# Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth Maharaja of Mysore, reigning from 1902 until his death in 1940.
Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV is popularly deemed a rajarshi, or 'saintly king', a moniker with which Mahatma Gandhi revered the king in 1925 for his administrative reforms and achievements. He was a philosopher king, seen by Paul Brunton as living the ideal expressed in Plato's Republic. Herbert Samuel compared him to Emperor Ashoka. Acknowledging the maharaja's noble and efficient kingship, John Sankey declared in 1930 at the first Round Table Conference in London, "Mysore is the best administered state in the world". He is often regarded as the "father of modern Mysore" and his reign the "golden age of Mysore". Madan Mohan Malaviya described the maharaja as "dharmic" (virtuous in conduct). John Gunther, the American author, heaped praise on the king. In an obituary, The Times called him "a ruling prince second to none in esteem and affection inspired by both his impressive administration and his attractive personality".
At the time of his death, Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV was one of the world's wealthiest men, with a personal fortune estimated in 1940 to be worth US$400 million, equivalent to $7 billion in 2018 prices.

## Early years

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV was born on 4 June 1884 in Mysore Palace as the son of Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X and Maharani Kempananjammanni Devi. After the sudden death of his father in Calcutta in 1894, the widowed queen mother Kempananjammanni Devi ruled the state as regent from 1895 to 1902, until Krishnaraja Wadiyar reached the age of majority on 8 August 1902. Upon accession to the throne, he became the fourth king of Mysore by the name, hence known in the vernacular language Kannada as Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar (the qualifying prefix nālvaḍi means "the fourth").
The maharaja had his early education and training at Lokaranjan Palace in Mysore under the direction of P. Raghavendra Rao. In addition to Western studies, he was instructed in Kannada and Sanskrit. He was taught horse-riding and Indian and Western classical music. His early administrative training was imparted by Sir Stuart Fraser of the Bombay Civil Service. The study of the principles of jurisprudence and methods of revenue administration was supplemented by extensive tours of the state during which he gained immense knowledge of the nature of the country which he was later to govern.

## Reign
### Accession

Shortly after the death of his father Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X on 28 December 1894, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, still a boy of eleven, ascended the throne on 1 February 1895. His mother Maharani Kemparajammanni Devi ruled as queen regent until Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV took over on 8 February 1902. The yuvaraja was invested as the Maharaja of Mysore, with full ruling powers, by George Curzon, the Governor-General of India, on 8 August 1902 at a ceremony at Jaganmohana Palace.

### Government

Mysore became the first Indian state to have a representative assembly, Mysore Representative Assembly, a democratic forum in 1881. During the maharaja's reign, the assembly was enlarged and became bicameral in 1907 with the creation of the Mysore Legislative Council, a house of elders which introduced much new legislation for the state.
During the maharaja's reign, the Kingdom of Mysore witnessed development in a range of fields. Mysore became the first Indian state to generate hydroelectric power in Asia, and Bangalore was the first Asian city to have street lights, first lit on 5 August 1905. Princes from other sections of India were sent to Mysore for administrative training.

### Reforms

The maharaja worked towards alleviating poverty and improving rural reconstruction, public health, industry and economic regeneration, education and the fine arts. He abolished child marriage (for girls below the age 8), gave special importance for girls' education, and offered scholarship for widowed women.
At a time when support for domestic products was pivotal for India's self-reliance and eventual independence from British India, the maharaja encouraged spinning at scale, for which Gandhi greatly praised him.

### Education and arts

Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV set up numerous educational infrastructures and institutions. Krishnaraja Wadiyar was the first chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (whose co-founder he also was) and the University of Mysore (whose founder he was). The latter was the first university chartered by an Indian province. The Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore, which was initiated during his mother's tenure as regent, functionally started during his reign in 1911 with a gift of 371 acres (1.5 km$^2$) of land and a donation of funds.
The maharaja was a patron of Indian music, both Carnatic and Hindustani, and Western classical music. He was an accomplished musician and, like his predecessors, patronised fine arts. The maharaja was a connoisseur of Carnatic and Hindustani music himself. He played eight musical instruments: flute, violin, saxophone, piano, mridangam, nadaswara, sitar, and veena. Members of the Agra Gharana, including Nattan Khan and Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan, were guests of the maharajah at Mysore, as were Abdul Karim Khan and Gauhar Jan. Barkatullah Khan was a palace musician from 1919 until his death in 1940.
Asthana Vidwan Kadagathur Seshacharya has written various works and is famous for his contributions towards Sanskrit and Kannada literature. The maharaja also composed many poems in Kannada himself.

