A public library in Mysuru run by Syed Isaaq a 62 year old daily wage labourer was allegedly set ablaze, on April 9, 2021, by some miscreants. reportedly this library had a collection of 11,000 books. Among this large collection of books were three thousand copies of Bhagavad Gita.
According to an The New Indian Express report the library has been given free access to all the residents in the region for the last 10 years.
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Isaaq worked as a bonded labourer before turning into an Under Ground Drainage (UGD) cleaner and did odd jobs to earn a livelihood. With an intent to help inculcate reading habits among the people and also encourage them to learn Kannada, Isaaq had set up this public library in a shed-like structure.
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Following this incident, Issaq approached the Udayagiri police station and lodged a complaint against the miscreants. Police have filed an FIR under the IPC section 436 and have launched an operation to nab the culprits.
The New Indian Express has reported Isaaq to have said, ‘I will not cow down. I will rebuild the library from scratch. I was deprived of education and I want to ensure that others should not face my plight. I want people to learn, read and speak Kannada and will rebuild it again.’
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