Rajyotsava Day

Every year, the Rajyotsava Day is celebrated on November 1. It is also called Karnataka Rajyotsava, Kannada Day or Kannada Rajyotsava or Karnataka Day.

Why is Rajyotsava Day celebrated?

On November 1, 1956, all the Kannada speaking regions of South India were merged to form Karnataka. This is why, the Rajyotsava Day is celebrated on November 1 every year.

How is Rajyotsava Day celebrated?

The Rajyotsava Day is a local holiday in the state of Karnataka. The day is marked by the announcement of Rajyotsava awards. It is the second highest civilian award in the state of Karnataka. The award is also called Rajyotsava Prashasti. On this day, the official flag of Karnataka is hoisted. The other states that have proposed separate flags are Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir. As of 2021, there are no officially recognized state or union territory flags. However, there are no legal restrictions to prevent a state or union territory hoisting its own flag. The Chief Minister and Governor of the state address the public on Rajyotsava Day.

History

Aluru Venkata Rao was the first person who tried to unify the state of Karnataka with the Karnataka Ekikarana Movement. This was around 1905. In 1956, after India became republic, the state of Mysore was formed. It comprised mostly of Kannda speaking regions in Madras presidency, Bombay presidency. However, the people did not favour the name Mysore. Thus, the name of the state was changed to Karnataka in 1973.