A lifetime spent fighting for the landless — and Karnataka's highest civilian honour has finally come to meet it. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday, 31 October 2026, publicly celebrated the selection of veteran socialist leader and former minister Kagodu Thimmappa for the Rajyotsava Award, calling the recognition deeply personal and long overdue.

Writing in Kannada, Siddaramaiah said the selection ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕವಾಗಿ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಖುಷಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದೆ ('has given me immense personal joy'). He described Thimmappa as 'a principled leader who deployed every office and opportunity that came his way exclusively for the welfare of the weak.'

The man who made 'the resident shall be the owner' more than a slogan

Kagodu Thimmappa's name is inseparable from one of Karnataka's most consequential land-rights battles. Rooted in the socialist tradition that shaped Karnataka politics from the Devraj Urs era, Thimmappa served as Revenue Minister in the Siddaramaiah government's first term (2013–2018) and used that post to push amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act — legislation that originally abolished tenancy and vested ownership with tillers when it was first enacted in 1974.

The amendments his tenure championed carried a simple, radical premise: 'ವಾಸಿಸುವವನೇ ಮನೆಯೊಡೆಯ' — 'the one who lives there shall be the owner.' The target was thousands of families who had occupied Thandas (nomadic hamlets), Hattis (tribal settlements), and Majares (revenue sub-villages) for generations without ever holding a title deed to call their own. Siddaramaiah credited Thimmappa as the backbone of the government's effort to deliver land-ownership rights to those families.

Speaker, minister, socialist standard-bearer

Thimmappa's public career stretches well beyond a single portfolio. He served as a minister in multiple Karnataka governments and as Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly — roles that placed him at the centre of state governance across different political cycles. Through all of them, Siddaramaiah noted, his commitment to social justice never wavered: power was always a tool, never the destination.

The Rajyotsava Award is Karnataka's highest state civilian honour, conferred each year on Rajyotsava Day — marking the state's formation — to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to public life. Selecting a land-rights crusader of Thimmappa's vintage for the 2026 award fits a clear pattern: Karnataka's Congress governments have consistently used such platforms to honour the socialist-era figures whose legislative work underpins the party's contemporary social-justice agenda.

Siddaramaiah closed his message with a warm personal note, extending heartfelt congratulations to his 'dear Kagodu Thimmappanavar' and wishing him good health and a long life — the kind of closing that carries weight when it comes from a Chief Minister who served alongside the man being honoured.

For the communities in Thandas and Hattis who finally hold title deeds, the award is not just a citation for one leader. It is the state's formal acknowledgement that their long wait for land was a political struggle worth remembering.