Kannada Rajyotsava

Kannada Rajyotsava -Karnataka Formation Day; literally "Birth of the Karnataka state" is celebrated on 1 November every year. This was the day in 1956 when all the Kannada language-speaking regions of South India were merged to form the state of Karnataka.

The Rajyotsava day is listed as a government holiday in the state of Karnataka Kannadigas across the world. Rajyotsava Awards by the Government of Karnataka, hoisting of the unofficial Karnataka flag with an address from the Chief Minister and Governor of the state along with community festivals,orchestra, Kannada book releases and concerts.

Aluru Venkata Rao was the first person who dreamt of unifying the State as early as 1905 with the Karnataka Ekikarana movement. In 1950, India became republic and different provinces were formed in the country on basis of language spoken in the particular region and this gave birth to the state of Mysore including various places in south India, which were earlier ruled by the kings. On 1 November 1956, Mysore state, comprising most of the area of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore, was merged with the Kannada-speaking areas of the Bombay and Madras presidencies, as also of the principality of Hyderabad, to create a unified Kannada-speaking sub national entity. North Karnataka, Malnad (Canara) and old Mysore were thus the three regions of the newly formed Mysore state.

The newly unified state initially retained the name "Mysore", which was that of the erstwhile princely state which formed the core of the new entity. But the people of North Karnataka did not favour the retention of the name Mysore, as it was closely associated with the erstwhile principality and the southern areas of the new state. In deference to this logic, the name of the state was changed to "Karnataka" on 1 November 1973. Devaraj Arasu was the Chief Minister of the state when this landmark decision was taken. Other people credited for the unification of Karnataka include littérateurs like K. Shivaram Karanth, Kuvempu, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, A. N. Krishna Rao and B. M. Srikantaiah.

The main celebrations take place at Bengaluru's Krantiveera stadium where the state Chief Minister hoists the state flag and makes a speech. The governor of the state will also address the gathering. In addition to this, the Rajyotsava awards are announced by the government of Karnataka, which is considered the second-highest civilian award in the state. The Kannada anthem of Jaya Bharatha Jananiya Tanujate is also played today.

As this is a secular holiday, religion is not a factor, so all Kannadigans whether they are Hindu, Muslim or Christians will celebrate this day.

Karnataka covers the area of Bengaluru (Bangalore), which has offices supporting many major multi-nationals. Typically workers may observe international holidays of their employers. If your colleagues are working today in Bangalore, impress them with your new-found knowledge about their state, by asking them if they are wearing Red and Yellow!