Hyderabad-Karnataka is now Kalyana Karnataka

The Karnataka Cabinet on Friday decided to rename the Hyderabad-Karnataka region as Kalyana Karnataka.

“The change in name will happen in all government records where the term Hyderabad-Karnataka will be replaced with Kalyana Karnataka,” Law Minister JC Madhuswamy said, briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which enjoys special status under the Constitution (Article 371 J) owing to its backwardness, comprises Bidar, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Raichur and Yadgir.

Upliftment of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region is done through the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region Development Board (HKRDB), which will now be called as Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board.

That the region should be renamed as Kalyana Karnataka was a long-pending demand. “There are 41 legislators from the region and all of us had petitioned the government to formally rename the region,” Sedam BJP legislator Rajkumar Patil said.

The region was under the Nizams who ruled Hyderabad prior to independence. “While India got independence on August 15, our region got it a little after a month. We celebrate our independence on September 17. We’re happy that the region was renamed before our independence day,” Patil said.