Karnataka - Belgaum   

Rani Channamma’s statue to be installed in Michigan, U.S.

Belgaum: A life-size statue of Rani Channamma, the queen of the erstwhile princely state of Kittur, who fought against the British and is regarded as the first woman freedom fighter of India, will be installed on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, U.S., in November this year.

The statue, measuring 3 ft in height and weighing 89 kg, has been sculpted by Vijaya Gujjar of Miraj (Maharashtra). Also, portrait-paintings of the queen and the former Chief Minister of Karnataka and founder of the Kittur Rani Channamma Residential School (KRCRS), Kittur, late S.R. Kanthi, will installed at the university.

Eric R. Gilbertson, president of the university, will be presented the statue and the portrait-paintings at a function at Kittur on Saturday. Among those to be present include Speaker Jagdish Shettar, Home Minister V.S. Acharya, Minister for Water Resources Basavaraj Bommai, Minister for Cooperation Laxman Savadi and Suresh Marihal, Kittur MLA, according to Mahendra S. Kanthi, chairman of the Kittur Rani Channamma Memorial Committee and son of late Kanthi.

A tripartite memorandum of understanding will be signed between the Saginaw Valley State University, Carrollton Public Schools, Michigan, and KRCRS, before the statue-presentation ceremony.

“The MoU between our school and the U.S.-based prominent educational institutions is a major milestone for the KRCRS. The objective and thrust behind the signing of the MoU is to explore the best possibilities of improving both learning and teaching processes at the KRCRS and make girl-students globally competitive,” Dr. Kanthi told The Hindu over telephone on Friday.

Dr. Kanthi, who has taken the initiative in this regard, said the university will dedicate a built-space in its building and name it after the queen.

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