New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday delivered its verdict on the Cauvery river water dispute between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The conflict, which began over 120 years ago between the Princely State of Mysore and Madras Presidency, spilled over into Independent India. The conflict was a bitter one and protests have often got violent. But in the bloody history of the Cauvery dispute, some examples of cooperation is the ‘Cauvery Family’, a coalition of organizations formed by activist S Ranganathan.
Ranganathan, the Secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Association has been involved with the river water dispute since the 1970s. However, it wasn’t until 1984, when he filed a petition over the Cauvery dispute in the Supreme Court that he shot to fame. After things came to a head in the 1990s, with violent protests breaking out, Ranganathan chose reconciliation over conflict.
In 2003, he formed the ‘Cauvery Family’. The aim of the forum, which brought together experts, activists and stakeholders from both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, was to ensure that a farmer-to-farmer dialogue from both states was initiated to solve the dispute amicably. The ‘Cauvery Family’ travelled from Talacauvery, the birthplace of the contentious river, in Kodagu district of Karnataka to Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu, where it joins the sea. The Cauvery, said Ranganathan, was like a “mother” to all farmers, whether they be Kannadiga or Tamil.
But what does he see as a lasting solution? Here, too, Ranganathan feels cooperation, not conflict, is the way out. He told News 18, “A neutral body for regulatoon is the need of the hour. A body which has nothing to do with Tamil Nadu or Kerala or Karnataka. This neutral body is imperative to ensure Cauvery water is accessible to all.”
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