The mortal remains of veteran journalist Patil Puttappa were kept on Tuesday on the Karnataka Vidyavardhak Sangha (KVS) premises in Dharwad, an organisation with which he had a five-decade-old association.
Puttappa, who was elected president of the Sangha first in 1967, created a record of sorts by getting re-elected till the end without any break. It was rare to see a man of his age heading the 130-year-old organisation. KVS played a key role in the freedom struggle, the State unification movement and several other movements related to Kannada and Kannadigas, and in the last five decades Puttappa’s name was synonymous with it.
His last re-election was in 2018. Undeterred by the efforts of some individuals to unseat him, Puttappa continued his winning streak. Writers such as Chandrashekhar Patil had to concede defeat against him. When in 2015, a political party tried to unseat him, the wheelchair-bound Puttappa foiled its efforts.
Even his opponents agree that but for Puttappa, KVS would not be what it is today. Puttappa was instrumental in safeguarding this institution during times of distress. Besides playing a leading role in agitations and movements on matters related to the State, language, land and the people, Puttappa also strived to nurture KVS into a hub of cultural and literary activities. The Horanadu Kannada Sammelana, a unique initiative and brainchild of Puttappa, has played a key role in organising Kannadigas living in other States and responding their grievances.
Basavaprabhu Hosakeri, an executive committee member of the Sangha, who had a two-decade-long association with Puttappa, summed it up thus, “Puttappa shaped and developed the Sangha, which is a representative body of the ethos of Kannada and Kannadigas. It is difficult to imagine the Sangha without Papu. For him, the Sangha was his first home; his own home came next. Despite being in politics, Puttappa had the rare character of going beyond politics in issues concerning society. For the same reason, the State used to look to him for advice on issues concerning land and language.”
