Karnataka

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Image:Mergefrom.gif It has been suggested that Divisions of Karnataka be merged into this article or section. ([[{{{2|: talk:Karnataka}}}|Discuss]])
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Karnātakā (ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ in Kannada) (IPA: /Template:IPA/) is one of the four southern states of India. The modern state of Karnataka came into existence with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act (1956), with the incorporation of districts under the dominion of Bombay, Hyderabad, Madras state and Coorg within the existing state of Mysore State. Karnataka's capital, Bangalore, is the only city in the state with a population of more than 6 million. Other major cities include Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Davanagere, Bellary and Belgaum. Kannada is the official language of the state. Karnataka is the 8th largest Indian state by area and 9th largest by population.

Neolithic habitation and celts dating back to the 2nd century BCE were first discovered in Karnataka in 1872. Megalithic structures and burial grounds were discovered in 1862 in the regions of Kodagu and Moorey Betta hills. By the third century BCE, most of Karnataka was part of the Mauryan Empire, ruled by Emperor Ashoka. In the first millennium CE, Karnataka was ruled by a series of Jain/Vaishnavite/Hindu Dynasties such as the Kadambas, the Ganga Dynasty and the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas. The Kannada Empire was expanded and consolidated by the Hoysala Empire and further by the Vijayanagara Empire, before the Mughal Conquest in the 18th century. The rule of the state changed hands from the Wodeyars to Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan before being incorporated into the British Raj, at the turn of the 19th century. Karnataka lies in the Deccan Plateau and borders with Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The state has a long standing border dispute with Maharashtra over the status of the district of Belgaum, and a dispute with Tamil Nadu over the release of water from the Kaveri River that flows through both states. A large proportion of Karnataka's economy, India's fifth largest, is agrarian. Bangalore, the fifth largest city in India, accounts for 35 percent of India's software exports, and is also a major base for public sector manufacturing industries. Karnataka is the only exporter of sandalwood in India. Bangalore also has the most amount of tourism of the region. The Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) was once the only producer of gold in the country. The gold mines in KGF are now closed.

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Origin of Name

Several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka. One accepted derivative comes from the Kannada words karu and nādu meaning elevated land. During the British Raj, the words Carnatic or Karnatak were used to desribe the region of southern India in general. Another etymological derivative of the name comes from lear or black — a reference to the black cotton soil of the region Template:Inote. The use of the term is of considerable antiquity, mentioned as far back as the fifth century CE, by the astrologer Varaha Mihira. Historically, the names Karnatak or Carnatic have been misapplied to refer to the regions below the Western Ghats (Coorg and Kerala) as well as regions in present day Andhra Pradesh (Telingana)Template:Inote. Mysore state was renamed Karnataka in 1973.

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History

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Image:Belur4.jpgEvidence of Neolithic habitation of areas in modern Karnataka and celts dating back to the 2nd century BCE were first discovered in 1872. There are reports that a polished stone axe was discovered at Lingsugur in the Raichur district; however the authenticity of these reports remains unverifiable. Template:Inote Megalithic structures and burial grounds were discovered in 1862 in the regions of Kodagu and Moorey Betta hills, while Neolithic sites were discovered in north Karnataka. Scholarly hypothesis postulates of contacts between the Indus Valley city of Harappa in 3000 BCE, citing the discovery of gold found in the Harappan sites that was imported from mines in Karnataka. Template:Inote In the third century BCE, most of Karnataka was part of the Mauryan Empire, ruled by Emperor Ashoka. Rock edicts of Ashoka, written in Prakrit, were discovered in Chirtradurga and Raichur. In the 4th century BCE, a local dynasty called Satavahana came to power and its rule lasted nearly 3 centuries. The disintegration of the Satavahana dynasty led to the ascent of the Banavasi Kadambas(325-540 CE) in north Karnataka, and the Ganga Dynasty (325-550 CE) in the south of the region. These were the first kingdoms to give official status to Kannada language as evidenced by the Halmidi inscription of 450 A.D., attributed to King Kakusthavarma of the Kadamba dynasty. Also, recent discovery of 5th century A.D. copper coin in Banavasi, ancient capital of the Kadambas, with Kannada script inscription on it, further proves the usage of Kannada at an official level.[1]

They continued their rule as feduciaries of larger empires such as the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas for another six hundred years, during which time Kannada literature and a new style of architecture called the vesara style was born and evolved. Eclectic Chalukyan style temples in Pattadakal, Aihole, Badami, Ellora and Gadag were conceived during this time. Nripa Kama established the Hoysala Empire at the turn of the millennium. Art and architecture flourished in the region during the time that resulted in the construction of temples and sculptures in Halebid and Belur. The expansion of the Hoysala Empire brought parts of modern Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu under their rule. In the 14th century the Vijayanagar Empire was established by Harihara and Bukka Raya, sons of the last Hoysala King Veera Ballala III, with its capital at Hampi. The Vijayanagara Kings fostered traditions and encouraged arts, religion and literature in Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu. The Bahmani sultans of Gulbarga and the Adil Shahi sultans of Bijapur ruled over the region after the defeat and disintegration of the Vijayanagara Empire in battle. The Bahamani rules encouraged Urdu and Persian literature and Islamic architecture. The Gol Gumbaz was constructed during this time. With the defeat of the Bahmani sultans, the entire region came into the dominion of the Mughal Empire.

