The freedom struggle in the princely State of Mysore was not marked by violent upheavals as in some parts of the country and the spirit of nationalism was kindled in a slow process alongside social reforms.
The patriotic spirit and verve being rekindled to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence Day had a different flavour in the decades leading to Independence in Mysore region whose entry into the mainstream freedom struggle was relatively late.
But historians aver that notwithstanding the delayed entry of the princely State of Mysore into the freedom struggle, the nationalistic awakening due to the works of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had kindled patriotism among the masses.
Congress leaders from the region were at the forefront of ushering in social reforms and shaping public opinion towards the large cause of attaining freedom from the British.
Tagadur Ramachandra Rao was among the prominent leaders from Mysore who cast a spell on the people of the region through his activism, according to N.S. Rangaraju, former Dean, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore.
He said that inspired by the works of Mahatma Gandhi and his call for Swadeshi, Rao who used to sell only foreign goods on a pushcart, made a bonfire of it and won the admiration of the people.
Rao was joined by M.N. Jois and they worked for the abolition of untouchability and promoted the entry of Dalits temples at T. Narsipur and Nanjangud. “This evoked hostility from the upper caste men who subjected the two to ridicule besides tormenting them or assaulting them,” said Prof. Rangaraju.
Rao started a Khaddar Sahakara Sangha at Tagadur which came into prominence and became a source of livelihood for scores of people in the village. According to the Mysore Gazetteer, Rao took up the cause of the Dalits and led many agitations calling for ending untouchability which also represented the wider nationalistic cause during the freedom movement.
When Gandhiji toured Mysore region in 1927, he propagated the use of khadi and a khadi production unit was established at Badanwal.
In 1928, Rao opposed the visit of the Simon Commission and published a booklet opposing its visit besides addressing a public gathering. For this, he was arrested and jailed and thus became the first political prisoner in Mysore State, according to the gazetteer.
Thus the freedom struggle in the region saw two villages coming to the fore — Tagadur due to its association with Rao and Badanwal where the Khadi unit was established and was visited by Gandhiji — once in 1927 and again in 1934. The social works and activism of the Congress helped prepare the ground for larger involvement of the masses and this came to the fore in 1942 when the Quit India Movement was launched. The Subbarayanakere Grounds was the epicentre of the movement and large gatherings while the Maharaja’s College hostel emerged as the nuclei for planning out the agitations.
People in the Princely State of Mysore by now had galvanised themselves behind the national movement and there was a surge in student participation, the seeds of which were sown through social reforms and activism decades earlier and helped shape public opinion to rally behind the Congress for Independence.
