Blogs

KODAVAME: KODAVA (COORG) MARCH WAS MY ‘FINEST HOUR’

By P.T. Bopanna

The recent historic Kodava march to preserve the cultural identity of Kodavas was also my ‘finest hour’.

Though I had my reservations on the march initially, I was happy after the march rolled down from Kutta on February 2 and reached Madikeri on February 7.

I had my reservations over the march because it was preceded by toxic social media posts by both the Kodavas and the Arebashe Gowdas following the controversy over the dress code imposed by Kattemadu temple in Madikeri taluk.

I was apprehensive because I did not want two of the indigenous communities to fight one another as they have co-existed peacefully for generations. The mutual rivalry and mud-slinging would have helped outsiders who had migrated to Kodagu in recent years.

Being an author and journalist with considerable footprint on social media associated with Kodagu, my focus in the last one decade was to promote Kodavame because the Hindutva ideology was diluting Kodavame which had been followed by generations by our ancestors.

My bestselling book ‘Are Kodavas (Coorgs) Hindus?’ where I had involved some of the brilliant minds who had done extensive studies on the Kodava way of life, was aimed to inform Kodavas, especially the younger generations, about the original faith and belief system.

As a born Kodava, I felt the Kodava belief in ancestor and nature worship, was nearer to rationalism, than the mainstream Brahminical Hinduism, because the Kodava faith was transmitted orally down generations, and was not frozen in time and remained flexible to adopt to changing circumstances.

Being one of the highly educated communities in the country, Kodavas should practice and promote scientific temper, instead of indulging in the regressive practices of Brahmanical Hinduism and the divisive Hindutva ideology.

For more on Kodava religion, go through my book ‘Are Kodavas (Coorg) Hindus?’ and look forward to my upcoming book ‘Kodava Religion at Crossroads’.

Link to Amazon paperback copy of ‘Are Kodavas (Coorg) Hindus?’: