Political Awakening in Chitradurga

Chitradurga district has always been responsive to new influences and upsurges in the several movements launched for political reforms. It was about the beginning of the century that a branch of the Brahmo Samaj was established in Bangalore which had its influence in the rest of the old Mysore State . Books in Kannada, dealing with the life and work of Raja Ram Mohan Roy and other reformers became popular., The birth of the Indian National Congress, in 1885, had profound influence in all parts of India and the princely State of Mysore was no exception. The State was influenced by this national reaction, as strongly as any other part of India and responded to the call. A large number of political institutions emerged and there was a remarkable out­burst of literary activity in Kannada. The disintegration which the British had brought about of Karnataka produced its reaction and Kannadigas did not slacken their efforts till they secured uni­fication of the several Kannada areas on a linguistic basis. A host of talented and earnest writers mirrored in their writings the aspirations of Kannadigas for an independent political life, free from foreign domination. Influenced by all these upsurges, the people of Karnataka woke up to move forward. The people in the princely State of Mysore wanted to associate themselves more and more with the administration, though Mysore was more ad­vanced than other parts having already a Representative Assembly and a Legislative Council, which became a forum for the demand of political reforms. Sri M. Venkatakrishnaiya was the foremost among those who wanted the State's political movement to main­tain the same aspirations and tone as the movement in British India .

The coming of Mahatma Gandhi and his inculcation of a new nationalist outlook had their effect on the people. Already the sturdy spirit of patriotism aroused by Tilak was alive in Karnataka. The Kannadigas had no separate political entity, which would have been a spur to concerted action. This was realised and keenly felt by leaders from the early years of the century. The All-Karnataka Political Conference which assembled in Dharwar in 1920, under the presidentship of Shri V. P. Madhava Rao, a former Dewan of Mysore, included delegates from the then State of Mysore also. In order to create a sense of political and cultural unity among all the Kannadigas, it was felt that the Congress should recognise Karnataka as an entity and constitute it into a separate Congress province, before it became an administrative unit. At this stage, the princely State of Mysore was steadily treading the road to progress. There was a remarkable rise of political enthusiasm for carrying on Congress work after 1920, as the result of the formation of the new committee in Karnakata. After the annual session of the Indian National Congress in Belgaum in 1924, a number of political conferences were held in all parts of Karnataka, to instil in the minds of the people, the need for liberation from the foreign yoke. Karnataka responded to the call of the Father of the Nation in regard to many pro­grammes of national activity. Many of the leading Congressmen of Mysore took part in the freedom movement launched by Gandhiji, though they were prohibited from carrying on political programmes in their own State. Political affairs in the State of Mysore were in a placid condition. The beneficent administra­tion of a saintly ruler had brought to Mysore the nattering appel­lation of a model State. The holding of any political gathering by the subjects was looked upon as something strange. The first meeting of the Congress under the presidentship of Shri V. Manickavelu Mudaliar was held in Bangalore in 1928, when discussions were held for more popular relationship with the administration. The events after the visit of the Simon Commission and the Salt Satyagraha saw a new upsurge in different parts of Karnataka. Many events happened in Mysore also. The leaders in the State had identified themselves with the all-India movements. Indeed, among the students of the State, there was a widespread awareness of the cause which the Congress was fighting for. As soon as news of the Salt Satyagraha spread in the State, a batch of volunteers left to participate in it. The people in Mysore were in full sympathy with the freedom movements in other parts of India and had gone in large numbers to participate in the political fight in other parts of Karnataka. The fight for responsible Government within the State took a serious turn when Mysoreans came to demand a fully democratic constitution with the Ruler as a constitutional head. As the agitation quickened, the attitude of the Government also stiffened. In the minds of some Mysore leaders, there were doubts about the correct attitude of the Indian National Congress towards political struggle in the State. These doubts were cleared by the Working Committee of the Congress at its meeting in Wardha in July 1935. The Congress, at that meeting, recognised that the people in the Indian States had an inherent right to Swaraj, no less than the people of British India . Accordingly, it declared in favour of the establishment of represen­tative responsible Governments in the States and appealed to the Princes to establish such responsible Governments in their States. To agitate for responsible Government, the Mysore Congress took its birth and held its session at Shivapura in Mandya district in 1937. With the emergence of this separate political organisation in the State, the fight for achieving the goal of responsible Govern­ment took a new turn. The Mysore Congress held its annual session on the banks of the Tungabhadra in Harihar in 1940, pre­sided over by Shri H. Siddaiya. The session was inaugurated by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

Courtesy : Gazetteer of India, Chitradurga District, 1967.