“Give land to the landless in honor of HS Doreswamy”

Jignesh Mevani and others pay tributes to HS Doreswamy in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

The fifth death anniversary convention of freedom fighter HS Doreswamy held in the city on Tuesday demanded that the state government form an empowered committee to look into the demands of landless and homeless people in the state.

Noor Sridhar, president of Karnataka Janashakti, who worked closely with Doreswamy in his last days, said distributing land to the landless and housing the homeless was the only way to honor Mr. Doreswamy.

“What we are asking for is a fundamental right. Five acres of dry land or two acres of irrigated land and a place for the homeless. Doreswamy hoped that Siddaramaiah would be able to fulfill this promise. But all governments have failed the landless,” he said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who sent a written message on the event, said he would discuss the demands once he returns from Delhi.

Teesta Setalvad, chairman of the Gauri Memorial Trust, said the Congress government in the state has many unfulfilled promises. “From repealing communal laws imposed by the BJP to inaction against hate speech, the Congress has many broken promises. While the Congress party at the center spoke for Palestine, why were pro-Palestinian protests banned in the state? The government must provide land to the landless and houses to the homeless and honor Doreswamy, who needs to fight the state’s legacy in the Revision,” he said in the Revision (SIR). “We demand a social audit of the voter lists and that the Electoral Commission provide the lists in a machine-readable format,” she said.

Dr. The HS Doreswamy Memorial Trust has also demanded that a memorial be built for the freedom fighter at Freedom Park, where he was imprisoned during the Quit India movement and led several protests at the site. They are also demanding that a prominent circle and metro station be named after the freedom fighter.

Indira Krishnappa, chairperson of the HS Doreswamy Memorial Trust, said that on the proposals to introduce an activist award in the name of the freedom fighter, the trust would soon decide on the modalities.

Published – 26 May 2026 21:39 IST