Dakshina Kannada
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Dakshina Kannada (Tulu,Kannada:ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಕನ್ನಡ), (earlier known as South Kanara, or South Canara), is a coastal Karnataka district in the state of Karnataka in India. It is bordered by Udupi District to the north, Chikmagalur District to the northeast, Hassan District to the east, Kodagu District to the southeast, and Kasaragod District in Kerala to the south. The Arabian Sea bounds it on the west. Mangalore is the headquarter and chief city of the district.
The population of the district was 1,897,730 of which 38.43% is urban as of 2001.[1] The population of the district increased 14.51% from 1991 to 2001, and 15.98% in the 1981-1991 period.
The district is divided into five talukas, Mangalore, Bantwal, Puttur, Sullia, and Belthangady.It used to include three northern talukas, Udupi, Kundapur and Karkal, but these were separated in August 1997 to form Udupi district. Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasargod districts are often called Tulu Nadu, as Tulu is the majority language in the region. The Alupas who ruled this region between the 8th and 14th century CE as a feudatory of all the major Kannada empires of those times ecncouraged and made Kannada their official language. It is for this reason that the Tulu speaking districts are a part of Karnataka state.
Important towns in the district are- Mangalore,Surathkal Adyar, Bajala, Belthangadi, Kannur, Kotekara, Mudushedde, Mulki, Mulur, Munnur, Pudu, Puttur, Someshwar, Sullia, Thumbe, Kokradi and Ullal.
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[edit] Background
Before 1860, Dakshina Kannada was part of a greater district called Canara, which was under a single administration in the Madras Presidency.
In 1860, the British split the area into South Canara and North Canara, the former being retained in the Madras Presidency, while the later was made a part of Bombay Province in 1862. Kundapura taluk was earlier included in North Canara, but was re-included in South Canara later.
After independence, South Canara was divided to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The then undivided Dakshina Kannada district consists of the present day borders of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod.
During the Reorganisation of States in 1956, Kasaragod was split and transferred to the newly created Kerala state and Dakshina Kannada was transferred to Mysore state (present day Karnataka).
Later, the Karnataka Government, for the purpose of administration, split the greater Dakshina Kannada district into Udupi and present day Dakshina Kannada districts in the year 1997 A.D.
The district is famous for red clay roof tiles (Mangalore tiles), cashew nut & its products banking, education and of course for its exotic cuisine.
[edit] Language
Tulu is mother tongue of majority of people living in Dakshina Kannada district[citation needed]. Kannada, Havyaka Kannada, Kundapura kannada, Are Bhashe Kannada, Beary bashe (of Muslims) and Konkani are spoken by a substantial number of people as mother tongue. English,Kannada & Hindi are understood by majority of the population.
Some Malayali literature describe the region stretching from Chandragiri River in Kasaragod District of Kerala to Gokarna in Uttara Kannada as Tulu Nadu. However, present day Tulu cultural boundary is limited to Dakshina Kannada & Udupi district.
[edit] Historic Sites
- Moodabidri: Site of the ancient Jain temples and the Bhattaraka seat.
- Krishnapura matha : one of the matha (monastery ) belonging to ashta matha of udupi.
- Dharmasthala : Popular temple of Lord Sri Manjunatheshwara is located here
- Kadri
- Kateel
- Ullal
- Talapady
- Subramanya : Famous ancient temple of the serpent lord Subramanya is located here.
[edit] Cultures,Traditions and rituals
Dakshina Kannada can be said as land of culture,tradition and rituals. Today in 21 Century most people of district follow traditions, customs and rituals, even after receiving British implemented modern education.The district has many temples of Hindu gods and goddess, which are ancient and have deep spiritualism attached to it. The people of Dakshina Kannada worship serpent god ( Subramanya ).According to Legend, The district was reclaimed by Parashurama from sea.Hence worship of Serpent is done to original inhabitats. Many rituals like nagaradhane are performed.Worship of spirits is prevalent in these areas. Rituals like Bhuta Kola are done to satisfy the spirits.Kambla a form of buffalo race on muddy track in the paddy field is organised.Cock fight ( Kori Katta in Tulu) is another past time of rural agarian people,but unfortunately has turned in to gambling.
