The yellow strip on the top half represents Arrishna, or Turmeric while the red strip represents Kumkuma, or Vermillion. These are the colours of the unofficial state flag of Karnataka, which symbolizes the auspiciousness and well-being of the state and its people.
Two weeks ago, on the 1st of November, the city was inundated in a flood of yellow and red.
The zenith and patriotism with which the day of the formation of the state is celebrated is quite unique to Karnataka and I feel that as Bangaloreans, it is our duty to know about the history of the state we live in.
Prior to our Independence, the area that now is Karnataka, was divided amongst several different rulers.
Part of it, including Bangalore was under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Mysore, but most of today’s state was part of other territories, which heard nought the woes of the people and imposed their own ideologies and languages.
In the Madras Presidency, English and Tamil were the primary languages used for administrative and official purposes, which were often enforced in the Kannada-prevalent regions.
Similarly, in the Nizamate of Hyderabad, Urdu was the principal language just as Marathi was in the Bombay Presidency, which all comprised of parts of today’s state.
The Kannada-speaking people in these regions were ruled by the apathetic, who enforced their languages on them. The people felt that the imposition of languages wes coming at a cost- Kannada. These areas, which had a linguistic disparity with its rulers, meant that frugal development and the lack of welfare schemes prevailed.
Finally, in 1956, in the newly formed Republic of India, all the Kannada speaking districts were merged to the State of Mysore and in 1973, it was renamed Karnataka.
For the people, it meant that the centuries of oppression, the centuries of the clampdown on what is ideally a birthright, finally ceased.
Since the formation of the separate state 62 years ago, literacy rates have jumped to more than 75%, poverty has slid below 20% and the people can now speak in any language that they want.
It is because of the past alienation that we see the flags, the parades and the cavalcades on the 1st of November to celebrate the Kannada language and culture, which would not have been fathomable a hundred years ago.
ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು
(Thank You)
Khaki Jungle 