Karnataka anthem to feature ‘boudha’ as panel clears tweak to Kuvempu’s poem

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Puroshotham Bilimale, chairman of the Kannada Development Authority who headed the committee, said a request to include boudha was made to Siddaramaiah in 2024 when he was chief minister. “During a Buddhist convention held at Mysuru, the community requested the CM to include the word in the state anthem,” he said.

Following Siddaramaiah’s assurance, a committee was formed in early 2026 under Bilimale to assess whether the word could be introduced. It had prominent authors such as Hampa Nagarajaiah, Asha Rai, and Kalegowda Nagawara, among others as members.

When ‘jainarudyana’ replaced ‘boudharudyana’ in 1930

“In the draft of the poem penned in 1924, the line reads ‘Hindu kraista musalmana, parasika boudharudyana‘. When it was first published in 1930 in the book Kolalu, a compilation of Kuvempu’s poems, he changed it to ‘jainarudyana‘,” Bilimale said, adding that a surge in research about Jain literature during that period might have prompted the author to change the words.

The committee held meetings to discuss whether including the word would disrupt the rhythm and meaning of the poem written by the Jnanpith winner. “The existing version of the anthem lasts about two and a half minutes. The committee was of the view that adding another word would not affect the duration and meaning of the poem,” he said.

The committee unanimously decided to include the word in the anthem and submitted a report to the Kannada and Culture Department in the second week of July. Sources in the department said a final decision on the issue was likely in the coming months.

“Currently, the full Cabinet has to be formed before a decision is made,” a source familiar with the matter said.

There was also a long-standing dispute about the music. Admirers of composers Mysuru Ananthaswamy and C Ashwath had differing views about whose composition should be official. It ended in September 2022 when the government finalised the two-and-a-half-minute rendition using Ananthaswamy’s tune.