A bronze statue of Kedambady Ramayya Gowda, who had revolted and fought against the British administration in the then coastal belt during 1837, will be unveiled at Bavutagudde here on November 19 by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, according to Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyasa Kamath.
At a preliminary meeting here on Friday, called to discuss the modalities of organising the programme, the MLA said that Gowda had led the peasant movement against the British. He had sacrificed his life in the fight against the British.
He said that following the unveiling of the statue, a programme will be held at Nehru Maidan. About 25,000 people are expected to attend. The Chief Minister will perform the bhoomi puja for several development projects on the occasion.
The equestrian statue, including a 10-ft platform, is about 22-ft high. Made in Vijayawada, the statue was brought to Adi Chunchanagiri Samsthana on August 27, from where it was brought to Kodagu on August 28. It was brought to Mangaluru in a procession via Sullia on August 29.
According to the former Mayor Premananda Shetty, the statue will be installed at a cost of ₹40 lakh. In that, the share of Mangaluru City Corporation is ₹30 lakh and the remaining ₹10 lakh is being borne by the Department of Kannada and Culture.
Earlier this year, the council of the Mangaluru City Corporation had agreed to install the statue on the occasion of the country celebrating 75 years of Independence.
Researchers say peasant uprisings, called ‘koots’ by the British, which broke out against the East India Company in the coastal belt during 1830-31, reached the stage of an armed struggle in 1837.
The revolt by peasants was not related to the freedom movement, though, but against the high land revenue (tax) assessment and the absence of a lucrative market for farm produce. But it did motivate people to join the freedom movement after 1850, say researchers.
As the Dakshina Kannada district gazetteer puts it, the uprisings, which began at Bellare in the last week of March 1837, spread to Sullia, Puttur, Bantwal, Kumble, Kasaragod, and finally to Mangalore (now Mangaluru), the headquarters of then Canara district.
The gazetteer says that the revolutionaries lowered the British flag at Bavutagudda, now in the heart of Mangaluru, on April 5, 1837, and hoisted their own flag.
According to Prabhakar Neerumarga, author of Kannada book Mangalura Kranti, the peasants had captured Mangalore for 13 days. Gowda is said to be one among those who revolted against the British then.
