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Kudmul Ranga Rao
ಕುದ್ಮುಲ್ ರಂಗರಾವ್
The crusader against untouchability — the reformer of the coast
Years
1854 – 1932
Known as
Kudmul Ranga Rao — the social reformer
Birthplace
Mangaluru, Karnataka
Field
Social Reformers
“The barriers of caste are the chains of the nation — break them, and the nation is free.”
— Kudmul Ranga Rao
The Story
Born in 1854 in Mangaluru, Ranga Rao was a lawyer and a man of the Bunt community who was deeply troubled by the evil of untouchability. In an age when the subject was rarely spoken of, he began to work for the uplift of the depressed classes of the coast, becoming one of the first reformers of the region to take up the cause.
He worked for the education of the depressed classes, founded schools for them, and campaigned against the barriers of caste that excluded them from the common life. His work anticipated by decades the national movement against untouchability, and he carried it forward with courage in the face of orthodoxy.
He died in 1932, honoured as a pioneer of the reform movement of the coast. His name is remembered as one of the first champions of the cause of equality in the region, and his work laid the foundation for the reforms that followed.
Core Ideas
The Pioneer
One of the first crusaders against untouchability.
The Schools
He founded schools for the depressed classes.
The Courage
He defied the orthodoxy of his age.
The Equality
He fought the chains of caste.
The Foundation
His work prepared the national reforms.
Why it matters today
Kudmul Ranga Rao is honoured as a pioneer of the reform movement of the Karnataka coast — one of the first crusaders against untouchability, a generation before the cause became national. His name is remembered as a champion of equality, and his work laid the foundation of the reforms of the region.