Kamalamma Ramamurthy (95), wife of Ma Ramamurthy who designed the red-and-yellow Kannada flag and unfurled it for the first time in Bengaluru in the early 60s, has been denied an old-age pension by the Kannada and Culture Department.
Source- OneIndia Kannada
Hailing from Nanjangud, Kamalamma had moved to Bengaluru after her marriage. Her husband Ramamurthy played an important role in the Kannada movement in the 60s. In the flag which he designed exclusively for Karnataka, yellow symbolizes Arishina (turmeric) and red represents Kumkuma (vermilion), both considered sacred.She lives in Sharada Abalashrama, a home for destitute women in Basavanagudi, for more than the past 50 years.
In a tragic incident, he and his sons died while digging a well in the early 60s. As a tribute to the great man, a locality in East Bengaluru, Ramamurthy Nagar, was named after him.
Former CM SM Krishna on Monday wrote a letter to CM Basavaraj Bommai urging him to provide financial aid for Kamalamma’s medical expenses. However, the Kannada and Culture Minister of Karnataka seemed clueless about the matter.
