Chapter I INTRODUCTION Karnataka has a rich heritage, inspiring its people to create a bright future. With its special geographical location full of variety-its rivers, hills, valleys, plains, forests and resources-the State is known for its tourist and industrial potential. Its long history of over 2,000 years has left many beautiful forts, tanks, temples, mosques and towns of historical importance to the posterity. These old towns have grown to be industrial, commercial and educational centres. They are provided with all modern facilities. Bordered by the Western Ghats with tall peaks and lush greenery in the west, the tableland is fertile because of its black soil and river and tank irrigation facilities. The coastal strip to the west of the Ghats is renowned for its silvery beaches and rich green paddy fields. Karnataka has rich religious and artistic traditions. The land has been described by a poet in a stone record in the 15th Century in following words: A mine of good discipline, The dwelling place of Brahma, The land which had acquired great fortune, The birthplace of learning and wealth, The true home of unequalled splendid earnestness Thus distinguished in many ways Shone the lovely Karnata Country. The temples of antiquity speak of the piety of their devotees. The agraharas and mathas spread all over vouch to the scholarly pursuits to which people were attached. The hero stones strewing the land speak of the heroic traits of the warrior race of antiquity. Long traditions of growing cotton are clear evidence to once flourishing rich textile industry. The ports along the coast remind one of the rich overseas trades that flourished through them. The black soil plains speak of its agricultural potential. The State’s human resources with racial and religious varieties and professional skills promise to make it a hub of industriousness. With an antiquity that dates to the paleolithic, Karnataka has also been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient and medieval India. The philosophers and musical bards patronized by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, the Carnatic (Karnataka Music) and Hindustani traditions. Writers in the Kannada language have received the most number of Jnanapith awards in India. Bangalore is the capital city of the State and is at the forefront of the rapid economic and technological development that India is experiencing. A Handbook of Karnataka 2 The responsibility for the correctness of internal details Governments concerned. rests with the publisher. The administrative Headquarters of Chandigarh. The territorial waters of India extending into the sea to Haryana and Punjab are at Chandigarh. the distance of twelve nautical miles measured from the The interstate Boundaries amongst Arunachal appropriate base line. pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya shown on the map The state boundaries between Uttara Khand and are as interpreted from the North Eastern areas Uttara Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand and Chattisgarh (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, but have yet be verified. and Madhya Pradesh have not been verified by the Location and Boundaries The State of Karnataka, confined roughly within 11°35’ North and 18°30’ North latitudes and 74°5’ East and 78°35’ East longitudes, is situated on a Introduction 3 tableland where the Western and Eastern Ghat ranges converge into the Nilgiri hill complex. Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India. It was created on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganization Act. Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The state extends to about 750km from North to South and about 400km from East to West. Area and Population The state covers an area of 74,122 sq miles (191,791 km²), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is the eighth largest Indian state by area, the ninth largest by population and comprises 29 districts. Kannada is the official and most widely spoken language. Though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning elevated land. Karu nadu may also be read as Karu (black) and nadu (region), as a reference to the black cotton soil found in the Bayaluseeme region of Karnataka. The British used the word Carnatic (sometimes Karnatak) to describe both sides of peninsular India, south of the Krishna River. There are 29 districts in Karnataka—Bagalkote, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Belgaum, Bellary, Bidar, Bijapur, Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapur, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Davanagere, Dharwad, Gadag, Gulbarga, Hassan, Haveri, Kodagu, Kolar, Koppal, Mandya, Mysore, Raichur, Ramanagara, Shimoga, Tumkur, Udupi