Kanara (Canara) Karavali | |
|---|---|
 Kanara (spotlighted in orange) occupies Karnataka's entire seaboard | |
 | |
| Country |  India |
| State |  Karnataka |
| Largest city | Mangalore |
| Headquarters | Uttara Kannada:Karwar Udupi:Udupi Dakshina Kannada:Mangalore |
| Taluks | Uttara Kannada:Karwar,Ankola,Kumta,Honnavar,Bhatkal,Sirsi,Siddapur,Yellapur,Mundgod,Haliyal,Joida,Dandeli Udupi:Udupi,Karkala,Kundapur,Baindur,Brahmavar,Kaup,Hebri Dakshina Kannada:Mangalore,Moodabidri,Bantwal,Belthangady,Sullia,Puttur,Kadaba |
| Area | |
• Total | 18,730 km2 (7,230 sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Kannada |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Vehicle registration | |
| Coastline | 320 km (200 mi) |
| Sex ratio | 1,040♂/♀ |
| Literacy |  87.03% (Highest in Karnataka) |
Kanara orCanara, also known asKarāvali, is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwesternKonkan coast of India, alongside theArabian Sea in the present-day Indian state ofKarnataka.[1] The subregion comprises three civil districts, namely:Uttara Kannada,Udupi, andDakshina Kannada.[2]Kasaragod was included prior to theStates Reorganisation Act.
According to historian Severino da Silva, the ancient name for this region isParashurama Srushti (creation ofParashurama).[3] According to him andStephen Fuchs, the nameCanara is the invention ofPortuguese,Dutch, andEnglish people who visited the area for trade from the early sixteenth century onwards. TheBednore Dynasty, under whose rule this tract was at that time, was known to them as the Kannada Dynasty, i.e., the dynasty speaking theKannada language. "Karāvalli", the Kannada word for 'coast', is the term used byKannada-speakers to refer to this region.[4] The letter 'd' being always pronounced like 'r' by theEuropeans, the district was named by them as 'Canara' (a corruption of the word "Kannada"). This name was retained by theBritish after their occupation of the district in 1799, and has remained ever since. However, they also say that this issue is controversial.[4]
Since antiquity, much of the Canara coast (now spelled as 'Kanara') occupied a culturally distinct area known asTulu Nadu.[5] Historically, Tulu Nadu lay between theGangavalli River in the north and theChandragiri River in the south.[6] Currently, Tulu Nadu consists of the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and theManjeshwaram taluk ofKerala.[7] The Uttara Kannada district in general is considered to be the southernmost part of theKonkan coast.[8] Specifically, the littoral region north of the Gangavalli River is traditionally included in the Konkan.[9]
The Portuguese occupied Kanara from 1498–1763. During this period, the geographical extent of Canara stretched from the southern banks of theKali River in Karwar in the north to the northern banks of the Chandragiri River inKasaragod in the south.[10]
In 1799, after the conclusion of theFourth Mysore War, theBritish took over the region and established the Canara district of theMadras Presidency. The district was bifurcated into the North and South Canara districts in 1859.[11] The North Canara (also sometimes cited as 'North Kanara') district was transferred to theBombay Presidency whereas theSouth Canara (also sometimes referred as 'South Kanara') district remained under the jurisdiction of theMadras Presidency. South Canara encompassed the undivided territory of the contemporaryUdupi,Dakshina Kannada, andKasaragod districts.[11]
After India's independence in 1947, theBombay Presidency was reconstituted as theBombay State. Following theStates Reorganisation Act, 1956, the southern portion ofBombay State was added toMysore State, which was renamedKarnataka in 1972. Kasaragod was included in Kerala.[12] Subsequently, North and South Canara were renamed Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada respectively. In 1997, Udupi district was carved out of the bigger Dakshina Kannada district.[12]
The Kanara region forms the coast ofKarnataka situated on the south-western portion ofPeninsular India.[13] Coastal Karnataka forms the northern segment of theMalabar coast.[14] Kanara constitutes an area of about 10,000 square kilometres (4,000 square miles).[15] It is bounded byKonkan to the north, theWestern Ghats to the east, theKeralaPlains to the south, and theArabian Sea to the west.[16] It stretches from north to south for about 225 kilometres (140 miles) and has a maximum width of about 64 kilometres (40 miles) in the south.[17]
Contemporary Kanara extends from the village ofMajali in the north to the village ofTalapady in the south.[10] The three districts in the region:Uttara Kannada,Udupi, andDakshina Kannada have their capitals inKarwar,Udupi, andMangalore respectively.[18]
The Kanara region have 3 Districts:Uttara Kannada,Udupi, andDakshina Kannada. The combined population of these districts, according to the2011 Census is about 47,04,179 .
The main languages that are closely associated with the Kanara region areKannada,Konkani andTulu.
^A Konkan is now held to include all the land which lies between the Western Ghats and the Indian Ocean, from the latitude of Daman on the north to that of Terekhol, on the Goa frontier, on the south.[19] Although most sources generally assign Kanara (Karavali) to the Malabar Coast,[15] some other sources consider it to be a subterritory of the Konkan Coast.[20] Consequently, this segment is thought to overlap the Konkan and Malabar Coast continuum;[16] and usually corresponds to the southernmost and northernmost stretches of these locales respectively.[21][17]
Coastal Karnataka, formerly called the Canara Coast, is the part of Indias southwestern coastline north of Kerala and south of Goa. [sic]
Popularly known as Canara region or Karavali...
From Goa south to Cape Comorin (the southernmost tip of India) is the Malabar coastal plain...
Malabar Coast...the southern part of India's western coast, approximately from the state of Goa southward...
Kanara, region along the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, western Karnataka state, India.
Karnataka Coast, coastal lowlands in western Karnataka state, southwestern India... it is bounded by Konkan to the north... The region forms a transitional zone between Maharashtra (north) and Kerala (south) states.
The coastal plain represents a northward continuation of the Malabar Coast...
Coastal Karnataka consists of three districts -Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. [sic]
The coastline of the Karnataka region was called Konkan (present-day Karavali) and runs from Thane... to Mangalore. Kanara (Canara or Canera...) is a subregion of Karnataka that forms the southern part of the Konkan coast...
The South of the river Narmada to Mangalore is known as Konkan coast...
