The other Gandhian

Sukumaran Mennon leaves his home at Beretena Agrahara in Bengaluru every morning. He reaches the Mahatma Gandhi statue at MG Road after changing three buses and sits there on a fast for 10 hours. A retired engineer, Sukumaran is protesting against what he calls a land grab by the government. This reporter met him on the 458th day of his long-drawn satyagrah against the authorities. "My hard-earned property has been snatched illegally without even a prior notice. It was my lifetime's saving. I have loans on my head. My life is ruined," says the pensioner who has been fighting for his home for the last 16 years.

Here is how it all began. In 1993, Sukumaran used up all his life's savings to buy a plot of land in Beretena Agrahara. His dream was to build an IT complex here complete with an art gallery and an animation studio. He even took Rs 25 lakhs on loan from relatives for this, while he lived with his wife and two kids in a house that he built on the land.

In 1995, the state decided it needed the land for the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project. Final notifications were given in 2004 and, according to Sukumaran, with no prior notice. But Sukumaran was determined to keep his land and home. He claims he was harassed incessantly – sewerage lines were diverted to fill his land with dirty water and his drainage was blocked but he persisted. He spent a year in these swamp-like conditions until water levels inside his home rose to such an extent that he was forced to leave. No sooner had he left for an alternative accommodation nearby, than six huge ground-levelling machines arrived to destroy his dream.

Since then, Sukumaran has been on a lonely satyagraha. His only demand is the restoration of his house and land. "I strictly instructed my sons to concentrate on their studies and not to get involved in this mess. I will continue to protest till I get justice," says the lonely warrior.