Image:Mysorepalace.jpgThe Wodeyars of Mysore, former vassals of the Vijayanagara Empire, leased the state from the Mughal king Aurangzeb in the 15th century. With the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, Haider Ali, the Commander-in-Chief of the Mysore Army, assumed control over the region, until the rule of the kingdom was passed to Tipu Sultan, after Haider Ali's death. In attempting to contain European expansion in South India, Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore fought four significant Anglo-Mysore Wars, the last of which resulted in his death and the incorporation of Mysore into the British Raj. After Indian independence, the Wodeyar Maharaja acceded to India. In 1950, Mysore became an Indian state, and the former Maharaja became its rajpramukh, or governor, until 1975. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 provided for parts of Coorg, Madras, Hyderabad, and Bombay states to be incorporated into the state of Mysore. Mysore state was renamed Karnataka in 1973.

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Geography

Karnataka is situated in the Deccan Plateau and is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the east and southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. It is situated at the angle where the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats of South India converge into the Nilgiri Hills.

The state has three principal physical zones;

  • The coastal strip, between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, which is lowland, with moderate to high rainfall levels. This strip is around 320 km in length and 48-64 km wide.
  • The Western Ghats, a mountain range inland from the Arabian Sea, rising to about 900m average height, and with moderate to high rainfall levels.
  • The Deccan Plateau, comprising the main inland region of the state, which is drier and verging on the semi-arid. The humidity in these plains or maidans never exceeds 50 percent.

Karnataka has one of the highest average elevations of Indian states at 1,500 feet. The highest recorded temperature was 45.6 C (114.08 F) at Raichur on May 23, 1928. The lowest recorded temperature was 2.8 C (37.04 F) at Bidar on December 16, 1918. Template:Ref

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Districts

see article Districts of Karnataka

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Language

Language was the so called basis for the formation of the Indian states after independence and the present day Karnataka was formed by unifying minority Kannada speaking regions from the many districts of erstwhile Madras State (present day Tamil Nadu), erstwhile Bombay presidency (present day Maharashtra) and the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad (present day Andhra Pradesh) to the former Kingdom of Mysore, known as the Mysore State (post independence) around the years 1950-1957. In 1973, the Mysore State was officially christened as Karnataka. There are a total of 27 districts. The languages of Karnataka are kannada, urdu, Kodava Takk, Tulu and Sankethi. Kannada is the imposed official language of the state. Other languages also spoken by linguistic minorities are Marathi, Konkani, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam

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Economy

Image:Bangalore HighCourt.jpg Karnataka's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $43 billion in current prices.

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Agriculture and Industry

Over 90% of India's gold production comes from south Karnataka. Recently there has been a lot of activity in the extraction of manganese ore from the districts of Bellary and Hospet. Karnataka is the largest producer of coffee, raw silk and sandalwood based products like perfumes and 75% of Indian floriculture industry is located in Karnataka.

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Information technology

Karnataka is one of the most industrialised states in India. Its capital, Bangalore has become a major worldwide hub of the Information Technology industry and is the IT capital of India producing approximately 35% of India's software. It is dubbed as the Silicon Valley of India with more than 50% of all software companies based here. Bangalore has approximately 40% of India's Biotechnology companies. Also, Bangalore is one of the fast growing cities in the world with more than 6 million people and is considered the only truly global city in the country.

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Music

Karnataka gave the world carnatic music. The Kannada haridasa movement sowed the seeds of this art in the 13th-15th century AD. With the rise of Vaishnavism and the Haridasa movement came Karnataka composers like Purandaradasa, whose Kannada language works were complex, devotional and philosophical. Other haridasas of medeval times were Kanakadasa, Vijayadasa and Jagannathadasa. One of the earliest and prominent composers in South India was the saint, and wandering divine singer of yore Purandara Dasa (1480-1564 AD). Purandara Dasa is believed to have composed 475,000 songs in Kannada and was a source of inspiration to the later composers like Tyagaraja. He also invented the tala system of Carnatic music. Owing to his contribution to the Carnatic Music he is referred to as the Father of Carnatic Music or Karnataka Sangeethada Pitamaha. Karnataka has achieved a prominent place in the world of Hindusthani music as well. Some famous performers are Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Madhava Rao Nayak, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur, Basavaraj Rajguru and Gangubai Hangal.

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Literature

Kannada has had an unbroken literary tradition of atleast 1500 years. Though the earliest extant book on Kannada literature is Kavirajamarga 850AD, references made in this book refer back to early Kannada literature of 6th century. For information on Kannada and Sanskrit classics and writers through the span of Kannada kingdoms, please refer to Karnataka Literature. Chudamani (a 96,000 verse-measures), a commentary on logic Tatwarthamahashastra by Tambulacharya belonged to the 7th century.

