Kalyana Karnataka. What's in a name?

Cultural richness of the Kalyana Karnataka region

Gulbarga Fort

Kalyani was a village in the 12 century, the same time when poet, philosopher and statesman Basaveshwara established Anubhava Mantapa. It’s considered the first parliament in the world. People’s welfare was discussed at length with about 777 like-minded people. From here, Kalyani became Kalyana,” littérateur Vasanth Kustagi explains.

‘Kalyana’ means welfare.

By renaming the Hyderabad-Karnataka region as Kalyana Karnataka, all attempts have been made to keep the cultural and historical richness of the region alive.

This region comprises Bidar, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Raichur and Yadgir.

A mythological background marks this region as well. It’s said that Lord Hanuman took birth at Anegundi, Koppal.

Dr Vikram Visaji, professor at Central University of Karnataka, recalls that movements calling out gender discrimination and inequality boiled on in the 12 century here. The region also saw the dominance of Bhakti Movement and the rise of Sufi saints, he says.

The twin concepts of dasoha (selfless service to the society) and kayaka (work), which spring from this region, seems to have encouraged the renaming as well.

“The region is rich in art and culture. But, it lagged behind economically and socially,” Visaji adds.

Mahmud Gawan, a merchant, built a madrasa in Bidar, the capital city of the Bahmani kingdom in 1472 AD. People from Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries arrived here to study.

Kavirajamarga, an extant work on literature in Kannada, was penned by King Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga during the rule of Rashtrakuta Dynasty.

Sannathi in Kalaburagi has a Buddhist centre. It’s visited by people from all over the world for research.

Bande Nawaz, the famous sufi
saint from Kalaburagi, wrote about 106 books.

A minor rock edict of Empire Ashoka was also discovered in Maski of Raichur.

The renaming has given the people of this region emotional strength.

They believe the move is capable of erasing the bitter memories of the repressive Nizam rule.

The rule

The Nizams strongly opposed Independence, though the rest of the nation gladly got rid of the British rule on August 15, 1947. The people of this region flexed their muscles against the Hyderabad-centric rule and fought for the independence.

With Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s call for implementation of a federal system, this region was merged with the Indian Union on September 17, 1948.

Despite being part of Karnataka, the people of this region did not share the state’s sentiment because of the name and the associated memories.

So, wars were waged for decades to replace the word Hyderabad with Kalyana.

Now that the name has been changed, what’s next for the region?