Dakshina Kannada
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Image:DakshinaKannada.pngDakshina Kannada, also called South Kannada, South Kanara, or South Canara, is a coastal district of India's Karnataka state. It is bordered by the districts of Udupi to the north, Chikkamagaluru to the northeast, Hassan District to the east, Kodagu to the southeast, and Kasaragod in Kerala to the south. The Arabian Sea bounds it on the west. Mangalore is the capital and chief city of the district.
The population of the district is 1,896,403 (2001 census). 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 and Udupi districts are often called Tulu Nadu, as Tulu is the majority language in the region.
Background
Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts were together called Kannada district before independence. It's still a mystery how this region came to known as Kannada district when in reality, it has the least Kannada in the whole of Karnataka. The mainstream Kannada speakers are a minority in these districts. However, three dialects of Kannada, namely Havyaka, Kundapura kannada and Are Bhashe are spoken along with majority Tulu and Konkani languages. Also, a sizeable population of Muslims, the Byaris, speak a dialect of Malayalam.
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 Udupi taluk of Udupi district.