Karnataka Rajyotsava

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Kannada Rajyotsava, or the Karnataka Formation Day (literally "Birth of the Kannada State") is celebrated on 1 November every year. This was the day in 1956 when all the Kannada speaking regions of south India were merged to form the state of Karnataka.

[edit] Unification

On this day in 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 subnational entity. 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.

[edit] Nomenclature

North Karnataka, Malnad (Canara) and old Mysore were thus the three regions of the newly formed Mysore state. 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 November 1, 1973. D. Devaraj Urs was the Chief Minister of the state when this landmark decision was taken.

[edit] Sources