Important documents from history

Inaugurated by Govinda Karajola, Kannada and Culture Minister, and presided over by B R Jayaramaraje Urs, Secretary of Kannada and Culture and Information Department, the exhibition showcased an interesting array of hundreds of historical documents.

The documents included the correspondences of the Dewans of Mysore, manuscripts of British administrative officials and papers relating to the freedom struggle. More than 600 people visited the three-day-expo and many were curious to see the old documents as well as in taking photographs.

Some interesting documents included that of the visit of Prince of Wales to Bangalore in 1905, lighting and power supply in Bangalore in 1908, appointment of Sir M V Vishweshwaraiah as the Dewan of Mysore, agreement between the British government and the Maharaja of Mysore, women propagating the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and boycotting foreign clothes, land acquisition proposal for the formation of Basavanagudi and Malleswaram layouts in 1902, papers relating to starting the Bank of Mysore in 1913 and to make education compulsory in 1917.

A letter written by Mahatma Gandhi starting with ‘Dear friend’ also grabbed the attention of the public. The black and white pictures, heralding the beauty of old Bangalore, was also the centre of attraction. Mayo Hall, the then meeting hall of Bangalore Corporation Council, Cubbon Park, the then public office; the Mental Hospital, Central Jail, Bangalore Fort, Mysore Palace and other photographs had their own tales to tell.

“The main objective of the Archives Department is to preserve the public documents and bring awareness among the public about these valuable assets. Therefore, we have been conducting the exhibition every year. The response was good but many didn’t make use of this opportunity,” said an official.

Vinay, who is working with an NGO, said that these kinds of exhibitions help people understand history in a better way.

“The exhibition had a rare collection of documents which reflected on the caste system, the problems faced by the municipality and many more. I would suggest digitalising all these documents and making them available on the Internet,” he said.