Bengaluru railway station to be named after Karnataka freedom fighter

The Bengaluru railway station will soon be named after Karnataka's prominent 19th century freedom fighter and warrior Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna, an official said on Thursday.

"On the state government's recommendation, the Indian Railways and the union home ministry has approved naming the city's main railway station after Sangolli Rayanna," South Western Railway (SWR) general manager P.K. Saxena told reporters here.

"The naming ceremony will be held soon after completing formalities and in consultation with the state government," he said.

Born on August 15, 1798, Rayanna, the ruler of Kittur, now in what is the state's northern district of Belagavi, fought against the British East India company till his death in 1832. According to history, Rayanna participated in the 1824 rebellion and was captured and executed.

There will be a plaque at the station's main entrance with a picture and a brief biographical account of Rayanna, who was hanged to death by the British at the age of 33 from a banyan tree at Nandagad in Belagavi district on January 26, 1832.

Bengaluru's international airport at Devanahalli is named after the city's founder Kempe Gowda, who made the city capital of his kingdom in 1537.