British India, with 144 members, was formed in 1881. He was followed by K. Seshadri Iyer in 1883 during whose tenure gold mining at the Kolar Gold Fields began, the Shivanasamudra hydroelectric project was initiated in 1899 (the first such major attempt in India) and electricity and drinking water (the latter through pipes) was supplied to Bangalore. Seshadri Iyer was followed by P. N. Krishnamurti, who founded The Secretariat Manual to maintain records and the Co-operative Department in 1905, V. P. Madhava Rao who focussed on conservation of forests and T. Ananda Rao, who finalised the Kannambadi Dam project. Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, popularly known as the "Maker of Modern Mysore", holds a key place in the history of Karnataka. An engineer by education, he became the Diwan in 1909. Under his tenure, membership of the Mysore Legislative Assembly was increased from 18 to 24, and it was given the power to discuss the state budget. The Mysore Economic Conference was expanded into three committees; industry and commerce, education, and agriculture, with publications in English and Kannada. Important projects commissioned during his time included the construction of the Kannambadi Dam, the founding of the Mysore Iron Works at Bhadravathi, founding of the Mysore University in 1916, the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering in Bangalore, establishment of the Mysore state railway department and numerous industries in Mysore. In 1955, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. Sir Mirza Ismail took office as Diwan in 1926 and built on the foundation laid by his predecessor. Amongst his contributions were the expansion of the Bhadravathi Iron Works, the founding of a cement and paper factory in Bhadravathi and the launch of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. A man with a penchant for gardens, he founded the Brindavan Gardens (Krishnaraja Sagar) and built the Kaveri River high-level canal to irrigate in modern Mandya district. In 1939 Mandya District was carved out of Mysore District, bringing the number of districts in the state to nine. Economy The vast majority of the people lived in villages and agriculture was their main occupation. The economy of the kingdom was based on agriculture. Grains, pulses, vegetables and flowers were cultivated. Commercial crops included sugarcane and cotton. The agrarian population consisted of landlords (vokkaliga, zamindar, heggadde) who tilled the land by employing a number of landless labourers, usually paying them in grain. Minor cultivators were also willing to hire