Amazing Karnataka

Karnataka

I

INTRODUCTION

Karnataka, state, southern India, bordered on the north and north-east by Maharashtra and Goa states, on the east by Andhra Pradesh State, on the south by Tamil Nadu and Kerala states, and on the west by the Arabian Sea. Karnataka (meaning “lofty land”) was known until 1972 as Mysore State. It was created in 1956 under the States Reorganization Act to bring together the Kannada-speaking people, and comprises the old princely state of Mysore, plus parts of the former states of Coorg, Bombay, Hyderabad, and Madras. The area of Karnataka is 191,791 sq km (74,051 sq mi). The state capital is Bangalore.

II

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Karnataka has four main physiographic regions: the coastal plains, the hills of the Western Ghats, the undulating Karnataka Plateau in the east, and the north-west cotton-growing region. The coast is lush and only easily accessible by sea. The Western Ghats are well forested, with many waterfalls and abundant wildlife. The Karnataka Plateau has poor soils and suffers periodic droughts. Karnataka's three main rivers, the Cauvery, the Krishna, and the Tungabhadra, originate in the plateau.

III

POPULATION

Karnataka has a population of 52,733,958 (2001). Bangalore, known as “the garden city”, has a population of 4,292,223 (2001). Mysore is the state's other important city. The Kannada people are descendants of the Dravidians, the inhabitants of India prior to Aryan invasion. Kannada, the official language of Karnataka, is spoken by more than 70 per cent of the population; English and Hindi are often used for business. Hinduism is the main religion. Buddhism and Jainism were once widespread and still survive in some areas. Karnataka has a rich heritage of music, literature, art, architecture, and folklore, encouraged by and reflecting the achievements of the successive dynasties which ruled the region. Sravana Belgola, near Mysore, contains notable examples of Mauryan architecture. Huge stone figures representing Jain saints are unique to the Kannada culture. The Bayalata (open air folk theatre) presents tales from the ancient epics.

IV

ECONOMY

Agriculture provides over 50 per cent of Karnataka's income and is the occupation of 80 per cent of its population. The coastal plains are intensively cultivated; rice and sugar cane are the major crops. There are coffee and tea plantations on the Western Ghats; 90 per cent of India's coffee comes from Karnataka. The forests of the Western Ghats are the source of most of the world's sandalwood. The Karnataka plains have abundant hydroelectric resources, and produce a variety of crops under irrigation. Karnataka also has rich mineral resources. It is India's sole producer of gold, its main producer of chromite and, with Tamil Nadu State, the only source of manganesite. These mineral resources, which also include iron, mica, and copper, provided the foundation of Karnataka's industrial development. Bangalore is now the industrial hub of India, second only to Mumbai (formerly Bombay), and, through its thriving computer software industry, is sometimes known as “India's Silicon Valley”. Other important industries include telecommunications, aircraft manufacture, light engineering, and silk products. Mysore is an important silk centre.

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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Karnataka is one of the few states to retain a bicameral legislature. The Legislative Council (upper house) has 75 seats and the Legislative Assembly (lower house), 225. Karnataka sends 40 members to the Indian national parliament—12 to the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and 28 to the Lok Sabha (lower house). At the 1999 general election, the Indian National Congress won the majority of the 28 Lok Sabha seats. There are 21 local government administrative districts. Rivalry between the dominant group of the north, the Lingayats, and the southern Vokkaligas runs through state politics. Following elections in 1989, the Congress (I) party formed the state government.

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HISTORY

The recorded history of the region of modern-day Karnataka dates back more than 2,000 years. Its situation as a border territory is reflected in the temple architecture, which shows a mixture of north Indian and Dravidian styles, and also later Muslim influence. The Vijayanagar Empire (1336-1646) fostered the arts and religion, and literature in Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil. Overseas trade flourished during this period. During the late 18th century maladministration by the wadiyar, the royal family of the princely state of Mysore, led to the usurpation of power by the military adventurer Haidar Ali. On the death of his son Tipu Sahib in 1799, Mysore came under British influence. The British restored wadiyar rule. With the exception of the period from 1831 to 1881, when a British commissioner was appointed, the wadiyars administered the state, latterly as governors, until the territorial reorganization of the 1950s. In the 1980s, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites were designated in Karnataka: the temples and palaces of Hampi, the old capital city of the Vijayanagar kingdom (1986; inscribed on the list of World Heritage in Danger in 1999) and the architectural complex of Hindu temples at Pattadakal (1987).