Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State.
Geography
Kodagu is located on the eastern slopes of the
Western Ghats. It has a geographical area of .
The district is bordered by Dakshina Kannada district to the northwest,
Hassan district to the north,
Mysore district to the east,
Kasaragod district of Kerala in west and
Kannur district of
Kerala to the southwest, and
Wayanad district of Kerala to the south. It is a hilly district, the lowest
elevation being above sea-level near makutta. The highest peak,
Tadiandamol, rises to , with Pushpagiri, the second highest, at . The main river in Kodagu is the
Kaveri (Cauvery), which originates at
Talakaveri, located on the eastern side of the Western Ghats, and with its tributaries, drains the greater part of Kodagu.
Rivers (mouth)
Peaks
Rainfall
Kodagu district receives majority of its rainfall from
Monsoon winds. It is the 4th highest average annual rainfall receiving district in
Karnataka. The amount of rainfall varies significantly due to the effects of El-nino and La-nina.
In the year 2018, Kodagu received 29% excess rainfall of ,
In the year 2022, Kodagu received 11% Above-Normal rainfall of .
In the year 2023, it received 38% deficit rainfall of .
Forest
Kodagu is known for its dense forest cover and the exotic flora and fauna found there. It has three wildlife sanctuaries; Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary and Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, one National Park; the Nagarahole National Park and the only private sanctuary of India; the
SAI Sanctuary.
Kodagu is home for species endemic to the Western Ghats. It has large tiger and elephant populations as well. As per the elephant census of 2023, Kodagu with 1,013 elephants, had nearly one-sixth of total elephant population in Karnataka, second only to Chamarajanagar.
Agriculture
Economy of Kodagu is dependent on agriculture. Major crops grown here are Paddy,
Coffee, Rubber, Pepper, Cardamom,
Coorg orange and Honey production.
Tea, Ginger and Cocoa are also grown in smaller quantities.
Coffee and pepper production
Kodagu is the largest Coffee and Pepper producing district in
India. Karnataka produces nearly 70% of the total Coffee production in India, out of which 33% is contributed by Kodagu district alone.
Also Kodagu produces nearly a quarter of India's Black Pepper.
Representation
Two members of the legislative assembly are elected from Kodagu to the
Karnataka Legislative Assembly, one each from the
Madikeri and
Virajpet. Dr. Mantar Gowda represents the Madikeri constituency while A.S Ponnanna represents the Virajpet constituency; they are from the Indian National Congress. Kodagu, formerly part of the Kodagu-Dakshina Kannada (Mangalore) constituency, is now part of the Mysore-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency parliamentary constituency. The current MP for this constituency is Shri Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Codava National Council and Kodava Rashtriya Samiti are campaigning for autonomy to Kodagu district which would have made Coorg more prosperous and independent.
History
The
Kodava people were the earliest inhabitants and agriculturists in Kodagu, having lived there for centuries. Kodavas being a warrior community as well, they carried arms during times of war and had their own chieftains.
The earliest mention about Coorg can be seen in the works those date back to Sangam period (300 BCE - 300 CE). The Ezhimala dynasty had jurisdiction over two Nadus - The coastal Poozhinadu and the hilly eastern Karkanadu.[A Shreedhara Menon, A Survey of Kerala history] According to the works of Sangam literature, Poozhinadu consisted much of the coastal belt between Mangalore and Kozhikode.
The Haleri dynasty, an offshoot of the Keladi Nayakas, ruled Kodagu between 1600 and 1834. Later the British ruled Kodagu from 1834, after the Coorg War, until India's independence in 1947. A separate state (called Coorg State) until then, in 1956 Kodagu was merged with the Mysore State (now Karnataka).
Coorg in British India
In 1834, the East India Company annexed Kodagu into
British India, after deposing Chikka Virarajendra of the Kodagu kingdom, as 'Coorg'.
British rule led to the establishment of educational institutions, introduction of scientific coffee cultivation, better administration and improvement of the economy.
This reference notwithstanding - we should remember that the colonial rule by the British in India was about exploitation of resources and Kodagu provided a lot of scope for economic benefits to a colonising empire.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census of India, Kodagu has a population of 554,519,
roughly equal to the
Solomon Islands or the US state of
Wyoming.
This ranks it 539 out of 640 districts in India in terms of population.
The district has a population density of .
Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 1.13%.
Kodagu has a sex ratio of 1019 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 82.52%. 14.61% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 13.27% and 10.47% of the population respectively.
