Why Kaveri wears saffron 28 May 2008, 1943 hrs IST,Tarun Vijay

The saffron Karnataka wears is aglow with the sacrifices of the anonymous workers who lived with a reason, for a cause. Who sowed saffron in Karnataka's soil – like Yadav Rao Joshi, H V Seshadri, Suryanarain Rao, often going to sleep on an empty stomach but worked day and night to spread the message of a strong nationalism, motherland first and foremost. Everything else was secondary.

When Seshadri breathed his last, he was listening to the Sangh prayer – namaste sada vatsale matribhume (Salutations to thee, O beloved motherland...) But Vidhan Saudha was never on their radar of achievements. Their mission was and remains a total transformation of society into a proud, strong, self-reliant, knowledge reservoir with character which would lead Bharat, which is India, into the highest ranks of the comity of nations. Political power is just one small step in that direction.