Karnataka is
etymologically said to be derived from the word KaruNadu or loft land referring
to the topography of the state. The Kannada speaking population that
constitutes the majority in the state has a rich civilization and by many
accounts is one of the oldest languages in the country. At its peak, the
Kannada speaking population ranged to northern borders of current state of
Maharashtra to the northern part of current Uttarandhra to southern reaches of
Tamil Nadu. Chalukyas under Pulkeshi II defeated Harsha of Kannauj on the banks
of Narmada. Rashtrakutas reigned over Northern Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Gangas and Hoysalas ruled over South Karnataka while Kadambas too had their
rule in most parts of Karnataka. The Vijayanagara
dynasty spread from Goa to Andhra with Hampi being one of the most prominent
cities in the world.
By the time
British consolidated power in India by 1857, the Kannada speaking population
was divided across many provinces. Post British victory over Tippu Sultan, the
British took control over the coastal regions and named it Canara District. With
passage of time the districts were divided into two districts North Canara and
South Canara for administrative reasons. The North went to the Bombay province
while the South went with Madras province. The districts of Bijapur, Dharwad
and Belgaum were part of Bombay presidency. Gulbarga Bidar, Raichur were part
of Nizam’s rule. Bellary was part of Madras province. The rest of the districts
were part of the Princely state of Mysore. Coorg was a Chief Commissioner’s province
post deposition of the last king.
This continued
past independence of 1947. There was increasing movement across the country for
reorganizing the states on linguistic basis for administrative convenience. The
movement took a sharp and violent turn in the Telugu speaking regions to call
for unified state of Andhra Pradesh. The demand was granted finally in 1954.
Bellary, instead of being part of Andhra along with its neighbouring districts
was handed over the Mysore state. Once the demand for Andhra was granted, it
opened a Pandora’s Box. The solution was constitution of Fazal Ali commission
to reorganize the states on linguistic basis.
Fazal Ali
commission recognized the need for Kannada speaking population to be integrated
in a single state. It recognized their history and thus the justification for
reunification into a single state of Karnataka. Therefore it suggested the
Kannada speaking regions of other provinces to be merged with Mysore state. Post-independence,
the Mysore kingdom became the Mysore province to which Bellary was merged with
in 1954. There were of course misgivings in Mysore over the feasibility of the non-Mysore
Kannada speaking regions being merged with the state. It had more to do with
possible structural changes in the power equations. At the same time, there was
increasing pressure from the Kannada speaking districts in Bombay and Andhra
Pradesh for speedy merger with Mysore state. Fazal Ali Commission had
recommended the merger of Bijapur, Dharwad and North Canara districts of Bombay
State to be merged in toto with Mysore. Belgaum too would be merged with Mysore
but the Marathi majority Chandgad taluk would remain with Bombay state.
Gulbarga and Raichur districts would merge with Karnataka. They were part of
Andhra Pradesh having joined there from the Nizam’s state of Hyderabad. Parts
of Bellary district was supposed to transfer back to Hyderabad but it never
took off. Bidar was proposed to be retained in Hyderabad state but later
reorganized. Few taluks including district headquarters of Bidar were transferred
to Karnataka, while some taluks went with Bombay state with a couple of others
remaining with Andhra Pradesh. However, in the final result, a couple of taluks
each in Raichur and Gulbarga districts remained with Andhra Pradesh.
Kolar though
Telugu majority remained with Karnataka for economic reasons. Coorg till then a
Part C state was merged with Mysore state. South Canara was transferred from Madras
state to Mysore state. Gundlupet taluk of Coimbatore district of Madras state
owing it to be Kannada majority was made part of Mysore state. However,
Kasargod district of Madras state remained with Madras despite being Kannada
majority. Similarly Akkalkot and parts of Solapur from Bombay state were not
merged with Karnataka.
No sooner than
new Mysore state was announced, there was dispute over Belgaum. Bombay wanted
Belgaum to be part of Bombay state. The dispute continues till date though in
practice it is on the backburner. The Mysore province was renamed as Karnataka
on November 1, 1973. The purpose of the post was to be a primer for background
of Karnataka formation. The present contours of Karnataka are an outcome of the
struggle pre and post-independence.
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