Bengaluru: Simpson Soans happened to be a tall personality in the leftist movement of the state as well as the Communist Party of India (CPI). However, it looks strange that people of the present generation aren't very aware of his contributions and sacrifices for the overall well-being of the working-class community.
Google has no information: A few decades back, the situation was so perplexing that all budding journalists depended heavily on senior veterans for the bare minimum information on men and matters. It also didn't mean that one could seek the desired information on request as it all depended upon the peculiar mood of the sources. Nowadays, no one asks anyone for anything as almost everything depends wholly on Google. Unfortunately, even Google has no information about Simpson Soans!
Sacrificed everything for six or seven decades: Dr Godwin Shiri, an octogenarian pastor who holds the highest respect to Simpson Soans for being a great source of inspiration, luckily has penned a book, Parishramada Haadiyalli Munnanadeda Hejjegalu, a biography in Kannada. Although Dr Godwin Shiri was associated with many missionary organizations in India and abroad all along, he still found time to write about the gentleman Simpson Soans who became the voice of the oppressed people during his six, or seven decades of public life in the Malabar region of Kerala, Mangaluru, Udupi, Dandeli, Davanagere, Bengaluru and other regions of the state.
A laboratory of multiple experiments: According to Dr Godwin Shiri, the undivided Dakshina Kannada district came to be known for the education, medical and banking sectors throughout the country at the beginning of the 20th century, but the first trials or experiments in this regard began long ago. It was also during this period that the hitherto known 'Subbaiah Shettara Vilewari' Mangaluru-Udupi horse carts made way for the bigger private buses.
Born in Udupi: Simpson Soans was born in Udupi on 11 December 1915. His father, Yesudas Soans, was a native of Tottam near Malpe and was a weaver by profession. While he was doing well, he had around 30 weaving machines at home, owned the weaving factory, and had a couple of acres of agricultural land. To become well-versed in weaving, he had gone to the Common Wealth (Basel Mission) Hosiery Factory in Mangaluru for expert training. According to available records, the credit for launching a modern handloom weaving machine in Udupi goes to Yesudas Soans.
A communist leader, thanks to Simpson Soans: Late Bevinje Vishnu Kakkilaya, a former member of the Rajya Saha for two years representing the Madras Province, two times MLA of the Karnataka Assembly, who also led several agitations against the injustices meted out to the farmers, labourers and a secretary of the state CPI reminisces in his forward-"Ever since I joined the Communist party in 1940, it was Simpson Soans who guided me and became a source of inspiration due to his leadership and struggle in building labour organizations. If I am called a Communist leader, it is mainly because of the association of people like Simpson Soans among many others...
...Expansion of SKTUC from Mangaluru to Northern Coast: The year 1944 happened to be the beginning of the trade union movement in the undivided South Canara district and the responsibility of expanding the activities of the South Canara Trade Union Congress (SKTUC) from Mangaluru to the Northern coast laid on the shoulders of Simpson Soans and me. Raghava, Das Sherigar, Gopal Suvarna and others of Udupi rubbed shoulders in this enormous task. Likewise, Lingappa Suvarna, with the help of Ammu Shetty, strived to spread the movement towards the Bantwal side", recalled B V Kakkilaya.
Beedi workers' days strike: Beedi workers prolonged strike for 53 days, accomplishing bonuses, wage hikes, and dearness allowance for the tiles workers; the formation of a labour union and historic strike were also some of the milestones during this period. He was also responsible for setting up the peasants' organization in the South Canara district along with Udupi taluka for availing the benefits of the Land Reform Act, says B V Kakkilaya.
Life-turning incident: Dr Godwin Shiri shares an incident that took place in a church: "Then Simpson Soans was a 12-year-old, and he was at the church for mass prayers on a Sunday. When it was time for the rituals to get over, a group of activists involved with the prohibition movement led by Mahatma Gandhi entered the church compound, busy distributing pamphlets...
...Activity interrupted: This activity of interruption irritated some of those who had assembled in the church for prayers, and in the heat of the moment, they protested against the activists and drove them away. This incident had an everlasting impact, which also transformed into a life-turning incident for Simpson Soans. Although Simpson Soans never seconded the idea of activists disturbing the prayer meeting, he could never come to terms with the shooing away and that too outside the church of Jesus Christ who believed that love was the ultimate virtue in life...
...What's wrong with prohibition? Simpson Soans pondered over the incident, and it was then that it occurred to him that hundreds of families in the Christian neighbourhood were suffering due to the drinking menace of elderly men, while his own family was no exception. Due to such thoughts invading his mind, he felt the elders of the community were practising a dual policy contrary to what they publicly proclaimed. Hence, he resolved to keep a safe distance from the routine rituals of the religion. However, the incident indeed raised many questions in devout xn Simpson Soans. From then onward, he was slowly attracted to Marxism. Soans studied only up to the 5th standard but knew several languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, English and even tried studying Russian.
