Many political leaders and intellectuals from old Mysore were skeptical about unification of Kannada speaking areas. Former for impending loss of political power, latter for having to deal with gaps in development between old Mysore and other areas that would join the state.

The credit for allaying this skepticism among Mysore's ruling class and batting for unification should go to old Mysore's then Chief Minister, Kengal Hanumantaiah. He would lose his own chair to S Nijalingappa—vindicating the concerns of skeptics—but he saw the big picture.

Interestingly, one of the skeptics about unification at the time was D Devaraj Urs, a young Congress leader from Mysore with roots in Mysore's aristocracy.

But he would go on to become the longest serving chief minister of the state, and one of the only two leaders to have ruled the state for a complete term.

Even more interestingly, 17 years later, he would himself go on to rename the unified Mysore state, Karnataka.

The state has since seen several skeptics about its unified status over the years, both from old Mysore and from regions which joined it in 1956. But this skepticism has been overpowered by its people's staunch belief in unity. Hoping it will continue this way for years to come.

Happy state formation day to my people of Karnataka. Let us live by our ethos and by every line of our state anthem and strive to be a progressive, inclusive, rational, self-respecting state. ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು.