Karnataka will unveil the first of 87 Gandhi Memorial Pillars in Bengaluru on Gandhi Jayanti, marking the state government’s effort to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s visits to the state through permanent public installations. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar will unveil the first pillar at the Government College of Art campus in Bengaluru on October 2, according to the Information Department.
The pillars are being produced in Mysuru by Kashyapa Shilpa Kalanikethana, an institution led by sculptor Arun Yogiraj. The project was conceived as part of the Gandhi Bharat Centenary celebrations organised by the Karnataka government in 2024 to mark 100 years since the 1924 Congress session held in Belagavi under Gandhi’s leadership.
The memorial pillars are planned for 87 locations associated with Gandhi’s visits to Karnataka. These include Bengaluru, Belagavi, Mysuru, where Gandhi visited in 1927, Badanavalu in Nanjangud taluk, which he visited in 1934, as well as locations in Hassan and Mandya districts.
The pillars are being carved from granite brought from Andhra Pradesh. Their design combines a pillar and arch influenced by Hoysala-era architectural forms. The upper section features a four-headed lion, the Ashoka Chakra and a seated depiction of Gandhi in a meditative posture. A spinning wheel is carved into the lower portion. The installations will also carry the message of the seven social sins associated with Gandhi’s teachings.
Yogiraj told Prajavani that the granite was selected because it is expected to last for about 500 years and requires relatively little maintenance. He said the sculpting work had continued for eight months and was almost complete. The project team also took advice from the chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi, according to the report.
Each pillar is designed as a 10-foot-high monolith, measuring 3.25 feet in width and one foot in thickness. Two feet of the structure will be installed below ground on a cement-concrete foundation, leaving eight feet visible above the surface. The Public Works Department is undertaking the civil works at the memorial sites.
The total cost of the project is ₹5.09 crore. The first pillar’s unveiling in Bengaluru will also be attended by Arun Yogiraj as a special invitee. The Government College of Art has a historical connection to Gandhi’s early visits to Bengaluru: on May 8, 1915, Gandhi visited the city for the first time with his wife, Kasturba, and unveiled a portrait of Gopal Krishna Gokhale at the college auditorium, according to the report.
The remaining pillars are intended to mark other locations connected with Gandhi’s travels across Karnataka. The Information Department has identified the October 2 unveiling as the first public milestone in the state-wide memorial project.
