S.R. Sharma(1903 - 1965) was a freedom fighter working in Hindustan Sevadal founded by Dr.N.S.Hardikar.He was born in the Lakkur village of Nelamangala Taluk, Bangalore Rural District in a middle-class family. His parents were Ramachandraiah and Lakshmma. At an early age, he was admitted to a Sanskrit Pathshala in Bangalore, later he was moved to Mysore for further studies by his brothers. He studied in Wesleyan mission school and was a good Football player. He was learning Carnatic Music under the tutelage of Sri Mysore T.Chowdiah.Sharmaji was fond of music. He used to sing classical songs he had learned in his younger days. He had good knowledge of Hindustani music. The theater songs in Kannada and Marathi were very dear to him. He had also learned many patriotic songs in Sevadal and had a good collection of literature pertaining to the freedom struggle. He was a good reader and had a large collection of books in Kannada, English, and Hindi. He could speak in different languages of our country fluently.
He was influenced by the stories of freedom struggle under the leadership of Mahatmaji. He decided to take part in the AICC(All India congress committee) meeting in 1924. This is the only such meeting held in Karnataka (the then Bombay Province) and also the only meeting presided by Mahatmaji. After the congress session, he continued as a volunteer in Hindustani Sevadal.
Sri S.R.Sharma was sent to Prof. Manik Rao's Shree Jummadada Vyayama Mandir in Baroda, for learning techniques to build physical fitness. This enabled him to become a trainer in Sevadal and he was assigned the duties of a Pracharak. He was deputed to several Towns and Cities where he had to organize the training program for youngsters as well as all those interested in the freedom movement. The objective was to make them physically and mentally strong to face all situations, without deviating from the path of non-violence. The trainees were made to understand the purpose of Satyagraha and the method to be followed to gain freedom. They were trained to take up all sorts of services without hesitation, like cleaning, cooking, nursing the sick, and maintaining order during functions and events.
Mr. Sharma gained the confidence of the leaders as good and honest workers. He was entrusted with several other responsibilities. This gave him opportunities to meet and work with leaders and prominent people. He had easy access to many top leaders and was free to discuss official matters with them and take guidance. Because of his assignments in Sevadal he has toured all over India except Kashmir. Some places where he had stayed for a long time are Varanasi, Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, Sabarmati, and many more.
There was an incident that highlighted the leadership qualities of S.R SHARMA. One day the volunteers were marching to the tunes of a band in the streets of Bagalkot. when they were passing in front of a Masjid, some youngsters attacked the volunteers and started beating them with weapons. They were shocked by this sudden attack. Some of them wanted to fight back. But Sharmaji gave orders to all of them to sit quietly without showing any resistance and to take the blows as a real Satyagrahi following the path of Ahimsa. A few aged Muslim women could not tolerate the violent action of these boys and came to the rescue of the wounded volunteers, and forced the attackers to stop and leave.
This incident came to the notice of Mahatmaji who reacted, expressing his concern - He writes "Our people were strong and capable enough to retaliate. Unfortunately, if the captain had ordered to hit back, it would have caused great damage to the movement. He has shown real courage in keeping them calm in spite of the attack on them. This is the greatness of Ahimsa".
In 1927 Rajguru, a revolutionary and the associate of Sardar Bhagat Singh and Sukhadev was staying in Bagalkot with the volunteers. None of them knew his real identity. Sharmaji was appreciating the local food and delicacies. He was fond of the beaten rice mixed with curds served in earthen pots. This was usually prepared by the tribal people in the surrounding locality.
Once he was asked by Mahatmaji to deliver a letter personally to Mothilal Nehru in Allahabad. He went there and gave the letter. He was offered some food and sweets. But he refused to eat as he was hesitant to eat the preparations in the family of those who consume fish. He was told that there is no harm in eating the food over which ghee is spread. He was convinced and from that day onwards he adjusted himself to eating vegetarian food in any family without hesitation.
During a program, he had to exhibit, before some visitors, the various techniques of physical training he had learned. With over-enthusiasm, he displayed many things beyond his capacity for a long time. Then he boarded a train to another place. Because of stress he had body aches and fever. He slept on the berth almost unconscious. Someone noticed him and helped him in reaching the destination. He was always cautioning youngsters not to cross the limit beyond their capacities.
During the famous Dandi Yathra taken up by Mahatmaji, there was agitation in the whole country against taxation on Salt. Most of the senior leaders were in Jail. There were restrictions on Newspapers and the public was unaware of what exactly was happening. A few volunteers were involved in collecting news and circulating them in Railway Stations and public places through stenciled newsletters. They were using crude stenciling machines to print the news. Everything had to be done in secret as the police intelligence was behind them. A group of four was staying in Wadekar Building, Girgaum, Bombay. Sri Jayaprakash Narayan, Sri Sharma, and two others were involved in this task. At last, the police were successful in tracing them. He was sent to Yerwada prison on 17-09-1932. He was sentenced to six months of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.50/-. He had to continue in Jail for another six weeks if he failed to pay the fine. He was then transferred to Visapur District prison on 20-02-1933. He was finally released on 01-04-1933 with 24 days of remission from Visapur Prison. At that time Mahatma Gandhi was also in Yerwada jail.
In the meantime, there was a big famine in Bihar and the people were suffering badly. Gandhiji wanted Sharmaji to go to those areas and work for the people. He stayed in Bihar for six years. After completion of his work in Bihar, Sharmaji engaged himself in earning his living through Khadi and Gramodyog. Then he started his new venture in Purulia, a place famous for silk weaving. The weavers were selling the sarees to the middlemen and were getting very poor returns. Sharmaji started buying the sarees from them. He used to sell them in the streets along with his nephew Srikanta.
After this incident, Sharmaji thought that it was not desirable to continue in Purulia. He came back to Mysore state and established a new company in the name Mysore Silk Production center at K.R. Pet. Later he shifted his business to Kanakanahalli in 1938, and the name of the company was modified to Mysore Silk Centre. He was a pioneer in developing the Silk industry in Kanakanahalli and earned a good name and money. The products of the company like flags, ties, handkerchiefs, and sarees were in good demand throughout India. He passed away in 1965.