Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, in his budget, has announced that A.K. Boarding Home, the first hostel for students of Scheduled Castes in Hassan, to which architect of Indian Constitution B.R. Ambedkar paid a visit, would be developed as a memorial at a cost of ₹1 crore. Now, the building is Boys’ Home under the Department of Women and Child Development.
The boarding home was set up on two-acre land in the heart of Hassan during the rule of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar in the 1920s. This was the first hostel facility for students from untouchable communities. During his visit to Karnataka in 1953-54, Dr. Ambedkar visited a couple of education institutes in the State, including this one in Hassan and another in Holenarsipur.
“Kripadas, who was the warden of the hostel in Hassan, had arranged Dr. Ambedkar’s interaction with the students. Former Belur MLA Puttaranganath, was one among the students present at the time”, said Sridhar Kaliveera, one of the founder members of Dalit Sangharsha Samiti. He also recalled that Dr. Ambedkar was aware of the Holeya community (Scheduled Caste) people of Hassan district and he did mention them in his writings, he said.
Mr. Kaliveera and others formed a committee to fight for a memorial of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and Dr. Ambedkar in Hassan. They had submitted memorandums to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Ministers, legislators and officers. “I am glad the Chief Minister had announced a grant for the memorial in Hassan. I thank him along with Minister for Social Welfare B.Sreeramulu and officers”, he said.
The committee wants the memorial to become a centre of academic activities. It should offer space for research into history and a museum to recall the contributions of great men including Ambedkar, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, and Mirza Ismail, Mr. Kaliveera added.
