Karnataka to provide honorarium for Goa freedom fighters

The Karnataka Government has decided to provide an honorarium of Rs 2,000 per month to the activists from Karnataka, who had participated in the movement to liberate Goa from the Portugese rule during the late 1950s.

Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said the Government had identified a total of 1,946 activists from Karnataka, who had participated in the movement to bring to an end the Portugese regime in Goa.

Presenting the State Budget 2007-08, Yediyurappa said the State Government would incur an expenditure of Rs 46.7 million annually on account of the honorarium provided to Goan freedom fighters from Karnataka.

The Karnataka Government’s decision to provide an honorarium to Goan freedom fighters is actually a revival of the policy, which was in vogue during the 1990s. Former Chief Minister of Karnataka S Bangarappa began providing the pension to Goan freedom fighters in Karnataka in 1991. But, the policy was scrapped in 1994 when H D Deve Gowda became the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

The Government of Karnataka had come under pressure from the Goan freedom fighters in Belgaum, who pointed out that thirteen other states in the Indian Union were paying pension to activists from their states for participating in the movement to liberate Goa.

More than a 100 such Goan freedom fighters from Karnataka met Yediyurappa ahead of the Budget presentation and persuaded him to resume the policy of providing honorarium to them. An eighteen-member Committee constituted by the Government had identified a total of 1,946 activists from Karnataka, who had marched to Goa in response to a call by socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia in 1955.

The activists had marched to Goa from various parts of Karnataka including Belgaum to drive out the Portugese, who had set foot on Indian soil way back in 1510. The Portugese rule over Goa finally ended in December 1961, more than 14 years after India attained Independence from British rule.