Karnad Sadashiva Rao

Karnad Sadashiv Rao () (1881 - January 9, 1937) was an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who was very first from Karnataka to sign the Satyagraha pledge. He was born in Mangalore, Karnataka and was the only son to his parents, Ramchandra Rao and Radhabai. Graduating from the Presidency College, Madras, he studied law at Bombay and set up as a lawyer in Mangalore.

Gandhi of the South

He was known as the "Gandhi of the South" for his work for the Congress Party and his participation in the Indian freedom movement.

He had lived a full life, taking an active part in sports and athletics. However, he soon perceived backwardness, superstition, social and economic evils as well as injustice around him and set about to remove them. With the help of his devoted wife Shantabai, he founded the Mahila Sabha for upliftment of widowed and downtrodden women. He provided funds to educate them and find means of self-support. Several women were trained to become teachers, nurses, and tailors.

Improving social life

He organized re-marriage of child-widows, fighting a big social problem at the time. He also worked for betterment of Harijans. He was a member of "Mission for Depressed Classes" for years, eventually serving as its president. He fought and arranged for entry of Harijans in the temples of South Kanara district. He started a school "Tilak Vidyalaya" which was open to all communities in the premises of his home. The Hindi language, spinning,...
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