and Uttara Kannada. Each district is governed by a district commissioner or district magistrate. The districts are further divided into sub-divisions, which are governed by sub- divisional magistrates; sub-divisions comprise taluks containing panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities. As per the 2001 census, Karnataka’s six largest cities sorted in order of decreasing population were, Bangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore, Gulbarga, Belgaum and Mangalore. Bangalore is the only city with a population of more than one million. Bangalore Urban, Belgaum and Gulbarga are the most populous districts, each of them having a population of more than three million. Gadag, Chamarajanagara and Kodagu districts have a population of less than one million. According to the 2001 census of India, the total population of Karnataka is 52,850,562, of which 26,898,918 (50.89%) are male and 25,951,644 (49.11%) are female, or 1000 males for every 964 females. This represents a 17.25% increase over the population in 1991. The population density is 275.6 per km² and 33.98% of the people live in urban areas. The literacy rate is 66.6% with 76.1% of males and 56.9% of females being literate. 83% of the population are Hindu, 11% are Muslim, 4% are Christian, 0.78% are Jains, 0.73% are Buddhist, and with the remainder belonging to other religions. A Handbook of Karnataka 4 KARNATAKA ! A Aurad ! ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS 2011 R Bhalki P T ! BIDAR Basava- Bidar kalyan ! KILOMETRES H Homnabad ! 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 S Aland ! Gulbarga Chincholi A A P Afzalpur ! GULBARGA R ! ! ! N A Indi Sedam ! Chitapur ! Jevargi H Sindgi D P BIJAPUR A Bijapur P ! ! Yadgir Athni YADGIR Shahpur H M ! ! ! Basavana Shorapur ! Jamkhandi Bagevadi ! Raybag ! Chikodi ! ! R ! Muddebihal Devadurga Mudhol Bilgi Raichur ! Gokak Bagalkot P ! P Lingsugur Hukeri ! Hungund A BAGALKOT ! RAICHUR BELGAUM Ramdurg ! Badami Manvi ! Parasgad ! Belgaum (Bail P Hongal) (Saundatti- Kushtagi ! ! ! Yellama) ! Sampgaon ! Nargund ! Sindhnur P ! Navalgund Ron ! ! Khanapur ! (Gadag- Yelbarga P Betigeri) KOPPAL Gangawati Sirugu- P ! ppa A Dharwad R ! ! Hubli Gadag P ! ! O Haliyal ! GADAG ! Koppal Hospet ! Bellary Supa ! DHARWAD G Mundargi Kalghatgi Kundgol Shirhatti ! ! P A UTTARA KANNADA ! ! Hagari- Sandur ! ! Shi- ! bomma- Mund- Savanur Hadagalli BELLARY Karwar ggaon nahalli ! Yellapur god D P (Karwar) Haveri Kudligi P ! ! HAVERI ! Hangal ! Harapanahalli ARABIAN ! Molakalmuru Ankola ! Byadgi ! E Sirsi Ranibennur Jagalur ! SEA ! ! H!irekerur P Kumta ! Hari- Siddapur har Davanagere Challakere S ! Sorab ! ! ! DAVANAGERE Chitradurga ! T Honavar Shikarpur P ! Honnali Channa- Pavagada H Sagar giri Holalkere CHITRADURGA ! Bhatkal ! ! SHIMOGA ! Shimoga Hiriyur Hosanagara P Bhadravati ! ! ! Hosdurga ! Bagepalli Kundapura Tarikere ! ! Madhugiri L Tirthahalli ! ! ! Narasim- Sira ! !Gudibanda ! harajapura Gauri- CHIKKABALLAPURA A UDUPI ! Chiknaya- ! bidanur ! ! Korata- Chikkaballapura Koppa CHIKMAGALUR kanhalli P Chintamani Kadur ! TUMKUR gere Dod- K Udupi Tumkur ! ! Srinivaspur P ! Chikmagalur Ballapur ! Arsikere Gubbi P ! ! Sidla- Sringeri P ! BANGALORE R!URAL S ! ghatta Mulbagal Karkal Devanahalli Kolar ! Tiptur Nela- P ! ! ! Hosa- H mangala Bangalore Mudigere ! North ! kote KOLAR Mangalore Belur HASSAN Turuvekere ! Beltangadi ! P Channa- ! Magadi BANGALORE ! A (Mangalore) ! Malur ! rayapatna Kunigal ^ Bangalore Bangarapet P ! ! Hassan Naga- Bangalore ! Alur ! RAMA- East D Bantval mangala South Sak- ! NAGARA Anekal DAKSHINA KANNADA ! Ramanagara leshpur ! Krishna- ! ! Puttur Hole P W rajpet MANDYA Maddur Narsipur ! Sulya ! ! Arkalgud Mandya Channa- ! ! ! Krishnara- Pandava- patna E K Somvar- P janagara !pura Kanakapura pet ! Shriranga- U Piriyapatna ! E Madikeri P pattana !Malavalli E P (Madikeri) ! ! Tirumakudal- P KODAGU Hunsur Mysore Narsipur D ! ! ! MYSORE Kollegal R ! Virajpet ! ! Nanjangud Yelandur A BOUNDARIES: Heggada- P Chamrajanagar S A devankote CHAMARAJANAGAR N STATE............................ ! T - TUMKUR E L Gundlupet DISTRICT....................... A A L TALUK............................ I M T A HEADQUARTERS: STATE............................^ State/District headquarters are also taluk headquarters. DISTRICT....................... P Where the district/taluk name differs from its headquarters name, TALUK............................ ! the latter is given within brackets. Bangalore is the headquarters for Bangalore North,Bangalore South & Bangalore East taluks and also for Bangalore and