india

Updated: Nov 01, 2014 15:17 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people of Karnataka on their state formation day or Kannada Rajyotsava, celebrated on Friday.

Greetings to people of Karnataka on Kannada Rajyotsava. May Karnataka scale new heights of progress in the years to come, Prime Minister Modi said.

Greetings to people of Karnataka on Kannada Rajyotsava. May Karnataka scale new heights of progress in the years to come. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 1, 2014

On this day in 1956, the Kannada speaking regions came together to form the state of Karnataka.

Every year the day is celebrated by organising literary and cultural fest. Those who contributed for the enrichment of Kannada language and culture are honoured by the Chief Minister.

The state government earlier on Friday had issued a notification changing anglicised names of 12 cities including Bangalore, Mysore, Belgaum and Mangalore. These cities will hereafter be known as Bengaluru, Mysuru, Belagavi and Mangaluru.

However, it remains to be seen if the state government can clear the official hurdles it may encounter in renaming the Belgaum which has been the bone of contention between Karnataka and Maharashtra for the past four decades. Siddaramaiah made the announcement following demands by representatives of Kannada organizations and litterateurs at a meeting convened in Bangalore to discuss the stand to be taken on the petition filed by Maharashtra in the Supreme Court seeking the inclusion of 814 villages in Belgaum.