View source for Kanara, South

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This article has been extracted from <br/>

THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/>

OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
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[[Category:India|k]]
[[Category:Places|k]]
''Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value. ''


=Kanara, South=


==Physical aspects==

The more northerly of the two Districts on the 
west coast of the Madras Presidency, lying between 12 degree  7' and 13 degree 59' 
N. and 74 degree 34' and 75 degree  45' E., with an area of 4,021 square miles. 



The vernacular name Kannada ('the black country') really refers 
to the black soil of the Kanarese-speaking country in the Southern 
Deccan. Though a historical misnomer as applied to the western 
seaboard, it yet marks its long subjection to the Kanarese princes 
who held sway over the Western Ghats. The District is bounded 
on the north by the Bombay Presidency; on the east by Mysore 
and Coorg; on the south by Coorg and Malabar; and on the west 
by the Arabian Sea.


The scarp or watershed of 
the Western Ghats forms a natural frontier on the 
east. Approaching in the extreme north within 6 
miles of the sea, the main line of this range soon swerves abruptly 
eastward round the Kollur valley. Through this passes a road leading 
to the Honnar Magane, a small tract above the Ghats belonging to 
South Kanara, but separated from it by Mysore territory. South of 
the valley rises the prominent sugar-loaf peak of Kodachadri, 4,411 
feet ; and thence, a precipitous cliff-like barrier with an average eleva- 
tion of over 2,000 feet, the Ghats run south-east to the Kudremukh, 
the highest peak in the District, 6,215 fee* above sea-level. From 
this point they sweep east and south round the Uppinangadi taluk 
to join the broken ranges of the Coorg and Malabar hills on the 
southern boundary of the District. South of the Kudremukh their 
character entirely changes.


To the north few passes or prominent 
heights break the clearly defined watershed. On the south, deep 
valleys pierce the main line, flanked by massive heights such as Bal- 
lalrayandurga (4,940 feet) and Subrahmanya hill (5,626), while a pro- 
fusion of forest-clad spurs and parallel ranges makes the scenery as 
varied and picturesque as any in the Presidency. West of the Ghats 
a broken laterite plateau slopes gradually towards the sea. The general 
aspect of the District has been well described as a flatness uniform 
but infinitely diversified. Much of the level surface is bare and tree- 
less, and strewn with denuded granite boulders; but numerous miniature 
hill ranges, well wooded save where stripped for firewood near the 
coast, and bold isolated crags rising abruptly from the plain, prevent 
monotony. 



Local tradition states that South Kanara was part of the realm 
wrested by the mythic Parasu Rama from the sea, and modern 
geology seems to confirm the view that it is an ancient sea-bed. 
Water is at any rate the element to which the District owes its dis- 
tinctive characteristics. The monsoons have furrowed innumerable 
valleys in the laterite downs, and fertilized them with rich soil washed 
down by the streams. Valley opens upon valley in picturesque and 
diversified similarity, all converging at last into the main valleys 
through which the larger rivers of the District run. Along the back- 
water which these rivers form at the coast are found large level 
stretches of fertile rice and garden land. From the sea, indeed, the 
coast-line presents an endless stretch of coco-nut palms, broken only 
by some river mouth or fort-crowned promontory where the main level 
of the plateau runs sheer into the sea. 



The rivers of the District, though numerous, are of no great length. 
Raging torrents in the monsoon, owing to the enormous volume of 
water they have to" carry off, in the hot season they shrink to shal- 
low channels in the centres of their beds. Rapid in their early 
course, they expand at the coast into shallow tidal lagoons. In the 
extreme south a number of rivers rising in the Malabar and Coorg 
hills form a succession of backwaters giving water communication with 
Malabar. At Kasaragod the Chandragiri (Payaswani) flows into the 
sea past an old fort of the same name. The Netravati, with its affluent 
the KumSradhari, and the Gurpilr river, which have a common back- 
water and outlet at Mangalore, drain the greater part of the Mangalore 
and Uppinangadi taluks.



The SwamanadI and the Sft&nadl drain 
most of the Udipi taluk and have a common outlet at the port of 
Hang&rkatta. A picturesque and important backwater studded with 
fertile islands is formed to the north of Coondapoor town by a number 
of rivers draining much of the Coondapoor taluk. 