Yakshagana is the popular folk art of this district.
[edit] Transportation
Dakshina Kannada is one of the few districts in India which has ecellent network of roads connecting to almost every villages of the district.Even though network is present,the condition of road are not good.Bus services run mostly by private operators runs efficiently.This is complemented by state run KSRTC.The district had public limited ( public listed ) companies running tranport business even before independence of India in 1947. The district has three national highways connecting to different parts of Karnataka state and India. NH-17 connects district with Udupi,Karwar,Mumbai,Goa and Kochi. NH-13 connects Shivamogga and Sholapur with the Dakshina Kannada. NH-48 connects district with Bangaluru,Hassan and Sakleshpura.
The Konkan Railway connects South Canara with Maharastra,Goa,Gujarat,Delhi,Rajasthan and Kerala by train.There are direct trains from Mangalore to Mumbai,Thane,Chennai,Goa and Trivandrum.Many trains starting from Kerala to Gujarat,Rajasthan and Delhi pass through this district.Recently train services have started to Bangalore via Hassan and Kukke Subramanya.
The Dakshina Kannada has a seaport at Panambur.
The district is connected by air through Mangalore International Airport at Bajpe.
[edit] Commerce and Industry
The district is called as Cradle of Indian banking. Major nationalised banks like Canara Bank, Corporation Bank, Karnataka Bank and Vijaya Bank evolved from this district.
Red clay tile (Mangalore tiles),Cashew factories once flourished in this district. Agriculture has taken back seat because of influx of money from natives settled in other areas. Significant people from this district work in gulf countries. Farms and fields are converted into residential plots and commercial complexes.Service sector is booming with setting up of professional education institutes and information technology related services (IT & ITES). Horticulture though made some strides, has not prospered because of high labour cost and non availability of labour. Automation is not possible because of small holding of lands by farmers.
The major industries in Dakshina Kannada are concentrated around Mangalore viz. Mangalore Chemical and Fertilizers Ltd. (MCF), Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL), Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), BASF, ELF GAS, etc
Major information technology and outsourcing companies have started locating their facilities in Mangalore. viz. Infosys, Lasersoft infosystems Ltd., MPhasis BPO, etc Wipro also plans to set-up its development facility soon in Mangalore. Three dedicated IT parks are currently under construction. Two such parks are under construction, one Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) at Ganjimutt and a second IT SEZ near Mangalore University. A third IT SEZ is being proposed at Ganjimutt. Another IT SEZ of 2 million square feet (180,000 m²) is under construction at Thumbe by the BA group. This will include a business centre, convention centre, mall and helipad facility. .[2]
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ONGC plans to setup a multiproduct SEZ (Special economic Zone) with an investment of over Rs. 35,000 crore. [3]
[edit] Education
The Dakshina Kannada district is in fore front in education.Primary and secondary education has reached every section of society. The district's literacy rate is far above national average. In the higher education (Degree and above), Dakshina Kannada district has made tremendous progress. The professional education has made a mark in the country. Students from different parts of India flock to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts because of high standards of education. A host of educational institutes offering courses in Medicine,Engineering ,Pharmacy,Nursing ,Hotel & catering and Management are located in this district.
[edit] Related Information
SPDK Dakshina Kannada Police News (Weblog)
Kannada News including Dakshina Kannada news from Udayavani
Official web site
DK Zilla Parishad
See South Canara district gazetteer 1894
[edit] References
- ^ Census data. Retrieved on 2006-09-09.
- ^ "Two more plans for EPIP cleared", The Hindu, 2006-08-31. Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
- ^ "ONGC's huge outlay for Mangalore SEZ", The Hindu, 2006-09-19. Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
hi:दक्षिण कन्नड़ जिला kn:ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಕನ್ನಡ nl:Dakshina Kannada zh:南卡纳达