Religion
Hindus are the vast majority. They include the Kodava people, other Kodava language speakers, Arebhashe Gowdas, Brahmins, most Yeravas and Kurubas.
A huge minority of Muslims dot the Coorg district, especially the towns of
Kushalanagar,
Virajpet and
Madikeri. A sizeable of them are the
who shifted in the eighties from
Bhatkal and
Murdeshwar in order to pursue coffee & arecanut plantations and textile business. The numerous mosque dotting the landscape is the testimony of Muslim presence in the district.
A small number of Mangalorean Catholics are also found in Coorg. They are mostly descended from those Konkani people Catholics who fled the roundup and, later, captivity by Tippu Sultan. These immigrants were welcomed by Raja Veerarajendra (himself a former captive of Tippu Sultan, having escaped six years of captivity in 1788) who realising their usefulness and expertise as agriculturists, gave them lands and tax breaks and built a church for them.[ Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians, Alan Machado Prabhu, I.J.A. Publications, 1999, p. 229]
Language
At the time of the 2011 census, 30.91% of the population spoke
Kannada, 20.83%
Malayalam, 14.86%
Kodava language, 8.92%
Tulu language, 5.81% Are, 4.66%
Ravula language, 4.23%
Tamil language, 2.95%
Urdu, 1.74%
Kurumba language, 1.55%
Telugu language and 1.16%
Konkani language as their first language.
Are Bhashe, a dialect of Kannada language, Tulu language and Kodava language are native to Kodagu district. Kodava Language uses the Official Script Invented by Dr IM Muthanna in 1970.[K S Rajyashree, Kodava speech community : An ethnolinguistic study]
Kodava people and other Kodava language speakers
According to
Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy (Karnataka's Kodava Literary Academy), apart from Kodavas, and their related groups, the
Amma Kodavas, the Kodava
Peggade (Kodagu Heggade) and the Kodava
Maaple (
Maaple), 18 other smaller-numbered ethnic groups speak Kodava Takk in and outside the district including the
Iri (
Airi, or the carpenters and the village smiths), the
Koyava, the
Banna, the Kodagu
Madivala (washermen), the Kodagu
Hajama (barber, also called Nainda), the
Kembatti Holeya (household servants and labourers) and the
Meda (basket and mat weavers and drummers).
Among other Kodava speaking communities are: the Heggades, cultivators from shimogga; the Kodava Nair, cultivators from Kerala State; the Ayiri, who constitute the artisan caste; the Medas, who are basket and mat-weavers and act as drummers at feasts; the Binepatta, originally wandering musicians from Malabar, now farmers; and the Kavadi, cultivators settled in Yedenalknad (Virajpet). All these groups speak the Kodava language and conform generally to Kodava customs and dress.
Kodagu Arebhashe Gowda
Less frequent are Tulu speakers
,
Mogaveeras, Bunts, Goud Saraswat Brahmins.
The Arebhashe gowdas,[[1] ] called "sullia"[South Kanara, 1799–1860 By N. Shyam Bhatt] ( Amara Sulya Dhange
Tourism
Kodagu is rated as one of the top hill station destinations in India. Some of the most popular tourist attractions in Kodagu include Talakaveri, Bhagamandala, Nisargadhama,
Abbey Falls,
Dubare, Nagarahole National Park,
Irupu Falls, and the Tibetan Buddhist Golden Temple.
-
Talakaveri is the place where the River Kaveri originates.
-
Madikeri is the capital of the district and Raja's Seat park is popular with tourists.
-
Dubare is mainly an elephant-capturing and training camp of the Forest Department at the edge of Dubare forest; on the bank of the river Kaveri along the Kushalanagara – Siddapura road.
-
Abbey Falls is a scenic waterfall 5 km from Madikeri. Mallalli falls is 25 km from Somawarapet, downhill of the Pushpagiri hills.
Notable people
Armed Forces
-
Air Marshal K. C. Cariappa
-
Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa,
-
Squadron Leader Ajjamada Boppayya Devayya, fighter pilot
-
Mangerira Chinnappa Muthanna, soldier
-
Biddanda Chengappa Nanda, soldier
-
Bansi Ponnappa, soldier.
-
Kodandera Subayya Thimayya, head of Indian Army
-
Pattacheruvanda C. Thimayya, soldier
Sports
-
Len Aiyappa - Indian field hockey player.