The geology of South Kanara has not yet been worked out. It is 
probable that in the main it consists of Archaean gneisses of the older 
sub-groups, possibly with representatives of the upper thinner-bedded 
more varied schists (Mercfira schists) and plutonic igneous rocks where 
the District touches Mysore and Coorg. Laterite and ordinary coastal 
alluvium are common in the low-lying parts. 



As might be expected from the heavy rainfall (145 inches), the flora 
of the District is exceedingly varied. The forests are both evergreen 
and deciduous, and the more important timber trees are mentioned 
under Forests below. Of fruit trees, the coco and areca palms and the 
jack and mango are the most important. There are, however, few 
good grafted mango-trees, except in Mangalore town. The palmyra 
palm is found everywhere, and the cashew-tree is very common, 
especially near the coast. The bamboo grows luxuriantly. Consider- 
able stretches of sandy soil along the coast have been planted with the 
casuarina. The betel vine, yams of various kinds, and plantains are 
raised in gardens, and turmeric and chillies as occasional crops. 
Flowers of numberless kinds grow in profusion, and in the monsoon 
every hollow and wall sprouts with ferns and creepers. 



The fauna is varied. Leopards are found wherever there is cover, 
and annually destroy large numbers of cattle. The tiger is less 
common. On the Ghats bison (gaur) and sambar attract sportsmen, 
and the black bear is also found, while elephants are fairly numerous in 
the extensive forests of the Uppinangadi taluk. Deer and monkeys 
do considerable damage to cultivation near the Ghats. The jackal 
is ubiquitous.



The handsome Malabar squirrel (Sciurus indicus) is 
common in the forests, and flying foxes have established several 
flourishing colonies. Among rarer animals are the flying squirrel, 
lemur, porcupine, and pangolin. Many species of snakes exist, and 
the python and the hamadryad (Ophiophagus elaps) grow to an 
immense size. Crocodiles and otters are found in the larger streams. 
There is good fishing in the rivers, mahseer being numerous; but 
dynamiting, poisoning, and netting by the natives have done much to 
spoil it. 



The climate is characterized by excessive humidity, and is relaxing 
and debilitating to Europeans and people of sedentary habits. The 
annual temperature at Mangalore averages 8i°. The heat is greatest 
in the inland parts of the District during the months of March, April, 
and May. Malarial fever is rife during the hot season and the breaks 
in the monsoon wherever there is thick jungle. From November to 
March a chilly land wind blows at night which, though it keeps the 
temperature low, is unhealthy and reputed especially dangerous to 
horses. 



The annual rainfall averages 145 inches. It is smallest on the coast 
line, ranging from 127 inches at Hosdrug in the south to 141 inches at 
Ceondapoor in the north. The farther inland one goes the greater 
is the amount, Karkala close to the Ghats having an average of 
189 inches. In 1897 the enormous fall of 239 inches was recorded at 
this station. Of the total amount, more than 80 per cent, is received 
during the four months from June to September in the south-west 
monsoon. The rains may be said never to fail, and the District has 
only once known famine. Floods, however, are rare, as the rivers 
have usually cut themselves very deep channels. 


==History==



Little is known of the early history of South Kanara. Inscriptions 
show that it was included in the kingdom of the Pallavas of Kanchi, 
the modern Conjeeveram in Chingleput District, 
whose earliest capital appears to have been Vatapi 
or Badami, in the Bijapur District of Bombay. Its next rulers seem to 
have been the early Kadamba kings of Banavasi, the Banaousir of the 
Greek geographer Ptolemy (second century a.d.), in North Kanara 
District. About the sixth century they were overthrown by the early 
Chalukyas, who had established themselves at Badami, the old Pallava 
capital.


In the middle of the eighth century these were expelled by 
the later Kadamba king Mayuravarma, who is said to have introduced 
Brahmans for the first time into the District. His successors seem to 
have ruled the country as feudatories of the RSshtrakutas of Malkhed 
in the present Nizam's Dominions, and of the Western Chalukyas of 
Kalyani in the same State. About the twelfth century the District was 
overrun by the Hoysala Ballalas of Dorasamudra, the modern Halebld 
in Mysore. But there were frequent contests between them and the 
Yadavas of Deogiri, the modern Daulatabad in the Nizam's Domi- 
nions, until in the fourteenth century they were both overthrown by the 
Delhi Muhammadans, practically securing the independence of the 
local chiefs. 



