The Karnataka government should withdraw its decision to acquire farm land in Devanahalli for industrial promotion, writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa said in Belagavi on Monday (June 30, 2025).

“The State government wants to take away over 1,770 acres in 13 villages and hand it over to corporate companies. Farmers are agitating against land acquisition in Devanahalli as they are set to lose fertile lands, their only source of livelihood. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has invited farmers and officials for a meeting on July 4 to discuss the Devanahalli issue. I hope it leads to positive results,” he said. He was speaking after receiving the Basavaraj Kattimani Trust Award from Minister Satish Jarkiholi.

“Snatching land from farmers to give it to corporates is common in big capitalist economies. This should stop. Farmers should not be forced to lose their land. Similar is the State government’s decision to extend working hours beyond eight hours,” he said.

“We should all recall that we celebrate May Day as International Labour Day as it was on that day that workers won the right not to work for more than eight hours. Extending working hours is to deny the rights of workers. The Union government is taking away rights and liberties of workers by amending labour laws. This is not acceptable. Writers need to speak out against such injustice,” he added.

“It is true that all of us can not come to the streets to protest against wrong policies or decisions of the government. But we can not sit quiet. We need to raise our voice to preserve our conscience. We have to write and speak to record our resistance and spread our ideas among others. It is in this context that progressive writers like Basavaraj Kattimani and Niranjana come to our rescue. They lived in challenging times and faced adversities. But they recorded their resistance through their novels and other writings. We should seek inspiration from them,” he said.