Halmidi

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Halmidi is a small village in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India, near the temple town of Belur. Halmidi is best known as the place where the oldest known inscription in Kannada language and Kannada script was discovered. The inscription, generally known as the Halmidi inscription, consists of sixteen lines carved on a sandstone pillar. It has been dated to 450 AD, and demonstrates that Kannada was used as a language of administration at that time.

In recognition of the cultural importance of the inscription, and the role played by the village of Halmidi in its preservation, the Government of Karnataka has spent INR 2.5 million on developing infrastructural facilities in the village, and on building a mantapa to house a fibreglass replica of the original inscription. The Government has also begun to promote the village as a place of historical interest.