A builder of modern Karnataka moves off stage, after half a decade
Bangalore, Jan 13: It would be a cliche to say that in the death of Ramakrishna Hegde Karnataka has lost one of its greatest sons and that the void is difficult to fill. But the truth of the cliche asserts itself beyond obituary exaggeration and a formal recounting of his contributions to the state, not just in governance and politics but in the varied other fields where he left his stamp. In fact he grew much beyond the confines of the state and was a prime mover of national politics at some of its crucial stages, and was often considered Prime Minister material. If he missed the country’s top executive position, the reason had more to do with the accidents and vagaries of politics than with his suitability for it. But it is a tribute to his vision that what he did in Karnataka later became the dominating theme of governance in other parts of the country. His mid-eighties experiment with decentralisation of administration and local self-government became the prototype of a new approach to governance in every other state. It was an attempt to marry a new politics with the needs of a changing style of governance, warranted by the social and political realities of the country. It was to his credit that he read the moment of change and had the pioneering spirit to capture it.

The evolution of Hegde’s political life closely mirrored the growth and development of Karnataka into a modern state in the last half century and in that sense he is a builder of the state. As a two-time chief minister, minister, and savvy political leader first of the Congress and later of the Janata Party and of the reincarnated Janata Dal, he influenced the life and times of the state, set new directions, and often became the most visible face of the state. There were dimensions other than politics to his personality, like arts and literature and golf, and a love of life and good taste brightened up his mind, words and actions. Not many politicians in the country have the charm and sophistication that Hegde was known for, the sense of humour that he had in abundance, and the swagger and style that shaped his conduct. He was at once cosmopolitan and deeply rooted in his milieu, visionary and realistic, inside politics and beyond it, and transparent and opaque; and in the interplay of these paradoxes lay much of his strength and many of his failings. There is no doubt that public life will be poorer without the presence of Hegde.