Kharge vs Yogi tussle amid Maharashtra Assembly polls reminds voters of a dark chapter in Karnataka’s history

The war of words between Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the election campaign in Maharashtra has triggered a debate over ‘minority appeasement’ politics. This time, the Hindu-Muslim binary is to pitch the Maratha Hindus against the ‘Razakars’.

While Kharge chose to pick on Yogi’s poll slogan “batenge toh kitenge” (claiming Hindus would be slaughtered If divided), and said a “true yogi" would never use the language of the “terrorists”, Yogi is hoping to consolidate the Hindu votes by cautioning against caste-based voting.

"Many leaders don the 'gerua' (saffron robes) and shave their heads, some even become chief ministers. If you are a sanyasi, stay out of politics,” Kharge had stated during a rally, indirectly referring to Yogi.

In a counter attack, Adityanath, while addressing a rally in Achalpur, said, “I am a Yogi, and for me, the nation comes first. But for Mallikarjun Kharge, appeasement politics comes first.” Recounting Kharge's childhood in the Bidar region of erstwhile Hyderabad state amid the political turmoil during the accession of Hyderabad in 1948, Adityanath asked Kharge to place the facts and the dark truth from his childhood.

“Kharge ji, don't get angry at me. Instead, you should be angry with the Hyderabad Nizam as his Razakars (army) burnt your village, killed Hindus, and burnt your mother, sister and family members. Present this truth before the country to demonstrate that whenever Hindus are divided, they will meet with the same fate. Kharge hesitates to acknowledge this truth, as it might harm his political appeal among the Muslims.” Said Yogi.

Priyank Kharge, son of AICC chief and Karnataka Minister, responding to Yogi said, “Despite the tragedy, he (Mallikarjun Kharge) never exploited it for political gain, never played the victim card and never let hatred define him. It was the Razakars who committed this act—not the entire Muslim community. Every community has bad apples and individuals who do wrong. Your ideology fails to see Kharge ji as an equal, it discriminates between human beings, but does that make all of you (Hindus) bad or only those who are practising it? Who labelled Kharge as an “untouchable” or a Dalit? The existence of a discriminatory ideology does not make everyone within a community wrong. Does it?” asked Priyank.

“At 82, Kharge ji is fighting tirelessly to uphold the values of Buddha-Basavanna-Ambedkar and to protect the Constitution from the tyranny and hatred you seek to instil and he will continue this fight with unwavering conviction. So, Yogi Ji, take your hate elsewhere. You cannot bulldoze his principles or his ideology,” added Priyank.

Mallikarjun Kharge And Razakars

The Congress veteran too had recalled his family tragedy on several occasions but stopped short of blaming the Nizam or his actions.

Every year, on September 17, the Hyderabad-Karnataka Liberation Day is celebrated in Kalyan Karnataka districts. A statue of Sardar Patel in Kalaburagi and a martyr memorial at Gorta village in Bidar are reminders of the tyranny of the Razakars.

In 1947, when India gained Independence, most of the princely states decided to merge with India, but the Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, refused to accede to India. By September 1948, the Indian government which was concerned over a communal state in the region, launched ‘Operation Polo’ as Nizam continued to build his military.

On September 13, 1948 the operation began with Indian forces entering Hyderabad and on September 17, the Nizam signed an instrument of accession to become part of the Indian union. But the process was not without bloodshed as Nizam’s army, known as ‘Razakars’, unleashed violence against hamlets and people who were in favour of being part of India.

One such village was Warawatti in Bidar district of Karnataka, which was ravaged by Razakars. On the fateful day, one Mapanna came back to his house only to find his wife and children killed. But his months-old infant who was sleeping in a baby hammock under a tree nearby had escaped death. Mapanna had left the village along with his infant son and came to Kalaburgi in search of livelihood.

The infant who survived the Razakars is Mallikarjuna Kharge who graduated in law, won nine consecutive elections (seven from Gurmitkal, two from Chittapur) to Karnataka Assembly since 1972, and two elections to the Lok Sabha from Gulbarga before losing his seat to BJP’s Umesh Jadhav in 2009. He was later elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in 2020. He is currently the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House and also the president of the All India Congress Committee.