-ruling BJP-JDS coalition government.

In 2013, when the Congress came back to power with a majority, once again Kharge was in the running, but Siddaramaiah was made the CM and Kharge was asked by the party high command to go to Delhi and take charge as the Union minister for labour and railways in UPA-2.

SPECIAL STATUS FOR KARNATAKA

One of Kharge’s biggest contributions to Karnataka is the special status that has been given to the Kalyana Karnataka region under the provision of Article 370 J of the Constitution, a status that was not given for over four decades, despite political parties pleading with the Centre to confer special status on the backward region.

Kharge is known to be a leader, who is not only popular in southern India, but has a firm grasp on the Hindi-dominated belt as well.

“He is a leader who is acceptable to the Dravidian politics of the south as well as the Ambedkarite politics in the north. He is also acceptable in large parts of the Hindi heartland, which is unique to Kharge," said a senior Karnataka Congress leader.

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