Volume Three (1923–1927)
DVG congratulated the Hindu Mahasabha on its attempt to consolidate our community. He explained the salience of the endeavour and the perils of neglecting it:
When Mahomedans and Parsis and Christians are developing a vivid sense of religious community, the avoidance of that sense by Hindus alone would be clearly suicidal. Further, the Sanghatan movement, by fusing the narrower prejudices of caste and...
Volume Two (1917–1922)
Journalism today has mostly been reduced to a racy reportage of colourful caprices, half-truths, and open propaganda. These were the precise journalistic evils DVG repeatedly warned against. His standards were exacting, and he made sure that he practised what he preached. His essays and editorials in The Karnataka unceasingly celebrated enduring values such as gratitude, trustworthiness, independence,...
The problem of the Indian Native States occupied DVG’s mind for over three decades (1915 to 1945). Before independence, our country comprised two parts: 1. British India consisting of provinces under direct British rule, 2. Native States ruled by Indian Princes. The struggle for freedom was largely confined to British India during the early years of the twentieth century. The champions of independence, fearing unnecessary delay and complication...
DVG – These three letters evoke an image of a wise old man laughing a toothless laugh in the minds of the Kannada-speaking people. We are so accustomed to this image that any reference to a youthful DVG sounds and seems odd. We are startled by discovering that the author of Maṅkutimmana Kagga—a collection of verses capturing meditations on life in a “semi-philosophical vein”—wrote in English, mostly on such topics that resolutely maintain their...