memorial

The gold rush in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, where an ongoing dig by the Archaeological Survey of India has drawn the world's attention, seems to set off a chain reaction in Karnataka. Miscreants have dug up a nearly two-centuries-oldof Sangolli Rayanna, one of India's first freedom-fighters.A 'veeragallu' (memorial to those who die in battle) in Rayanna's memory was put up in the 1830s in his family's ancestral lands in Amatur village of Bailahongal town in Belgaum. On Sunday night, some persons uprooted the memorial and dug up the land beneath it. Though there is no known case of gold or other valuables being buried beneath such memorials, the treasure hunters dug to a depth of four feet before leaving empty-handed. The land on which the ‘veeragallu’ stood belongs to Ningappa Karigara, considered a descendant of Rayanna. The memorial has a carving of Rayanna holding a sword in the middle and on top there are carvings of the sun and moon.The spot is frequented by students and historians, which could have made the locals think there was some treasure hidden there. The local police have booked a case and are investigating.The incident comes in the backdrop of the dream of a sadhu that has triggered a gold rush in Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh's fort in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh.Sangolli Rayanna has the distinction of being one of the first freedom-fighters against British rule. His birthday and martyrdom -- August 15, 1798 and January 26, 1831 -- by a happy coincidence fall on Independent India's most important days. He was a soldier in the army of the Kittur kingdom's Rani Chennamma. He participated in the first battle against the British which Kittur won. The second battle was lost and Chennamma became a prisoner of the British. Rayanna launched what is considered the first guerilla war in India against the British. He was betrayed by a friend and was hanged in 1831.The greed for gold has been tempting people to dig under temples and at burial grounds in the backward districts of North Karnataka. A year ago, miscreants looking for treasure attempted to dig the samadhi (tomb) of Raja Hire Madakari Nayaka, the fifth Palegar of the Nayaka dynasty, on the outskirts of Mayakonda village in Davanagere taluk.