Last reviewed 4 Nov 2026 · 3 min read
1. Early resistance to the Company
Kittur Rani Chennamma (1824)
- When the ruler of Kittur (Belagavi district) died without a natural heir in 1824, the British refused to accept his adopted son and moved to take the state — a case like the later doctrine of lapse.
- Rani Chennamma fought back; in October 1824 the Collector of Dharwad, St John Thackeray, was killed in the fighting. A second British force captured Kittur and Chennamma died in Bailhongal prison (1829).
- The revolt came 33 years before 1857, which is why she is remembered among India's earliest women freedom fighters.
Sangolli Rayanna
- A commander of Kittur who continued a guerrilla struggle; betrayed and captured, he was hanged at Nandagad on 26 January 1831.
Other risings
- Dhondia Wagh fought the British in north Karnataka after 1799 (killed 1800).
- The Nagar (Bidanur) peasant revolt (1830–31) in the Mysore Malnad against heavy revenue led to Commission rule.
2. 1857 in Karnataka
- Smaller risings took place in the north: the Bedas of Halagali (Mudhol, Bagalkot) resisted the disarming of the people; Venkatappa Nayaka of Surapura (Shorapur) and Bhimarao of Mundargi rose against the British; Babasaheb of Nargund also revolted (1858).
3. The national movement
- Karnataka sent delegates to the Indian National Congress from its early years.
- Belgaum session, December 1924 — the only Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi. The welcome song "Udayavagali Namma Cheluva Kannada Nadu" was sung there.
- Non-cooperation, the forest satyagraha, salt satyagraha (at Ankola, Uttara Kannada, 1930) and no-tax campaigns were held in the Bombay–Karnataka and coastal districts.
- Hardekar Manjappa, a Gandhian worker, is called "Karnataka Gandhi".