Reflections from Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations

The whole of Karnataka rejoices the formation of statehood on the first of November, declared as Kannada Rajyotsava. Note the mention of Kannada – not Karnataka. The state was formed by joining the Kannada speaking regions from multiple states at the time – Mysore state (districts of Mysore, Bangalore, Mandya, Tumkur, Kolar, Chamarajnagar), Bombay state (districts of Dharwad, Belagavi, Bijapura, Uttara Kannada), Hyderabad state (districts of Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal), Madras state (districts of Dakshina Kannada, Bellary) and the entire Coorg state (Kodagu). All got annexed to the state of Mysore when unified in 1956, later renamed as Karnataka in 1973.

This year I attended a Kannada Rajyotsava musical event, and while we had multiple talented singers and musicians showcasing their talent, one thing really struck me. Most of the Kannada “patriotic” songs has eulogized one river like no other. No prizes for guessing, yes, it’s the River Cauvery – fondly called Kaaveri Thayi (mother). There are much bigger or longer rivers like Krishna, Tungabhadra, Bhima, Netravathi, Malaprabha, but they are not mentioned. Apart from being culturally & religiously important, the main reason is probably that Cauvery is the primary lifeline of the old Mysore state. It formed the cultural core of the Mysore state for centuries. And now that it’s Bangalore’s lifeline for drinking water, it has gained even more significance. A river serving the most powerful area of the unified state as its primary water source.

I have recently been reading about the great kannadiga empires. First were the Kadambas, who ruled from their capital in Banavasi (Uttara Kannada district) from mid-4th century until mid-5th century. Then came the Badami Chalukyas who ruled from Badami (Bagalkot district) until the mid-8th century. After this, it was Rashtrakutas who ruled from Manyakheta (Gulbarga district) until 973 CE. During this entire first millennium CE, the Gangas of Talakkad (Mysore district), although a powerful kingdom, were still a vassal state to one of the above kingdoms throughout their rule from 350 to 1000 CE (650 years of rule!), shifting their allegiance from one of the northern kingdoms to another, as they changed batons of power.

Later we had the western Chalukyas until 1279 CE ruling from Basavakalyan (Bidar district). Vijayanagara Empire ruled from 1336 to 1565 CE from Hampi (Bellary district). We can see the pattern; the political power had always centered around the northern districts of Karnataka. So, while I was truly enjoying the songs glorifying Kaaveri Thaayi, a question persistently puzzled me: How then, did the Mysore area that was always sub-ordinate to North Karnataka kingdoms in the first millennium come to dominate the entire state formed based on Kannada in the second millennium? What a turn of events, I wondered!

One of the thoughts that quickly sprung up was that it was probably the Britishers who swung the pendulum in favor of Bangalore. After all, they are renowned all over to have enjoyed cooler climates, still the main USP of Bengaluru and Mysore. When I read history of Bangalore some time back, it mentioned the Britishers setting up Bangalore as their important administrative establishment. Although I was right to a certain extent, there was more to it than just the weather. There were some other kingdoms that consolidated power here before it finally fell at the hands of British to shape it into the current political center, a bustling metropolis that is Bangalore.

At the start of the second millennium, in around 1000 CE, the Hoysalas declared independence from the western Chalukyas and started ruling from Dwarasamudra (today’s Halebidu in Hassan district). This kingdom got later annexed to the Vijayanagara empire, and after their decline in 1565, Wodeyars consolidated power around Mysore. After defeating the Wodeyars, the Mysore sultanate founded by Hyder Ali and later his son Tipu Sultan ruled this area from their capital of Srirangapatna (Mysore district). And then finally the Britishers defeated Tipu and grabbed most of Mysore state. Bangalore was handed over to the Wodeyars after Tipu’s death in 1799, becoming part of the Mysore princely state.

When the time came to pick the capital for the unified Kannada state, economics became the crucial factor. A large British cantonment already made Bangalore a major commercial, military and administrative hub. Although Mysore was famous for its culture, Bangalore was the economic center, with better infrastructure and lots of well-established industries and institutions like HAL, ITI and IISc. Mysore still carried the royalty tag, probably creating a disconnect with the new districts joined in 1956. All that was required was a politically neutral, geographically better placed, with good infrastructure, industry and institutions. Bangalore perfectly fit the bill, and hence Namma Bengaluru was chosen as the capital of Karnataka.

The rags to riches story of Bangalore is quite similar to Chennai as well. Never the seat of any great empire, Chennai was always ruled by powerful Tamil kingdoms like the Pallavas, who ruled from their capital Kanchipuram, or the Cholas from Thanjavur, or the Pandyas from Madurai. British colonization changed it all, who made Madras their administrative center, thanks to its coastal geography. With the establishment of many industries, railways, institutions, leading to a thriving commercial center, its significance was clear during the formation of the republic and statehood.

In the story of Karnataka today, all the erstwhile capitals of great Kannada empires are in ruins, unfortunately. With no importance given to the city per se, some of the important monuments in the power centers of Banavasi, Badami, Talakkad, Basavakalyan, Hampi and Halebidu are now protected under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The plight of Manyakheta, the capital of Rashtrakutas, probably the most powerful of all native-kannadiga dynasties, is truly sad. Greatly underdeveloped, and not even making it to the tourist map, this has been neglected and forgotten. The towns of Srirangapatna and Mysore are now reduced to just tourist sights, famous for weekend trips from Bangalore for locals and visitors alike.

The current power center of Karnataka, although the weather is still great, is severely congested. The tremendous opportunities created by the city is leading to mass influx of population and vehicles from all over. It’s high time we spread out soon, de-congest Bengaluru, build better infra and better cities elsewhere in Kannada Nadu.