By Nagaiah Lalanakere
An inspiring monument of India’s freedom struggle located adjacent to the Mysuru-Bengaluru highway at Shivapura of Maddur taluk in Mandya District, stands testimony to the don’t-care approach of the officialdom. Built to commemorate the Shivapura Flag Satyagraha of 1938, the Satyagraha Soudha was declared open on Sept. 26, 1979 and now it has become a hub of illegal activities. The Flag Satyagraha was a glorious chapter in the struggle for freedom from the British and the Shivapura monument is an architecturally-unique edifice and a symbol of patriotic fervour. A large number of people from the old Mysuru region, following a call by Mahatma Gandhi, participated in the Satyagraha at Shivapura in 1938 to assert the right to hoist the National Flag that was banned by the British rulers then.