-
Neravanda Aiyappa - Cricketer
-
K. P. Appanna - Cricketer
-
Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
-
K. C. Cariappa, professional cricketer
-
Joshna Chinappa - Indian squash player
-
M. P. Ganesh (Mollera Poovaiah Ganesh), Indian hockey captain, player and coach
-
B. P. Govinda (Billimoga Puttaswamy Govinda), Indian hockey player
-
Arjun Halappa, Indian hockey captain and player
-
Ashwini Nachappa, Indian athlete, Arjuna awardee
-
Jagat and Anita Nanjappa - motor racers
-
Ashwini Ponnappa, Indian badminton player
-
V. R. Raghunath (Vokkaligara Ramachandra Raghunath), Indian hockey player
-
M. M. Somaya (Maneyapanda Muthanna Somaya) - Indian field hockey player.
-
A. B. Subbaiah (Anjaparavanda Bopaiah Subbaiah) - Indian field hockey goalkeeper and coach.
-
S. V. Sunil (Somwarpet Vittalacharya Sunil), Indian hockey player
-
Robin Uthappa, Indian Cricketer
Politics
-
K. G. Bopaiah (Kombarana Ganapathy Bopaiah), 18th Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly
-
Prema Cariappa, first woman Mayor of Bangalore, Rajya Sabha MP
-
Madikeri
-
Gundugutti Manjanathaya, freedom fighter and politician
-
A. S. Ponnanna, Virajpet MLA
-
C M Poonacha (Cheppudira Muthanna Poonacha) Gandhian, Freedom fighter, politician.
-
Appachu Ranjan, politician
-
R. Gundu Rao, Chief Minister of Karnataka
-
N. Somanna (Nidyamale Somanna), lawyer and politician
Cinema
Civil Services
-
A. S. Bopanna, Judge of Supreme court
-
Diwan Bahadur Ketoli Chengappa, administrator (Chief Commissioner of Coorg province)
-
B. B. Ashok Kumar, Retd. Assistant Commissioner of Police of Bengaluru
-
P. K. Monnappa, first Inspector General of Police of Hyderabad State following Operation Polo
-
C. B. Muthamma, first woman officer Indian Foreign Service
-
C. G. Somiah was the first IAS Officer from Coorg to rise to be the Home Secretary, Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and Comptroller and Auditor General.
Religion
-
Swami Narayanananda
-
Kalyatanda Ponnappa (c.1600) religious leader and warrior
-
Swami Shambhavananda
-
Appayya Swamigalu (1885–1956), (born of Kodava parents) founder of Kaveri Ashram.
Literature
-
Nadikerianda Chinnappa, folklore compiler
-
B D Ganapathy
-
Appachcha Kavi (also called Appachu Kavi), playwright
-
I. M. Muthanna author and translator
-
Boverianda Nanjamma and Chinnappa, translators, authors
Others
-
Pandyanda Belliappa (also called Pandianda Belliappa or P I Belliappa) Gandhian, Freedom fighter, politician, journalist.
-
Biddu is a Kodava (Coorgi) by birth. He is a British Indian musician and winner of Grammy award.
-
Saleem Farook, tribal rights activist
-
Guddemane Appaiah Gowda, 19th century freedom fighter
-
Kodagina Gowramma, noted writer
-
N. S. Narendra, Firepro founder
-
Nima Poovaya-Smith, museum curator, art historian and writer
See also
-
Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary
Further reading
-
Belliappa, C. P. Tale of a Tiger's Tail & Others Yarns from Coorg. English.
-
Belliappa, C. P. Victoria Gowramma. English.
-
Bopanna, P. T. Kodagu: Mungaru Maleya Vismayada Nadu/ Discover Coorg. Kannada/ English.
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Bopanna, P. T. Coorg State: Udaya-Pathana / Coorg State. Kannada/ English.
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Ganapathy, B. D. Kodagu mattu Kodavaru. Kannada. 1962.
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Ganapathy, B. D. Nanga Kodava. Kodava. 1973.
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Kushalappa, Mookonda. "The early Coorgs". Chennai: Notion Press. 2013.
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Kushalappa, Mookonda. "Long ago in Coorg". Chennai: Pothi books. 2014.
-
Dervla Murphy. On a Shoestring to Coorg.
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Puttur Anantharaja Gowda (2015). IN PURSUIT OF OUR ROOTS Bengaluru: Tenkila Publications
-
N Prabhakaran. Kutaku kurippukal (Coorg Notes). Kannur: Kairali Books.
External links
