Culture2 min
Karnataka's 1973 Renaming Plaque Is Missing, and No One Can Find It
The 10-foot black stone unveiled at Kanteerava Stadium when Mysore became Karnataka has vanished from public memory, and a week of searching has turned up nothing.
A 10-foot black stone that marked the birth of Karnataka has gone missing. Devaraj Urs unveiled it at Bengaluru's Kanteerava Stadium on November 1, 1973, the day Mysore state took the name Karnataka. Now, as Rajyotsava approaches, no one in government or the history community can say where it is.
Imagine the scene that day. About 30,000 people filled the stadium. Urs, then chief minister, quoted Tennyson: "The old order changeth, yielding place to the new." An Indian Air Force helicopter showered petals, and more than 3,000 schoolchildren performed dance and music for two hours, according to Deccan Herald's archives.
The plaque was built to hold that moment in stone. It carried a map of Karnataka, the state's name in Kannada, the date 01.11.1973 in Kannada numerals and the Gandabherunda emblem. Governor Mohan Lal Sukhadia, education minister A R Badarinarayan and Bengaluru mayor A K Anantha Krishna were among those present.
After the ceremony, the stone stayed at the stadium and slowly slipped out of public view. Historians suspect it was lost when Sree Kanteerava Stadium was rebuilt around 1994-97. That is a theory, not a confirmed fact.
Veteran historian Vemagal Somashekar, 84, searched for years and gave up. He says the government failed to protect a rare piece of the state's past. "Such an important piece of history should have been preserved and celebrated," he said, and he blames negligence and fast urbanisation for the loss of many Bengaluru landmarks.
The clues are faint. One historian heard the stone may have moved to Vidhana Soudha. An octogenarian athlete recalls a black stone with Karnataka's map near the stadium, decorated for Rajyotsava, though he did not think much of it then. Deccan Herald's team contacted the Archives department, PWD officials at Vidhana Soudha, the Information department, stadium staff, the government museum, retired officials, historians, city guides and former stadium employees. None knew anything. The team also spent nearly a week combing both venues.
There is movement now. The Department of Kannada and Culture says it will write to the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, which runs the stadium, for the first time since the stone vanished. Retired history lecturer Dr R V Ravindranatha and Somashekar plan their own search. Historians also want the government to commission a replica and install it somewhere fitting. Until then, the state that celebrates November 1 every year cannot point to the marker of its own beginning.
Read the original report at Deccan Herald.
