Kasaragod is the northernmost district of Kerala and is also known as Saptha Bhasha Sangama Bhoomi (The place where Seven languages meets)
The district is situated on the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats. It was a part of the Kannur district of Kerala until 24 May 1984. It also remains the last formed district of kerala to date. The district is bounded by Dakshina Kannada district to the north, Western Ghats to the northeast, Kodagu district to the southeast, Kannur district to the south, and the Arabian Sea to the west. Kasaragod district has the maximum number of rivers in Kerala - 12.[11]
Tulunad, where Tulu is traditionally spoken, is said to be bound on the south by the Chandragiri river and fort, thus including Kasaragod city within the Tulunad region.[13] Historian N. Shyam Bhat states that at present, the Tulu nadu can linguistically be said to extend to the south up to the river Chandragiri or Payaswini, and culturally up to the Kavvayi river in the south, as the region between the Chandragiri and Kavai (Kavvayi) rivers presents the characteristics of a twilight zone between the Malayalam and Tulu speaking areas.[14]
Kasargod is also the first district in India to have official symbols-official tree, flower, bird, species. [9]
Etymology
Until the 16th century CE, Kasargod town was known by the name Kāññirakkōṭŭ (meaning, 'The land of kāññira Trees') in Malayalam.[1]Kasaragod is the Kannada version of Kāññirakkōṭŭ.
The Ancient Tamil Works of Sangam Age records that the area covering the district was part of Puzhinadu, which consists of the coastal belt from Kozhikode to Mangalore. Politically the area was part of the Ezhimala Kingdom with its Capital at Ezhimala in present day Kannur district. The most famous King of Ezhimala was Nannan whose kingdom extended up to Gudalur and northern parts of Coimbatore. Poozhinad, along with Karkanad which included the eastern regions of Ezhimala dynasty (Wayanad-Gudalur region with some portions of Kodagu), had its capital at Ezhimala. The
Mooshaka Kings were considered descendants of Nannan. By the 14th century, Mooshaka Kingdom was known as Kolathirinad and the Rulers as Kolathiris.
The Kolathunad Kingdom at the peak of its power reportedly extended from
Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north[15] to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in Arabian Sea.[16]
Many Arab travelers visiting Kerala between the 9th and the 14th centuries visited Kasaragod, being an important trade centre then. Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese traveler who visited Kumbla, near Kasargod in 1514 recorded that rice being exported for coir to Maldives.[10] According to Barbosa, the people in the southwestern Malabar coast of India from Chandragiri in the north to Kanyakumari in the south spoke a unique language, which they called as "Maliama" (Malayalam).[20]
The Kolathiri Dominion emerged into independent 10 principalities i.e., Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor), Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions.[23] Many portions of the present-day Hosdurg taluk (Kanhangad) and Vellarikundu were parts of the Nileshwaram dynasty, who were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period.[24] The areas north to the Chandragiri river (present-day Taluks of Manjeshwaram and Kasaragod) were ruled by the Kumbala dynasty. According to local legends, the region between Talapadi and Kavvayi rivers which constituted the erstwhile Kasaragod taluk, consisted of 32 Tulu and 32 Malayalam villages.[22]
Kannada kingdoms focused on Kasaragod in the 16th century CE. The Vijayanagara empire attacked and annexed Kasaragod from the KolathiriRaja with Nileshwaram as one of the capital in the 16th century. During the decline of the Vijayanagara empire, the administration of this area was vested with Ikkeri Nayakas.[10] At the onset of collapse of the Vijayanagara empire, Venkappa Nayaka declared independence to Ikkery. Kumbla, Chandragiri, and Bekal are considered to be the chain of forts constructed or renovated by Shivappa Nayaka.[10]
Francis Buchanan, the family doctor of Arthur Wellesley, visited Kasaragod in 1800.[10] In his travelogue, he recorded information on places like Athiraparambu, Kavvai, Nileshwaram, Bekal, Chandragiri and Manjeshwar.[10]Hosdurg and Vellarikundu is part of Kolathunadu (south of Chandragiri river) and Kasargod and Manjeshwaram is in the Tulu Nadu region (north of Chandragiri river). On 19 January 1801, Francis speaks of visiting a Siva temple at Pulla (Pallikere), beyond which, the country rises into open rising lands, all the way to Chandragiri river and Chandragiri fort, which he describes as the northern border of the Malayala. He says that the country on the north of the Chandragiri fort and river is called by Hindus as Tuluva, the Tulu country.[26] According to Stuart (1895) “The Kasargod taluk originally formed the southern portion of the ancient Tulua kingdom and was separated from the kingdom of Kerala by the Chandragiri river which was formerly called “Perumpula”; the river on which the fort stands is shallow but very wide and formed the southern boundary of the ancient Tulva kingdom. The nayars and the other females of the Kasargod taluk of south Canara, are prohibited from crossing the river.”[27] In 1763, Hyder Ali raided Bedanoor (Bidnur), the capital of the Ikkery Naiks. His son Tippu Sultan raided much of Malabar region in Kerala. As per the Treaty of Seringapatam of 1792, Tippu surrendered Malabar, except Kanara to the British. The British occupied Kanara only after the death of Tippu Sultan.[10] it is said that Kinavoor Molom (Sree Dharma Shashtha Temple) is belonging to Karinthalam (one of 64 Brahmin villages in old Kerala).
