Kannada Rajyothsava – November 1, 2026

History of Kannada Rajyothsava

Karnataka Rajyotsava dates back to November 1, 1956, when the state of Karnataka was formed by the union of all Kannada-speaking districts. In 1905, Aluru Venkata Rao was the first to propose that the state be united through the Karnataka Ekikarana development.

In 1950, India became a republic, and various territories were established in the country based on the language spoken in the specific district, giving rise to the territory of Mysore, which included various regions in south India that had previously been ruled by kings.

On November 1, 1956, Mysore state, which included a large portion of the former royal territory of Mysore, merged with the Kannada-speaking regions of the Bombay and Madras governments, as well as the domain of Hyderabad, to establish a connection together with the Kannada-speaking factions. North Karnataka, old Mysore, and Malnad —also called Canara— became the three regions of the newly formed Mysore state.

The unified state was originally established as ‘Mysore,’ after the previous regal state that formed the center of the new entity. The residents of North Karnataka, on the other hand, were opposed to the idea of maintaining the Mysore name. Their dissent stemmed from the fact that the name was strongly associated with — and favored — the southern regions of the newly formed state.
On November 1, 1973, the state’s name was changed to Karnataka to create a more balanced and well-represented state. Devaraj Arasu was the state’s Chief Minister at the time of this historic decision.