1. Karnataka-Introduction

Origin and Extent  :

This  land  used  to  be  called  ‘Karunadu’  (kar+nadu =  a  land  of  black  soil, black cotton soil found in the Bayaluseeme region of Karnataka

The ancient Tamil work ‘Shilappadikaram’ refers to karnataka as ‘Karunat’, which means the land which is on an elevated plateau.

Nrupatunga’s grammatical work Kavirajamarga mentions that Karnataka extended from the Cauvery river up to the Godavari river.

 Post Independence

Kannada-speaking regions in Bombay, Hyderabad, Madras and Kodagu provinces were brought together and on 1st November 1956, the’ Vishal Mysuru State’ came into being. 

In 1973, it was renamed as “Karnataka”.

Geographical Location

Karnataka is  situated  in the  Southern  part  of  India,

It  extends  from 

• 11° 31′ North  to  18°-45′ North latitude 
• 74° -12′ East  to  78° -40′ East  longitude.

The North- South extent is 750km, stretching from Aurad taluk in  Bidar  district (northernmost tip of the State) to Chamarajanagar district in the South.

West-East extent is  400  km from  the  Karwar  in  Uttar Kannada  district ( Western  end) to Mulbagal taluk in Kolar district ( Eastern  end).

Karnataka frontiers : Karnataka has both land and water frontiers

Size

Karnataka stretches over an area of 1,91,791 sq.kms.

Karnataka  occupies 5.83 % of India’s geographical area.It is India’s eighth largest state with regard to area.

• Belagavi  district  is  the  largest  in  size
• Bengaluru  Urban  district is the smallest.

 The State has been divided into four divisions for administrative convenience. They are :

1. Bengaluru
2. Mysuru
3. Belagavi
4. Kalaburagi

The state has an urban population of 37% and is currently ranked as the fifth most urbanized state in India.

Territorial Changes

• Princely State of Mysuru came into existence after the Fourth Anglo-Mysuru war in 1799 A.D.
• In 1881 it consisted of only seven districts namely Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Kolar, Kadur, Mysuru, Chitradurga and Shivamogga.
• In 1886, Hassan district was carved out as eighth district.
• In 1939, Mandya district was created as the ninth district.
• In 1953, the Ballari district of Madras State (excluding Adoni, Alur and Rayadurga taluks) was transferred to Mysuru State when the State of Andhra Pradesh was formed.
• On November 1st, 1956, India was divided into states and union territories. The Mysuru State was enlarged by the addition of Kodagu State and the Kannada speaking districts from southern Bombay State and western Hyderabad State.
• The State of Mysuru was formed on 1st November, 1956 under the States’ Reorganization Act.
• State was renamed Karnataka in 1973.