Dharwad in Protests

The Dharwad region has always been known for its historic protests and campaigns. Take the idea of the formation of the state of Karnataka, on the linguistic basis.

The campaign for the reorganisation of the state, which was(during the British rule and shortly after Independence) divided into Mumbai and Madras Presidencies, Mysore state and Kodagu, started off in Dharwad.

Tens of luminaries including Aalur Venkatrao fought for the unification of Karnataka. Voices seeking the formation of such a state were heard as early as 1928.
It was in May 1953 that the Karnataka Rajya Nirmana Parishat came into being.

It was on November 1, 1956 that the state was formed. Dharwad also formed the base for a campaign that was launched to name the state Karnataka. Many struggles that were launched in the Dharwad district later went on to become state-wide agitations.

Even the over 100-year-long freedom struggle saw several contributions from Dharwad district. In 1819, Thackeray was appointed District Collector of Dharwad. In 1824, the British did not accord princely status to the adopted son of Rani Chennamma in Kittur.

The queen’s soldiers who fought against the British eventually killed Thackeray and six others. This was an important episode during the freedom struggle.

An armed campaign against the British administration began in the region during 1858. It was Mundargi’s Bheemaraya who started the rebellion against the British. As many as 40 people were raised to the gallows in connection with mutinies in the Dharwad district during 1857-58.

The district saw the birth of the national movement by 1895-96. In 1893, Founder of the Indian National Congress A O Hume visited Dharwad.
this visit propelled many political activities in the region.

In 1921, a hartal in connection with picketing of liquor was held in the region. On the occasion, arson broke out and three Khilafat movement activists died.

The 1982 campaign which sought the implementation of the Gokak Committee Report.
Initially, the government did not take any action on the report. Slowly, there were several protests in the Dharwad region. This snowballed into a state-wide agitation, soon.

The next milestone in the history of Dharwad’s major campaigns was the nearly two-decade long campaign seeking setting up of a circuit bench of the High Court in Dharwad.Eventually, it was established on July 4, 2008.

Throughout history, the region has seen protests and agitations for the land and its people. The Karnataka Vidyavardhaka Sangha, an institution older than the Kannada Sahitya Parishat has lent able support over the years, to all such agitations.

The best thing about Hubballi Dharwad are its people. Their love for Kannada is incomparable. The pride with which they talk about Kannada is truly admirable. Whenever there is a matter of Kannada pride, the people of Dharwad will be the first ones to fight for the cause.

Entire Karnataka will forever be indebted to them for leading us through dark times and eventually leading us to victory with the formation of Karnataka state in 1956.

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