Underlining the need for those in power to have a sense of history and heritage, historian P.V. Nanjaraj Urs on Wednesday said that today’s political leaders had forgotten the past and were not concerned with the rich culture of the land.
Inaugurating the 130th birth anniversary of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, who ruled the princely state of Mysore from 1884 to 1940, Prof. Urs expressed disappointment over elected representatives not attending a programme organised to remember a “pro-people king” who worked to alleviate poverty and regenerate rural reconstruction, public health, industry, economic regeneration, education and fine arts.
Dubbing Wadiyar IV as the “perfect model” for a king, he said that Mahatma Gandhi had called the former as “Rajarshi”. Chronicling the contributions made by the king towards Mysore, Prof. Urs said they were not given their due by people or historians.He recalled how the king had pawned the royal jewels to raise loan for the construction of the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam across the river Cauvery.
