Ex- Minister, Senior Congress Leader Bheemanna Khandre Dies

A freedom fighter and a leading social reformer, Khandre played an important role in public life beyond politics, making significant contributions to social work, education, the cooperative sector and mass movements. His last rites will be performed on Saturday evening.

Khandre was an active participant in the Hyderabad Liberation Movement and protested against the Razakar atrocities. He later worked tirelessly to ensure that Bidar district remained a part of Karnataka during the reorganization of the state, for which he was awarded the Suvarna Ekikarana State Award.

He was unwell for the last few days and was first admitted to a private hospital in Bidar before being shifted to his home in Bhalki, where he breathed his last around 10.50 pm on Friday.

According to Eshwar B Khandre, the bodies will be kept in public view at the family residence in Gandhi Ganj, Bhalki, on Saturday morning. The last rites will be performed in the evening at Shantidham on Chikal Chand Road in Bhalki, next to the samadhi of his late wife Lakshmibai, in accordance with Veerashaiva Lingayat traditions.

Tributes poured in from across the political, social and religious spectrum. Last week, heads of various mutts, ministers, legislators and members of the public had visited Bhalki to inquire about his health and pray for his recovery.

A lawyer by profession who fought for farmers and the poor, Khandre entered politics in 1953 and became the first elected chairman of the Bhalki Municipal Council. He was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly four times (1962, 1967, 1978 and 1983) and served as a Member of the Legislative Council for two terms (1988 and 1994). He also served as Transport Minister of Karnataka in the M Veerappa Moily Cabinet from 1992 to 1994.

Deeply influenced by Basavanna’s ideals of social equality and justice, Khandre worked to spread these principles throughout his life. Under the guidance of Diksha guru late Dr Channabasava Pattaddevaru, he played a key role in the construction of the Shiva-linga-shaped Anubhava Mantapa at Basavakalyan and devoted personal efforts and resources to the project.

As the national president of the Lingayat Mahasabha, Veerashaiva strengthened and united the community, increasing the organization’s membership from a few thousand to over one lakh.

An educationist and institution founder, Khandre served as chairman of Shantivardhak Educational Institutions and was instrumental in establishing Akka Mahadevi College in Bidar and an engineering college in Bhalki, even resigning from the ministry to facilitate the latter.

He was also one of the important figures in the cooperative sector by establishing the Hallihed-Bidar Cooperative Sugar Factory and the Mahatma Gandhi Sugar Factory in Hunaji. He chaired Bidar Sahakara Sakkare Karkhane for 12 years and served as executive member in national cooperative bodies, and also contributed to the implementation of Naranja and Karanja irrigation projects.

During the population control drive in 1976, Khandre opposed forced sterilization and instead led a public awareness drive that resulted in more than 2,500 voluntary sterilizations in a single day. The effort attracted international attention, including from the BBC.

In 1980, he was appointed general secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee and organizer of the State Kisan Cell, and in 1981 he led a delegation of around 16,000 farmers to the All India Kisan Rally in New Delhi.

Khandre is survived by two sons (Eshwar B Khandre and Amar Kumar Khandre) and four daughters. His third son, former MLA Dr. Vijaykumar Khandre passed away in 2019.

In recognition of his tremendous public service, Khandre received the Suvarna Karnataka Rajyotsava Award from the Government of Karnataka, while Gulbarga University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa).

While official records state his birth year as 1927, Khandre often states that he was born on January 8, 1923. He turned 102 last week.