Wadiyar's contribution to Mysuru remembered on birth anniversary

The heritage city celebrated the birth anniversary of erstwhile Mysuru king Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar here on Thursday.

Folk artistes and schoolchildren marched from the Palace North Gate to Kalamandira carrying portraits of Wadiyar.

The stage programme was organised at Kalamandira. The district administration, Kannada and Culture Department, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and Arasu Mandali jointly celebrated the day.

Dignitaries including ministers, MLAs and other people’s representatives paid floral tributes to Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s statue at K R Circle in the city, before attending the stage programme.

After inaugurating the formal function, District In-Charge Minister V Srinivas Prasad recalled the contributions of Wadiyar for the overall development of Mysuru. Remembering his administrative style, Prasad said administrators and people’s representatives should follow his ideals today. Even Mahatma Gandhi and the first home minister of India, Vallabhbhai Patel, appreciated the administration of Wadiyar, he added.

Wadiyar made Mysuru a proud city. The city received the ‘Cleanest City’ tag because of the well-planned infrastructure, buildings and communication facilities. The stablishment of the University of Mysore (UoM) and Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) are classical examples of Wadiyar’s vision, Prasad said.

Advocate C S Dwarakanath, stressing on the contributions of Wadiyar towards the deprived class and farmers, said he brought in changes among the farming community by introducing land reforms, eradicating child marriage and Devadasi system in Mysuru region.

Highlighting the leaders from Mysuru region like Wadiyar, Tipu Sultan and D Devaraj Urs, Dwarakanath said they were great visionaries and also reformers who brought many changes in the society. Pointing at the land reforms during Wadiyar’s period, he said, “Many dreams of Tipu came true during the tenure of Krishnaraja Wadiyar. Tipu also had planned land reformation,” he stressed.

Citing the social reforms during Wadiyar’s period, Dwarakanath said Wadiyar introduced anti-Devadasi rule in 1909, anti-prostitution law in 1936 and also introduced reservation system based on the report of Millers Committee for the development of backward and deprived classes. The 24th ruler of the erstwhile Mysuru kingdom had made tremendous changes during his regime between 1894 and 1940, he remembered.

Prabhudevaraje Urs of Manteswamy Mutt, Zilla Panchayat President B Pushpa Amarnath, Mysuru Urban Development Authority Chairman K R Mohan Kumar, Mayor R Lingappa, MLAs M K Somashekhar and Sa Ra Mahesh, Deputy Commissioner C Shikha, City Corporation Commissioner C G Betsurmath and others were present on the occasion.