: Freedom fighter Kote Laxminarayana Sharma passed away after a brief illness at his residence at Bantakal village in Udupi district on Wednesday. He was 97. He is survived by three sons and three daughters.
He had participated in the Quit India movement in 1942. He used to work at the Congress office and the Khadi Bhandar in Bengaluru in 1949. He was imprisoned for nearly eight years for participating in the freedom struggle in places including Bengaluru, Vijayapura, Tumakuru, Pune, Solapur and Ahmednagar.
Bhoodan movement
He also participated in Acharya Vinobha Bhave’s “Bhoodan” movement in 1956. A Gandhian to the core, he wore only khadi clothes and led a simple life. He began serving as Hindi Pandit or teacher at the Hindu High School in Manchakal village in 1949 and retired from service in 1975.
After Independence, the government provided him with 10 acres of land at Bantakal village in 1949. His farm was the cynosure of all eyes for its novel agricultural pratices. He received the “Tamra Patra” from the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1972.
Sharma was cremated in his own farm at Bantakal with State honours. Vinay Kumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister, and other political leaders, visited Sharma’s house and consoled his family members.
Sharma’s wife Shantha Sharma had passed away in 2007.
