The village that declared freedom in 1942.
Issuru is a village in Shimoga district of Karnataka.On September 28, 1942, the residents of Issuru refused to pay tax to the British government. Expecting a backlash, they prepared to face the British. They put up a board reading, ‘Swaraj Sarkar’ and hoisted the tricolour. When British officials tried to enter Issuru, there was a ‘riot’ which led to the death of a revenue officer and a revenue ‘amaldar’. Red-faced, the British government sent police troops to reclaim the village. Such was the audacity of Issuru’s revolutionaries that they even penalised British officials who disobeyed their orders and entered the village. Issuru paid a price for the rebellion — five youth were hanged and hundreds were imprisoned.Credited as the first village in India to start a “prati sarkaar” (provisional government) in 1942, the story of Issuru’s rebellion is one that took the nation by storm.
