Kannada Development Authority chairman Purushottam Bilimale speaking at the valedictory session of Kittur Utsav in Kittur of Belagavi district on Friday. | Photo Credit: P.K. Badiger

“Leaders like Rani Channamma and Sangolli Rayanna have taught us not to discriminate between people based on caste or religion. We need to seek inspiration from these people who led the way in building progressive, liberal societies during their reign,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Kittur of Belagavi district on Friday.

“I am a follower and admirer of Kittur Channamma and Sangolli Rayanna. Their courage, self-respect and non-discriminatory approach inspires me,” he said.

He was speaking at the valedictory of Kittur Utsav.

“These leaders understood that nation or state means the people and not just land or wealth. They fought for the people and their self-respect. We need to continue to learn from them,” he said.

He said that he had introduced the Kittur Utsav celebrations in his earlier tenure as Chief Minister.

“We took this decision because the present generation should know the history of Channamma. B.R. Ambedkar has said that those who do not learn from history will be unable to create history. We should never forget that,” he said.

“We need to understand the struggles and aspirations of Rani Channamma, Rani Abbakka, Sangolli Rayanna, Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai and other such leaders. They fought for their people and made the ultimate sacrifice. They treated all their subjects equally, regardless of religion, caste or gender. For them, the country meant their people. We should realise that true and proper patriotism is to love the people of the country,” he said.

“Sri Basaveshwara, our foremost cultural leader, also said the same thing. He preached love without discrimination of caste and religion. Therefore, our government declared Basavanna as our cultural leader,” he said.

“The Sharanas believed that as long as there are inequalities of caste and religion in society, social justice cannot be realised. That is why, it is our endeavour to provide access to equal opportunities and ensure that along with political freedom, social and economic freedom is available to all castes, religions and ethnic groups,” he said.

Kannada Development Authority chairman Purushottama Bilimale spoke on the life and contribution of Rani Channamma. He also cited the challenges facing land and language of the State.

Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, MLAs Babasaheb Patil, Ashok M. Pattan, Mahantesh Koujalgi, Prakash Hukkeri, Bharamagouda Kage, Vishwas Vaidya, Asif (Raju) Seth, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan, Superintendent of Police Bheema Shankar Guled and others were present.