In the first half of the fourteenth century the District 
passed under the Hindu kings of Vijayanagar. About this time Ibn 
Batuta, the Muhammadan traveller, passed through it, and has left an 
interesting, though somewhat exaggerated, description of what he saw. 
During the next century the Portuguese made their first settlements on 
the west coast, and Vasco da Gama himself landed in 1498 on one 
of the islands off Udipi. After the battle of Talikota in 1565, in 
which the last Vijayanagar king was defeated by the united Muham- 
madans of the Deccan, the local Jain chiefs achieved independence. 
But in the beginning of the next century almost all of them were 
subdued by the Lingayat ruler, Venkatappa Naik, of Ikkeri, now a vil- 
lage in the Shimoga District of Mysore.




During the next century and 
a half the Ikkeri chieftains, who had meanwhile removed their capital 
to Bednur, the present Nagar in Mysore, continued masters of the 
country, though most of the old Jain and Brahman chiefs seem to have 
retained local independence. 



British connexion with the District begins about 1737, when the 
factors at Tellicherry, taking advantage of a hostile move by the 
Bednur Raja, obtained commercial advantages, including a monopoly 
of all pepper and cardamoms in certain tracts. Haidar All, the 
Muhammadan usurper of the Mysore throne, after his conquest of 
Bednur in 1763 took Mangalore and made it the base of his naval 
operations. The place was captured by the English in 1768, but, 
on Haidar's approach a few months later, was evacuated. On the out- 
break of war with Haidar again in 1780, General Mathews, Com- 
mander-in-Chief of Bombay, landed opposite Coondapoor and took it. 
On his subsequent march north to Bednur, he also took Hosangadi 
and the Haidargarh fort.



Bednur itself next fell, but the arrival of 
a large relieving force under Tipu, Haidar's son, forced Mathews to 
capitulate. Tipu then besieged Mangalore, which surrendered after 
a protracted struggle. During this war, Tipu, suspecting that the 
native Christians of the District were secretly aiding the English, 
deported large numbers of them to Mysore and forcibly converted 
them to Isl£m. During the final war with Tipu, which ended in his 
death at the fall of Seringapatam in 1 799, the District suffered severely 
from the depredations of the Coorgs. By the Partition Treaty of the 
same year it fell to the British. To the country thus acquired. was 
added in 1834, on the annexation of Coorg, the portion of that 
province which had been ceded to the Coorg Raja in 1799. In 1862 
the country north of the Coondapoor taluk was transferred to the 
Bombay Presidency, leaving the District as it now stands to the 
administration of Madras. 



The chief objects of archaeological interest in South Kanara are its 
Jain remains, which are among the most remarkable in the Presidency. 
The most noteworthy are found at Karkala, Mudbidri, and Yenur, 
in a part of the District long ruled by Jain chiefs, of whom the most 
important were the Bhairarasa Wodeyars of Karkala. Under this 
family, which migrated from above the Ghats, building in stone is 
supposed to have been introduced into this part of the west coast 
Fergusson states that the architecture of the Jain temples has no 
resemblance to the Dravidian or other South Indian styles, but finds 
its nearest affinity in Nepal and Tibet. There is no doubt that it is 
largely a reproduction of the architectural forms in wood used in the 
country from early times. The remains are of three kinds. The first 
are the bettas y or walled enclosures containing colossal statues. There 
is one of these statues at Karkala and another at Yenur.



The former 
is the larger, being 41 feet 5 inches high, and is also the more striking, 
as it stands on the top of a rocky hill overlooking a picturesque lake. 
They both have the traditional forms and lineaments of Buddha, but are 
named after Gomata Raya, a forgotten and perhaps mythical Jain king. 
They are monolithic ; and the method of their construction, whether 
they were hewn out of some boulder which stood on their sites, or 
whether they were sculptured elsewhere and removed to their present 
positions, is a mystery. A still larger statue, also said to be of Gomata 
Raya, at Sravana Belgola in Mysore is the only other example known. 
An inscription on the Karkala statue states that it was erected in 
a.d. 1 43 1. The second class of Jain remains are the bastfs or temples. 
These are found all over the District, the most famous group being 
at Mudbidri, where there are eighteen of them. With plain but digni- 
fied exteriors, clearly showing their adaptation from styles suited to 
work in wood, and greatly resembling the architecture common in 
Nepal in the reverse slope of the eaves above the veranda, nothing can 
exceed the richness and variety with which the interior is carved. 




