A majestic 13.7-foot statue of Rani Chennamma of Kittur installed at the premises of Parliament in New Delhi is all set to be unveiled at a function to be held in the capital on September 11.

The valiant queen of Kittur, Rani Chennamma had waged her first war against the mighty British empire on October 23, 1924. Members of Kittur Rani Chennamma Memorial Committee, headed by Dr Sarojini Shintri will be present at the function.

Mr Vijay Gujar, a noted sculptor from Miraj (Maharashtra) has taken a year to produce the beautiful statue of Rani sitting on a horse at a cost of Rs 15 lakh.

The statue weighs about four tonne. Though, Rani was the queen of a small state, she was a woman of indomitable courage and patriotism. Long before 1857, the India’s war of independence, the people of Kittur fought against the imperialist British. Under hte leadership of Rani Chennamma the torch of freedom was lit up at Kittur. Among the 12 rulers of Kittur dynasty, Mallasarja was the most illustrious. He ruled over Kittur state from 1752 to 1816. Undoubtedly, it was a glorious period from all accounts found in history. He had two wives, Rudramma and Chennamma. Chennamma was Malalsarja’s second wife.

Chennamma was the daughter of the Desai of Kakti, a place near Belgaum. She was born in 1778. She was taught privately at home and had learnt Kannada, Marathi and Urdu. She also had studied Basava Purana, Ramayana and Mahabharat and took keen interest in contemporary history. She practised yoga and learnt horse-riding, fencing, swimming and spear throwing. She was a good hunter and enjoyed putting on male costume.
The installation of her statue at the Parliament premises had been welcomed by people. Some Kannada activists from this region will also be attending the installation ceremony to be held in New Delhi.