Belagavi dons festive look to host centenary Congress session

Belagavi (Karnataka): The border town of Karnataka will take a dive into history for the next two days, reminiscing about the lone Congress session that Mahatma Gandhi presided over a century ago.

The Congress session, held on December 26 and 27, 1924, stands as a pivotal moment in the Indian freedom struggle.

During the session, Gandhi appealed for spinning Khadi and called for non-cooperation, which became a major movement in pre-independence India.

The key organiser of the event was Gangadhar Rao Deshpande, who was referred to as the Khadi Bhageeratha of Karnataka. He was a torchbearer of the freedom struggle in Belagavi, then known as Belgaum.

Deshpande was instrumental in hosting the Belgaum Congress session, which Gandhi presided over. It is said that over 70,000 people gathered, an unprecedented number during pre-independence India.

The present-day Tilakwadi in the district headquarters town of Belagavi was the venue. Due to the session, the area was named Vijayanagar after the Vijayanagar Empire.

A well was also built there to supply water for the attendees, named Pampa Sarovar, a landmark of the Vijayanagara dynasty’s capital, Hampi.

A park called 'Vijayanagar Veera Soudha Udyana' has been built at the same venue today in Tilakwadi. The place has since been turned into a Gandhi memorial.

The Congress session also witnessed the presence of Motilal Nehru, his son Jawaharlal Nehru, who later became the first Prime Minister of India, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sarojini Naidu, Annie Besant, Shaukat Ali, Saifuddin Kitchlew, and others.

The ruling Congress in Karnataka has planned a grand celebration for the event—with the entire city illuminated in a manner akin to Mysuru Dasara—marking the centenary of the Congress session.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will attend the event.

Giving details of the event, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka D K Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, told reporters on Wednesday, "We have collected the report of the 1924 convention, and we will release a reprinted version tomorrow. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi will be unveiled at Veera Soudha at 10 am on December 26." According to him, a Khadi mela will be inaugurated at 10.45 am. Additionally, the Gangadhar Deshpande Memorial and a photo gallery of Gangadhar Deshpande will be inaugurated on Thursday.

The Congress Working Committee meeting will be held at 3 pm, and the Congress President will host a dinner for the guests at 7 pm, Shivakumar said.

On December 27, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will unveil the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Suvarna Soudha at 10.30 am.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will preside over the function, and the programme will be held under the joint leadership of Karnataka Assembly Speaker U T Khader and Council Chairman Basvaraj Horatti, he added.

A mega public meeting will be held at 1 pm, Shivakumar said.