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Evidences
found in Harappa point towards its connection with the
present day Karnataka, while on the other hand the findings
of the archaeological survey agencies in the state have
established beyond doubt the existence of neolithic and
megalithic cultures here. All the same, the recorded history
begins with the Nanda dynasty ruling over a large chunk of
the modern Karnataka before the third century BC. The Nandas
were followed by the Mauryas who wielded absolute power over
a vast land mass including almost the whole of modern day
India. After Mauryas came the Satvahanas who ruled for
nearly four centuries. |
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The first
native kingdoms to rise in Karnataka after the fall of the
Satvahanas were the Kadambas and the Western Gangas, which
ruled independently from Banavasi and Talakkad, the
respective capitals of the two dynasties. They were the
earliest rulers who gave origin to the indigenous Kannada
language and culture, which developed gradually and finally
took a definite shape during the regimes of subsequent
dynasties and rulers. The next indigenous dynasties to
emerge in the region include the Chalukyas of Badami, the
Rashtrakutas and the Western Chalukyas who dominated the
region for the rest of the first millennium and gave a new
height to the diaspora of Kannada language and culture.
The growth of Kannada literature was at its zenith during
the time of Hoysalas who gained control of the region just
before the end of the first millennium and continued to rule
till the rise of Vijayanagara empire in the early part of
fourteenth century. The Hoysalas were known for their
artistic taste and promoted Vesara style of architecture in
the design of sculptures and temples that they built in
large number. The Vijayanagara empire, established by
Harihara and Bukka Raya, brought the entire Deccan peninsula
under its control and remained a master of this region for
the next two centuries checking successfully the southward
advances of the Muslim rulers from the north.
The fall of Vijayanagara empire in 1565 gave opportunity to
the local sultanate rulers and later to Mughals to penetrate
deep into the south. The Bahmani Sultanate of Bidar, the
Bijapur Sultanate and the Nizams of Hyderabad controlled
most of the Deccan including a significant portion of
Karnataka, successively. The Mysore kingdom ruled by
Woodeyar dynasty remained as a last vestige of the
Vijaynagara empire, but soon fell into the hands of Haider
Ali and later his son Tippu Sultan. These two were known as
great warriors and staunch opponents of the British. The
four wars that were fought between these two foes resulted
in the final victory of the British, and they restored the
kingdom to its original rulers, the Woodeyars. Mysore became
a princely state under the sovereignty of the British Raj.
During the freedom struggle, Karnataka became a hotbed of
nationalist leaders who kept on rising sporadically against
the colonial powers before the great upsurge of 1857. When
the first nationwide war of independence broke out in that
year, Karnataka had a distinct group of freedom fighters
ready to take part in the action. The prominent among them
were Bhimarao, Halagali Bedas, Bhaskar Rao Bhave and
Venkatappa Nayaka. The freedom movement was carried forward
to the next century by the leaders like Karnad Sadashiva Rao,
S. Nijalingappa, Nittoor Srinivasa Rau, Aluru Venkata Raya,
Kengal Hanumanthaiah and others.
The princely state of Mysore joined the Indian Union when
the British left the country, and a new state of Mysore was
created. When the states were reorganized on the linguistic
basis, Mysore became the homeland for the Kannada speaking
people, and many regions from the nearby states having large
population speaking that language were merged with this new
state. The name of the state was subsequently changed to
Karnataka in 1973.
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