Villagers are proud of Shivanna's sacrifice

15 people from the village are serving the country

This is what the people of Chikkabasavanahalli in Hassan district say about C S Shivanna who laid down his life in the naxal attack in Muktana forest in Dantewada district of  Chhattisgarh.

“Our village is very small. Even then there are 24 people who have served the nation and we are proud of this. Out of this seven have returned after serving the nation, another 15 are serving in security forces.  Shivappa was one among them,” they said. In the last 35 years he is the only one to lose life while in service”.
Attempts were made to enroll Shivappa’s nephew into the Army, last year.  However, he could not get a chance as he was three months short of the stipulated age limit. This year he had made arrangements to appear for the exam. Shivappa was the motivator for him, family sources said.

The people in the village are consoling wife Nethravathi, son Chetan, his two brothers and three sisters. Shivanna had come during Dasara festival. He would have completed 20 years of military service in a year.

Last visit
He had the darshan of Hasanamba and had said that he would return during Yugadi festival. But due to the wedding of his brother’s daughter, he had postponed his visit to May.

Earlier, he was wounded in Kargil war and he stayed in the village to recover. Shivanna who had fought death then, now became a victim to Maoists’ landmine attack, said his brother Yogeesh.

Shivanna had served the country in Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Assam. He was transferred to Chaattisgarh to fight the insurgents last month where he met his end. The district administration has made arrangements to give him a state funeral with a 21 gun salute.
DH News Service