The 
largest basfi at'Madbidri is three-storeyed, resembling somewhat the 
pagodas of the Farther East, and contains about 1,000 pillars, those of 
the interior being all carved in the most varied and exuberant manner. 
The last variety of Jain antiquities are the stambhas or pillars. 
Though not peculiar to Jain architecture, the most graceful examples 
are found in connexion with the temples of that faith. The finest is at 
Haleangadi near Karkala. It is 50 feet from base to capital, the shaft 
being monolithic and 33 feet in length, and the whole gracefully pro- 
portioned and beautifully adorned. Barkur, once the Jain capital of 
the region destroyed by Lingayat fanatics in the seventeenth century, 
probably excelled the rest of the District in the number and beauty of 
its buildings ; but these are now a mere heap of ruins. 



Serpent stones in groves and on platforms round the sacred fig- 
trees are numerous, bearing witness to the tree and serpent worship 
imposed by the influence of Jainism and Vaishnavism on the primitive 
demon and ancestor worship of the country. The Hindu temples are 
as a rule mean and unpretentious buildings, though many of them, such 
as that to Krishna at Udipi and the shrines at Subrahmanya, Kollur, 
Sankaranarayana, and Koteshwar, are of great antiquity and sanctity. 
Forts are numerous, especially along the sea-coast, but of little impor- 
tance archaeologically. That at Bekal is the largest, and was formerly 
a stronghold of the Bednur kings. 



==Population==
South Kanara is divided into the five taluks of Coondapoor, Kasa- 
ragod, Mangalore, Udipi, and Uppinangadi, and includes also the 
Amindlvi Islands in the Indian Ocean. The head- 
op ' quarters of the taluks (except of Uppinangadi, which 
is at Puttur) are at the places from which they are respectively named. 
The headman of the Amindlvis lives on the Amini island. Statistics 
of these areas, according to the Census of 1901, are shown in the 
table on the next page. 



Much of South Kanara is hill and forest ; and the density of the 
population is accordingly little above the average for the Presidency as 
a whole, fertile and free from famine though the District is. In the 
Uppinangadi taluk y which lies close under the Ghats, there are only 
147 persons to the square mile. This is, however, on the main road 
to Mysore and Coorg, and the opportunities for trade thus afforded 
have caused the population here to increase faster than in the District 
as a whole. 


The population of South Kanara in 187 1 was 918,362; in 1881, 
959,514; in 1891, 1,056,081 ; and in 1901, 1,134,713. It will be seen 
that the growth, though steady, is not remarkable. In the decade 
ending 1901 the rate of increase was about equal to the average for the 
Presidency, and during the last thirty years it has amounted to 24 per 
cent There is considerable temporary emigration of labourers every year 
to the coffee estates of Coorg and Mysore, the total loss to the District 
in 1 90 1 on the movement between it and these two areas being 14,000 
and 40,000 persons respectively. On the other hand, South Kanara 
obtains very few immigrants from elsewhere.



In 190 1 less than 2 persons 
in every 100 found within it had been born outside. As in the case of 
Malabar, this is largely due to its geographical isolation, and to the fact 
that the ways and customs of its people and its agricultural tenures 
differ much from those of neighbouring areas. The people are fonder 
of living in their own separate homesteads than in streets, and the 
District consequently has a smaller urban population than any other 
except Kuraool and the Nilgiris, and includes only two towns. These 
are the municipality of Mangalore (population, 44,108), the District 
head-quarters, and the town of Udipi (8,041). Both are growing places. 
There are few villages of the kind usual on the east coast, the people 
living in scattered habitations. 



 [[File: karna south.png||frame|500px]] 


Of the total population in 1901 Hindus numbered 914,163, or 81 
per cent; Musalmans, 126,853, or 11 per cent.; Christians, 84,103, 
or 7 per cent. ; and Jains, 9,582, or 1 per cent. Musalmans are propor- 
tionately more numerous than in any Districts except Malabar, Madras 
City, and Kuraool ; and most of them are Mappillas, who are described 
in the article on Malabar. Excluding the exceptional cases of Madras 
City and the Nilgiris, Christians form a higher percentage of the people 
than in any District except Tinnevelly. They have increased at the 
rate of 45 per cent, during the last twenty years. Jains are more 
numerous than in any other District of Madras. 