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Religion

Image:Karnataka Population.pngKarnataka played a very important role in shaping present day Indian religion and philosohpy. Udupi, Sringeri, Gokarna and Melkote are well known places of Sanskrit learning.

The great saint Madhvacharya (1238-1317 AD), proponent of dvaita philosophy and Raghavendra Swamy (1601-1671 AD) were born here. Adi Sankara (8th century AD), proponent of advaita found enlightenment in Sringeri which became the first of four mathas he established in India. Ramanujacharya (1017-1137 AD) fearing persecution from the Tamil Cholas fled Tamil Nadu and came to Karnataka during the rule of the Hoysala dynasty and preached his philosophy from Melkote.

In the 12th century AD, Virashaivism spread from northern Karnataka across the Deccan. Many of its founders, such as Basavanna came from the region.

It was here the Jain religion got a warm welcome and enjoyed a glorious growth during the medieval period. It is also here where the current day Dzogchen Monastery and the Dhondeling Tibetan Refugee camps are setup and the Tibetans are very well absorbed in the kannadiga culture.

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Natural areas

Karnataka is home to several national parks, including Bandipur National Park in Mysore District, Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore, Nagarhole National Park in Mysore and Kodagu districts, Kudremukh National Park in Dakshina Kannada and Chickmagalur districts, Dandeli & Anshi National Park in Uttara Kannada district, Gudavi and Mandegadde bird sanctuaries and Sharavati WLS in Shimoga district, B.R Hills WLS in Chamarajanagar district, Rangantittu bird sanctuary in Mandya district, Brahmagiri and Pushpagiri WL sanctuaries in Kodagu district. There are other wildlife sanctuaries and nature preserves as well.

Recently, UNESCO has been considering designating some areas like Kudremukh NP as UN world heritage site for its natural beauty. As such, the Western Ghats that runs south-north through the state is considered as one among the twenty five bio-diversity hotspots of the world.

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Water Falls and Caves

Image:Jog Falls, India - August 2004.jpg Jog falls of Shimoga District is one of the highest waterfalls in Asia. Karnataka is famous for its waterfalls. Some well known ones are Magod falls, Lalgulli falls, Sathodi falls, Unchalli falls, Lushington falls, Shivaganga falls, Ulavi falls, Iruppu falls, Shivanasamudra falls, Balmuri falls, Gokak falls, Abbe falls, Achakanya falls, Chunchanakatte Falls, Hebbe falls, Kallathigiri falls, Vajrapoha falls, Sogal falls, Godchinamalaki falls etc. In fact the waterfalls of Karnataka and Kudremukh National Park are listed as must see places in Michael Bright's 1001 Natural Wonders of the World, by Barrons Educational Series Inc., published by Quinted Inc., 2005.

Some well known caves in Karnataka are Yana caves and Kavala caves and Syntheri rocks in Uttara Kannada district, Sugriva's cave in Hampi holds similarity to the descriptions of 'Kishkinda' in the epic Ramayana, hundreds of caves in Basava Kalyana in Bidar district.

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Eco-Tourism

Karnataka boasts of the highest elephant and Gaur bison population (greater than 6000 & 8000 respectively) in India. Its forests hold some of the largest remaining populations of the endangered tiger and leopard. Th Niligiri Biosphere Reserve (also a designated UNESCO Biosphere reserve) is located at the junction of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerela. Nagarahole WLS and Bandipur NP in Karnataka fall in this region. Eco-tourism is a very popular activity in the state. Karnataka leads other states in eco-tourism. 'Jungle Lodges & Resorts', a state run organization has camping and safari facilities in several wildlife sanctuaries. Private safari providers have sprung up in several places along the western ghats.[2] Several NGO's (youth groups) are actively involved in birding and other conservation activities.

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Youth Activities

Karnataka is a rock climbers paradise. Yana in Uttara Kannada, Ramnagara near Bangalore district, Shivagange in Tumkur district and tekal in Kolar district are a rock climbers heaven. A climbing academy has been formed in Ramnagara called General Thimmaiah Rock Climbing Academy.ngo like nisarga organisation for wildlife and adenture academy,based in bangalore.{nisargaindia@gmail.com}organising eco-tourism,adventure activities and wildlife tour.

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Sun and Sea

Image:Mangalore fishing.JPG Karnataka is blessed with over 300kms of pristine coastal stretch. Nethrani Island of Uttara Kannada is well known for coral reefs. St. Mary's Island, a few kilometers from Udupi is famous for its basalt rock formations. Sunny beaches at places like Maple, Murdeshwara, Maravanthe, Gokarna, Kumta are complimented by spectacular mountains slightly to the east. Agumbe, Kodachadri hills, Kemmangundi, are just a few of many hill stations that straddle the coast providing tourists the best of sun and greenery. Unlike many crowded hill stations in South India, the hill stations of Karnataka are still mostly undiscovered and pristine.

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See also

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References

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External links

Karnataka Dailies and Media

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