Before the formation of Kerala, Kasargod was a part of South Canara district of erstwhile Madras Presidency. Initially South Canara was included in the Bombay presidency.[28] Later on 16 April 1862, South Canara was transferred to Madras Presidency and Kasaragod taluk was formed by replacing the erstwhile Bekal taluk.[28] However, in the 19th century CE, Kasargod Taluk witnessed many struggles to separate the region from South Canara and to merge it with the Malabar District as it was the only Malayalam-majority region in South Canara. Kasaragod was the second-most populated Taluk in South Canara only after to Mangalore taluk, and also the second-largest Taluk.[29] Kasargod became a part of Kannur district of Kerala following the reorganization of states and the formation of Kerala on 1 November 1956.[30] Later Kasargod was divided into two Taluks for the ease of administration - Kasargod and Hosdurg. Kasargod was declared a district in 1984. The inclusion of Kasaragod with Kerala has been a contentious issue as there is a sizeable population that speaks Tulu and Kannada. At the time of 1951 Census of India, only 72.0% of the district's population chose their mother tongue as Malayalam.[31] 14.2% chose Tulu and 6.3% chose Kannada.[31] But it is noted that as per the 2011 census report only 8.8% and 4.2% of the total population in the district speak Tulu and Kannada respectively as their mother tongue. In 2012, the Second Oommen Chandy ministry appointed a commission under the leadership the former Chief Secretary P. Prabhakaran to study about the backwardness and issues faced by this northernmost district of Kerala and to draw up special package for the district.[32] In 2013, two more Taluks, namely Manjeshwaram and Vellarikundu were formed in the district.[33]
The district is the northernmost district of the State of Kerala. Kasargod is located at 12°30′N75°00′E / 12.5°N 75.0°E / 12.5; 75.0.[34] It has an average elevation of 19 metres (62 feet). Ranipuram or Madathumala (1016m) peak is the highest peak in the Kasargod district of Kerala, located in the Ranipuram Wildlife Sanctuary.
Kasaragod district has the largest number of rivers in Kerala - 12.[11] All of them are west-flowing rivers.[35] The longest of them is Chandragiri River (105 km long). Kasaragod town is located on the estuary of Chandragiri river. It empties into the Arabian Sea at Thalangara.[35] The Chandragiri Fort is built on its bank. The river originates at Pattimala in Kodagu (Coorg).[35] The smallest river of Kerala is also in the district.
Kasargod district consists of two revenue subdivisions- Kasargod and Kanhangad. For sake of rural administration, 38 Gram Panchayats are combined in 6 Blocks, which together form the Kasargod District Panchayat. For the sake of urban administration, 3 municipal towns are there.[37]
Manjeshwaram and Kasargod subdistricts (Taluks) are included in the Kasaragod revenue subdivision whereas the remaining two Taluks are included in the Kanhangad subdivision.
Kasaragod district majorly consists of Malayalam speakers who form 82.69% of the population. Tulu and Kannada speakers concentrated in the Northern parts of the district like Manjeshwar, Uppala, Enmakaje, Badiyadka, Kumbla and Seethangoli form a significant linguistic minority with 8.77% and 4.23% each. Other languages spoken here include Marathi (1.76%) and Konkani (1.29%).[4]
Kasaragod district is the northernmost district of Kerala, which is far away from Thiruvananthapuram, the state headquarters, which is located in the southernmost tip of state. Manjeshwaram town is located about 600 km north of the state headquarters Thiruvananthapuram, about 30 km south of Mangalore, about 350 km west of Bangalore, the headquarters of the neighbouring state Karnataka, and about 950 km south of Mumbai city. In 2012, the Second Oommen Chandy ministry appointed a commission under the leadership of the former Chief Secretary P. Prabhakaran to study about the backwardness and issues faced by this northernmost district of Kerala and to draw up a special package for the district.[32] In 2013, two more taluks, namely Manjeshwaram and Vellarikundu were formed in the district.[33] Before it the district had only two Taluks. The decision to implement a gas-based powerplant at Cheemeni was taken by the second Chandy government.[60] A government medical college was allowed for Kasaragod district, as a part of the government's new policy to establish at ensure availability of at least one Government Medical College in all the 14 districts of the state in 2013.[61][62]
^ abAnnual Vital Statistics Report - 2018(PDF). Thiruvananthapuram: Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerala. 2020. p. 55. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^Bhat, N. Shyam (1998). South Kanara, 1799-1860, A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response. Mittal Publications. p. 6. ISBN9788170995869.
^Prange, Sebastian R. Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast. Cambridge University Press, 2018. 98.
^Pg 58, Cultural heritage of Kerala: an introduction, A. Sreedhara Menon, East-West Publications, 1978
^Barbosa, Duarte (1989). The Book of Duarte Barbosa: An Account of the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean and their inhabitants (Volume 2). Asian Educational Services. pp. 1–7. ISBN9788120604513. Per Barbosa, Malabar begins at the point where the kingdom of Narasyngua or Vijayanagar ends, that is at Cumbola (Cambola) on the Chandragiri river. But, as he (Barbosa) says, the Malayalam language extends as far north as the Chandragiri, and Malabar may be reckoned as extending south from this point to Cape Comorin.
M. K. Devassy (1965), 1961 Census Handbook- Cannanore District(PDF), Directorate of Census Operations, Kerala and The Union Territory of Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands