Mangaluru Town Hall to be named after social reformer Kudmul Ranga Rao

[email protected] (CD Network )
July 30, 2016

Mangaluru, Jul 30: The Mangaluru City Corporation has resolved to name the Town Hall after social reformer late Kudmul Ranga Rao, who fought for the rights of depressed classes and strived for their welfare.

kudmol

The decision comes about six months after the renovation of the five decade old Town Hall of Mangaluru, which hosted thousands of political, social and cultural events in the past 50 years.

Who is KRR?

Kudmul Ranga Rao (29 June 1859 – 30 January 1928) was a social reformer from Kudmul, a village in the erstwhile Madras Presidency, (in the present-day Dakshina Kannada district) who established "Depressed Classes Mission" in 1897 in Mangaluru for providing education, better housing, drinking water and empowering the backward classes socially by guarding them against exploitation by upper classes.

He was born into a middle-class Goud Saraswat Brahmin community. His father, Devappayya, worked as a clerk under a landlord and his mother, Gauri, a housewife. Rangarao completed his primary education in Kasaragod, before losing his father when he was 16.

Moving to Mangaluru in search of a job, he began working as a teacher for a monthly salary of R 8. Completing his matriculation amid financial difficulties through a correspondence course, he cleared the pleadership examination, that certified him argue for a client in courts. Following this, he began his career as a lawyer in Mangaluru.

Rangarao as an advocate in profession was better known as 'the poor man's lawyer'. 'Education is the source of progress' was his tenet. At a time when the depressed classes had no schools, when they were treated with scorn, Rangarao stepped forward as a crusader for the cause. Albeit facing grave opposition, Kudmul Rangarao continued to combat the orthodox beliefs of the then superstitious Indian society.

Rangarao set up schools in Kankanadi, Bannanje, Mulki, Beloor, Udupi, Nejaru, Atthavara, Baabuguddde, Dhaddal forests for the downtrodden. He called them 'Panchama schools'. To persuade the kids to attend schools, he arranged for mid day meals and 2 paise per day to the parents to develop an interest and motivate the families to get their progeny to schools. It is said that he bathed the young kids, sat with them for lunch, slept in their huts to win over their hearts. He freed many servants and slaves from the clutches of demanding and barbarous masters. Despite being threatened myriad times, his grit and gusto could not be dampened.

By marrying off his own daughter, RadhaBai to Dr. Subrayan of Madras, he set an example of inter-caste marriage in India. Following his inspiration, M K Gandhi's son entered wedlock with Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari's daughter. Mahatma Gandhi had once said, "I discerned social loyalty from Mr. Rangarao. He is an inspiration and a guide for me. He is my teacher when it comes to the upliftment of the untouchables".

Comments

LEON F VIEGAS
 - 
Thursday, 8 Dec 2016

There are other citizens who have done lots for the mangalore city. what about them ? town hall is good name please dont change it.

LEON F VIEGAS
 - 
Thursday, 8 Dec 2016

i feel town hall is the good name.

Raghuraj.
 - 
Sunday, 7 Aug 2016

Thank u city corporation.

Raghuraj.
 - 
Sunday, 7 Aug 2016

Good work done by mangalore city corporation .i personally apriciating you all.thank u im also one of the devotee of shri kudmul ranga rao.

Sameer
 - 
Sunday, 31 Jul 2016

If thy decide to name is has Late APJ Abdul Kalam, then we could have seen the frustation here!

Mehul Kamdar
 - 
Saturday, 30 Jul 2016

Great people who worked for their fellow human beings deserve to be honored. Kudos to Mangaluru for renaming it's Town Hall in the memory of this great gentleman.

True commentator
 - 
Saturday, 30 Jul 2016

Why not. It can be named as KRR Town Hall.
Let us start discovering our old ancestors who fought for us.

Let this be a good beginning.
But we should name all those regardless from what community.

Narendra Nayak
 - 
Saturday, 30 Jul 2016

Kudmul Ranga Rao is a much sweeter name. I strongly support the belated decision of the Mangalore City Corporation authorities to the name the town hall after him. It is not a honor done to him- the honor is for the city to have a town hall named after this great man. He said the day a dalit boy becomes a DC and comes to my village in his car raising the dust, I will make a tilak of that on my forehead and consider my life's ambition as fulfilled.

Ahmed
 - 
Saturday, 30 Jul 2016

Town Hall is the sweet name please no need to change in to KRR.....

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 3,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 3: A middle aged man killed his wife by pushing her down a stone quarry at Karambaru near Kavoor on the outskirts of the city today.

The victim has been identified as Shanta, aged around 35 years. The accused is her husband Ganesh, aged round 45 years.

The incident took place on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. The exact reason for the crime is yet to be known. It is learnt that the husband and wife had quarreled before the murder.

A native of Hassan, Ganesh was working as a tipper driver. Shanta hailed from Salethadka in Kasargod. They couple have a son and a daughter. The family stays in a rented house at Kavoor.

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News Network
March 23,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 23: Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi cautioned private bus transport services operators, taxis and autorickshaws from exploiting commuters in wake of bus and train services being suspended by the government as precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In a statement released here on Monday, Transport Minister Savadi said it has come to the notice that private buses, taxis and autorickshaws were misusing the opportunity and exploiting commuters. Inter-district bus services have been suspended in the districts wherein lockdown has been announced to protect the health of people and none should violate the decision of the government, he stated.

Transport and Police Department officials have been asked to taken action against those violating norms and exploiting commuters. Service providers for their profit cannot risk with the health of the people and repeated cases if come to the fore, they will not be spared, Savadi cautioned.

Government has taken measures to prevent spread of COVID-19. Private transport service providers and people should join hands and cooperate to contain it, he appealed. 

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News Network
March 3,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 3: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu has said that a medical team is monitoring the health condition of all those people who had stayed with the coronavirus-hit techie who is admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.

The first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Telangana was reported from Hyderabad on Monday where a man from Bengaluru, who recently returned from Dubai, tested positive for the virus.

"It has come to our knowledge that the coronavirus-hit person in Hyderabad had gone from Bengaluru. Therefore, all the members in the house where he had stayed here have been identified and are under watch," Mr Sriramulu tweeted on late Monday night.

The minister said he has convened a meeting with the additional chief secretary, commissioner and other senior officials of the health department today.

"Our government has initiated all the measures to prevent the spread of this virus," the minister said.

It is learnt that the 24-year-old techie had not contracted it when he was in Bengaluru but all precautionary measures have been taken.

The software engineer, who works in Bengaluru, had worked with people from Hong Kong in Dubai last month where he is suspected to have contracted the virus, Telangana health minister E Rajender told reporters in Hyderabad.

The man reached Bengaluru on February 19/20 and later went to Hyderabad in a bus.

He took treatment for fever after coming to Hyderabad and was admitted to a private super speciality hospital in the city. As it did not subside, he came to the state-run Gandhi hospital on Sunday evening, Mr Rajender said.

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