Weavers' organization, association, strike: In the beginning of the 20th century, thousands of people were dependent on the weaving profession for a livelihood in the South Canara district. There were around 300 weaving mills in Mangaluru alone, employing about 8,000 workers. In 1930, a 35-day weavers' strike took place in the very first year of the formation of the weavers' union. Then, the weaver's daily earnings ranged from four to five Annas, while a 20-metre Panche or long loincloth was easily available for one to one and a quarter rupee. For the benefit of those unaware of annas, one rupee was equivalent to 16 annas. Likewise, another strike in 1940 was fruitful to enhance the daily wages by half anna, and another strike followed in 1942 for a hike in the wages by half anna. Varaha Venkata Giri, who was a leftist and also a Labour Minister in the Madras Presidency, was unanimously elected as the honorary president of the weavers' union. Later, V V Giri served as the President of the country.
Adverse situation all along: The trade union movement was not an easy task then, and all those in the forefront were under the mercy of several adverse situations. Employer harassment and police-government torture were quite common, and legal or police protection for the workers and their leaders was unheard of.
Impact and influence of Malbar region: The birth and growth of the labour movement in the South Canara district heavily depended on the activities in the adjoining Kerala state and, more particularly, the Malabar region. For being districts of the Madras province, they boasted of thick proximity as well. At the end of the 1930s, Red Flag flew in flying colours across the coastal district, thanks to the hundreds of Beedi workers migrating from Kerala to settle down in Mangaluru. They are also attributed as the first generation messengers of the Communist ideology. Along with them, hundreds of Malabar students studying in Mangaluru colleges were by and large leftists. All these factors led to an impetus for the setting up of a Red base in Mangaluru.
The Kamaladevi Chattopadhya connection: When it comes to recalling the labour movement history of the South Canara district, the first name that occurs to Simpson Soans is that of the legendary Mrs Kamaladevi Chattopadhya. She visited West Bengal and came in contact with Veerendranath Chattopadhya, whom she married later. After her return from West Bengal, Mrs Kamaladevi Chattopadhya immensely got involved with the labour movement. She joined the Congress Socialist Party and began to launch multiple labour organizations in the early 1930s. Her sole purpose was to create awareness about the nationalist movement and bring the labour class to the mainstream of the freedom struggle. She founded the Printing Press and Motor Vehicle workers organizations; however, these unions didn't have a long lease of life.
The first-ever strike by women: The first-ever strike in Dakshina district was launched by women, and the credit of leading it goes to Mrs Kamaladevi Chattopadhya. This strike took place at the Mijaru Govind Pai's cashew nut factory, and the cause was neither political nor financial but to replace the inhuman habit of removing cashew nutshells from hands. H Manjunathrao, a Kerala Communist leader, had come to Mangaluru to guide the agitation.
Inspiration to Simpson Sonce: Although the labour organizations formed by Mrs Kamaladevi Chattopadhya didn't last long, her progressive efforts among the working class motivated many people, and Simpson Soans was one among them. He has also praised the legendary woman for her suggestions and guidance to him during the beginning of his innings as a comrade.
Keshav Kamat and Beedi Workers Union: If Mrs Kamaladevi Chattopadhya is acknowledged as the first person to launch the first labour union in South Canara, likewise the credit of building a strong Beedi workers union goes to Keshav Kamath. Keshav Kamath lived in Mangaluru and was an employee in the Great Darbar Beedi Factory. Many Beedi workers who came from Kerala, including C K Govindan and C K Bava from Mangaluru, belonging to the Congress Socialist Party, joined hands with Keshav Kamath to strengthen the organization. A close bond between Keshav Kamath and Simpson Soans. However, following the ban on the Communist Party of India(CPI) from 1948 to 1951, Keshav Kamath, to avoid arrest by the police, reached Pune to settle there, and the link with Mangaluru got chopped off.
Never-ending list of strikes and struggles: The number of labour unions Simpson Soans was associated with and the strikes and struggles he was involved with were innumerable. Some of them were the Mangaluru Tile company workers, West Coast Paper Mills Private Limited company in Dandeli, Toddy workers union, Railway and Beedi workers union in Hubbaalli, and Textile and Oil mill workers unions in Davanagere, among many others across the state.
Visited Soviet Union: Simpson Soans visited Soviet Union on the invitation of the Communist country government. From 1947, he was underground for a long period, and it was perhaps the most difficult period in his life as the Communist Party of India was banned for three years. He was also at the forefront of ensuring land for the landless under the land ownership rights to the tiller of the land, thanks to the land reforms act envisaged by the then-chief minister D Devaraj Urs during the early seventies of the previous century. He toiled in hundreds of villages of the South Canara district to create awareness among the tenants to own the lands they had been tilling for decades.
Time to remember: The tragedy in this country is that there is no dearth of great women and men who have contributed to the welfare of the society and thereby the country, selflessly sacrificing their comforts and well-being. However, the same beneficiary society makes a U-turn when it comes to remembering the contributions of these great souls, and Simpson Soans is no exception to this stark reality.
-Manohar Yadavatti
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