Last reviewed 4 Nov 2026 · 3 min read
1. Mysore after Tipu (1799–1831)
- The British placed Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (aged about five) on the throne in 1799; Purnaiah, earlier a minister of Hyder and Tipu, became Dewan.
- Mysore became a subsidiary-alliance state of the East India Company; Srirangapatna was kept by the British and the capital moved to Mysore.
- The Nagar (Bidanur) peasant revolt of 1830–31 over heavy revenue demands led the British to take over the administration.
2. Commission rule (1831–1881)
- From 1831 to 1881 Mysore was ruled directly by British Commissioners; the most noted was Mark Cubbon (Commissioner 1834–1861), after whom Cubbon Park is named; the capital moved to Bangalore in this period.
- Revenue, courts, roads and public works were reorganised on British lines.
3. The Rendition (1881) and the great Dewans
- In 1881 the British returned the state to Chamarajendra Wodeyar X — the Rendition.
| Dewan | Remembered for |
|---|---|
| C. Rangacharlu (1881–83) | Mysore Representative Assembly (1881) — one of the first such bodies in a princely state |
| K. Seshadri Iyer (1883–1901) | Long tenure of development; the Shivanasamudra hydro-electric scheme (1902), which sent power to the Kolar Gold Fields — among Asia's earliest |
| Sir M. Visvesvaraya (1912–1918) | Industry, education, irrigation — "Industrialise or perish" |
| Sir Mirza Ismail (1926–1941) | Town planning of Bangalore and Mysore, industries such as glass, porcelain and sugar |
Sir M. Visvesvaraya (1861–1962)
- Born 15 September 1861 at Muddenahalli; that day is Engineers' Day in India.
- Engineer of the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam on the Kaveri; earlier devised automatic sluice gates (Khadakwasla) and the Hyderabad flood-protection works.
- As Dewan: University of Mysore (1916), the Mysore Iron Works, Bhadravati (production from 1923), Government Soap Factory (1916), State Bank of Mysore (1913), Mysore Chamber of Commerce.
- Awarded the Bharat Ratna (1955).