South Canara
District of Madras Presidency in British Raj
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Through British Raj and East India Company
Geography
Mangalore was the administrative headquarters of the district. The district covered an area of 10,410 square kilometres (4,021 sq mi).
South Canara District was bordered by North Canara to north, the princely state of Mysore to east, Coorg state to southeast, Malabar District to south, and Arabian Sea to west. South Canara was one of the two districts on the western coast (Malabar coast) of Madras Presidency along with Malabar District (otherwise known as Malayalam District).
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History
South Canara was annexed by the British East India Company following the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Mysore War in 1799 and along with North Kanara formed the district of Kanara in the Madras Presidency. In 1859, Kanara was split into two districts, North and South. North Kanara was transferred to the Bombay Presidency, and South was retained by Madras.
Taluks
The district was divided into six taluks:
- Amindivi Islands (Laccadives) (Area:7.8 square kilometres (3 sq mi))
- Coondapoor (Area:1,600 square kilometres (619 sq mi); Headquarters: Coondapoor)
- Kasaragod (Area:1,970 square kilometres (762 sq mi); Headquarters: Kasaragod)
- Mangalore (Area:1,760 square kilometres (679 sq mi); Headquarters: Mangalore)
- Udupi (Area:1,860 square kilometres (719 sq mi); Headquarters: Udupi)
- Uppinangady (Area:3,210 square kilometres (1,239 sq mi); Headquarters: Puttur)
Administration
The district was administered by a District Collector. For purpose of convenience, the district was divided into three sub-divisions:
- Coondapoor sub-division: Coondapoor and Udupi taluks
- Mangalore sub-division: Mangalore, and the Amindivi islands
- Puttur sub-division: Uppinangady and Kasaragod taluks.
The district had two municipalities, those of Mangalore and Udupi.
Demographics
South Kanara had a total population of 1,748,991 in 1951, of whom 66.58% were Hindu, 24.31% Muslim and 8.85% Christian. The most widely spoken language was Tulu, which was the mother tongue of 40% of the population, followed by Malayalam for 24%, Kannada for 17%, and 13% for Konkani. In 1901, South Kanara had a density of 109 inhabitants per square kilometre (282/sq mi).
The 1908 Imperial Gazetteer of India lists South Canara, along with the Thanjavur and Ganjam districts, as the three districts of the Madras Presidency where Brahmins, one of the four main castes in Hinduism, were most numerous.
The majority of the people were Billavas , Kulala and Bunts. There were more Brahmins (12% of the population) in South Kanara than any other district of the Madras Presidency making South Kanara, along with Tanjore and Ganjam, as one of the three districts of the province where Brahmins were most numerous.
The original indigenous people of the region are Tuluvas (Bunts, Kulalas, Billavas, Mogaveeras, Tulu gowda, Devadigas, Bearys, Jogis) and Malayalis in the Kasaragod Taluk (Nambudiris, Nairs, Thiyyas, Mappilas etc). The Brahmins who settled first belonged chiefly to the Sthanika and thus they were called as Tulu Brahmins. Others were Shivalli, Saraswat, Havyaka, Kotaha sub-sections, Mahars, the hill-tribes (Koragas).