## Contributions

A list of major developments during the reign and under the patronage of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV :
| Year | Notes |
| 1902 | Hydroelectric project at Shivanasamudra Falls is founded |
| 1903 | Minto Eye Hospital built at Bangalore; one among the world's oldest specialised ophthalmology hospitals |
| 1905 | Bangalore becomes the first city in Asia to get electric street lights |
| 1907 | Vani Vilasa Sagara at Chitradurga completed; the first dam in Karnataka |
| 1907 | Mysore Legislative Council is established with a view to associate certain number of non-official persons having practical experience and knowledge to assist the Government in making laws and regulations |
| 1909 | Indian Institute of Science is established at Bangalore |
| 1909 | Mysore Boy Scouts is established; the first of its kind in India |
| 1913 | State Bank of Mysore is established |
| 1913 | Mysore Agricultural Residential School is established at Bangalore; it was initially established in 1899 by Maharani Kempananjammanni Devi with an initial grant of 30 acres as an experimental agricultural station |
| 1915 | Kannada Sahitya Parishat at Bangalore established |
| 1915 | Formation of Mysore Social Progress Association to empower weaker sections of society |
| 1916 | University of Mysore is established |
| 1916 | Bangalore Printing and Publishing Company is established |
| 1916 | Yuvaraja's College at Mysore is established |
| 1916 | Mysore Chamber of Commerce is established |
| 1916 | Government Sandalwood Oil Factory is established at Bangalore |
| 1917 | School of Engineering is established at Bangalore |
| 1917 | Maharani's Science College for Women is established at Mysore |
| 1918 | First leg of Mysore State Railways (MSR) finished; opened 232 miles of railway to traffic. By 1938 MSR had 740 miles of railway track |
| 1918 | Wood Distillation Factory is found at Bhadravathi |
| 1918 | Mysore Chrome and Tanning Factory is established |
| 1918 | Sir Lesley Miller is appointed to analyse problems of backward classes (the Miller Report later recommend a reservation of 25% of jobs in the government to non-Brahmans) |
| 1921 | Lalitha Mahal Palace finished |
| 1921 | Government Science College at Bangalore found |
| 1923 | Mysore Iron Works founded at Bhadravathi |
| 1923 | Women enfranchisement; first Indian state to do so |
| 1924 | Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam is finished |
| 1924 | Mysore Medical College is established |
| 1925 | More than 100 acres of land is donated for the establishment of National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) |
| 1925 | Kadhara Sahakara Sangha is established at Tagdhur, helping villagers earn a living |
| 1927 | Krishna Rajendra Hospital at Mysore is established (now part of Mysore Medical College) |
| 1928 | K.R. Market at Bangalore is established; the main wholesale market dealing with commodities |
| 1930 | Marakonahalli dam in Tumkur district is completed (the dam has an automatic siphon system, first of its kind in Asia) |
| 1930 | Krishnarajanagara township was finished (after a flood by the Kaveri damaged the nearby town of Yedatore) |
| 1933 | St. Philomena's Cathedral at Mysore is inaugurated |
| 1933 | Bangalore Town Hall is built |
| 1933 | Mysore Sugar Mills is established at Mandya |
| 1933 | KR Mills at Mysore is established |
| 1934 | Vanivilas Women and Children Hospital established at Bangalore |
| 1934 | 10 acres of land at Bangalore gifted to Sir C. V. Raman for what is now Raman Research Institute (RRI) |
| 1936 | Mysore Paper Mills established at Bhadravati |
| 1936 | Mysore Lamps at Bangalore established |
| 1937 | Mysore Chemical and Fertilisers Factory at Belagola established |
| 1937 | Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited is established |
| 1938 | Maharani's College for Women is established at Bangalore |
| 1939 | Mandya district formed |
| 1939 | Hassan district formed |
| 1939 | Glass and Porcelain Factory is established at Bangalore (electrical insulators for high voltage lines were manufactured). The factory later became part of BHEL |
| 1939 | Hirebhaskara dam (now Mahatma Gandhi Hydroelectric Project) across the Sharavathi began functioning to ensure steady water supply for the 120MW Krishnarajendra Hydroelectric Power Station |

## Personal life

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV was wedded on 6 June 1900 at Jaganmohan Palace to Maharani Pratapa Kumari Devi of Kathiawar, the youngest daughter of Rana Bane Singh of Vana, Kathiawar (present-day Gujarat State). The couple had no children. He died of heart attack on 3 August 1940. His nephew Jayachamaraja Wadiyar succeeded him as Maharaja.

## Honours

* King George VI Coronation Medal, 1937
* King George V Silver Jubilee Medal, 1935
* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), 1917
* Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St John (GCStJ), 1911
* Delhi Durbar Gold Medal, 1911
* Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (GCSI), 1907
* Delhi Durbar Gold Medal, 1903

### Honorary doctorates

* Honorary Doctorate, University of Mysore, (posthumously in 2011)
* Honorary Doctorate, Banaras Hindu University (at its 21st convocation held on 28 December 1937)

### Memorials

* K.R.S. Dam, Mysore; K.R. Circle, Mysore; K.R. Nagara, Mysore
* K.R. Market, Bangalore; K.R. Pura, Bengaluru
* K.R. Pete, Mandya