South Kanara is a polyglot District Tulu, Malayalam, Kanarese, 
and Konkani are all largely spoken, being the vernaculars respectively 
of 44, 19, 19, and 13 per cent of the population. Tulu is the language 
of the centre of the District, and is used more than any other tongue 
in the Mangalore, Udipi, and Uppinangadi taluks ; but in Mangalore 
a fifth of the people speak Konkani, a dialect of MarathI, and in Udipi 
nearly a fourth speak Kanarese. In the Amindlvi Islands and in 
Kasaragod, which latter adjoins Malabar, Malay&lam is the prevailing 
vernacular. Most of those who are literate are literate in Kanarese. 
It is the official language of the District, and its rival, Tulu, has no 
written character, though it has occasionally been printed in Kanarese 
type. 



The District contains proportionately more Bralimans than any other 
in Madras, the caste numbering 110,000, or 12 per cent, of the Hindu 
population. The Hindus are made up of many elements, and the 
castes are in need of more careful study than they have yet received. 
They include 16,000 Telugus (9,000 of whom are Devanga or Sale 
weavers) ; 82,000 members of Malay&lam castes (most of whom are 
found in the Kasaragod taluk) ; 140,000 people of MarathI or Konkani- 
speaking communities; and 672,000 who talk Kanarese or Tulu.



The 
three largest castes in the District are the Billavas (143,000), the Bants 
(118,000), and the Holeyas (118,000). The first two of these hardly 
occur elsewhere. They are respectively the toddy-drawers and the 
landholders of the community. The Holeyas are nearly all agricultural 
labourers by occupation. 

Except the three Agencies in the north of the Presidency and South 
Arcot, South Kanara is more exclusively agricultural than any other 
District As many as three-fourths of its people live by the land. 
Toddy-drawers are also proportionately more numerous than usual, 
though it must be remembered that many toddy-drawers by caste are 
agriculturists or field-labourers by occupation, while weavers and 
leather-workers form a smaller percentage of the people than is 
normally the case. 


Out of the 84,103 Christians in the District in 1901, 83,779 were 
natives, more than 76,000 being Roman Catholics. Tradition avers 
that St Thomas the Apostle visited the west coast in the first century. 
The present Roman Catholic community dates from the conquest 
of Mangalore by the Portuguese in 1526. Refugees from the Goanese 
territory driven out by Maratha incursions, and settlers encouraged 
by the Bednur kings, swelled the results of local conversion, so that 
by Tipu's time the native Christian community was estimated at 
80,000 souls. But after the siege of Mangalore in 1784 Tipu deported 
great numbers of them, estimated at from 30,000 to 60,000, to Seringa- 
patam, seized their property, and destroyed their churches. Many of 
them perished on the road and others were forcibly converted.



On 
the fall of Seringapatam the survivors returned, and the community 
was soon again in a prosperous condition. The jurisdiction of Goa 
continued until 1837, when part of the community placed themselves 
under the Carmelite Vicar Apostolic of Verapoli in Travancore. After 
further vicissitudes the Jesuits took the place of the Carmelites in 1878. 
Mangalore is now the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric. 

The only Protestant mission is the German Evangelical Mission of 
Basel, established at Mangalore in 1834. Its converts now number 
5,913, mainly drawn from the poorest classes of the people, who find 
employment in the various industrial enterprises of the mission. 

==Agriculture==

The agricultural methods of South Kanara are conditioned by its 
climate and geological peculiarities. As already mentioned, the District 
is a laterite plateau on a granite bed, bounded by the . 
Ghats, and worn and furrowed into countless valleys 
by the action of the monsoons. Much of the level plateau above the 
valleys produces nothing but thatching-grass or stunted scrub ; but the 
numerous hollows are the scene of rich and varied cultivation, and 
the slopes above the fields are well wooded save where denuded to 
supply the fuel markets of Mangalore and other large towns. 



The soil is as a rule a laterite loam, which is especially rich in the 
lower stretches of the valleys, where the best rice land is found. 
Large stretches of level ground occur along the coast, where the soil 
is generally of a sandy character but contains much fertilizing alluvial 
matter. To the north of the Chandragiri river this land grows excellent 
rice crops and bears a very heavy rent. South of that stream the soil 
is thinner and suited only to the commoner kinds of rice ; but tobacco 
and vegetables are grown in considerable quantities, especially by the 
Mappillas. 



Every valley has one or more water channels running through its 
centre or down either side. The best rice-fields lie as a rule on a level 
with these channels, which feed them during the whole of the first-crop 
season by small openings in their embankments that can be shut or 
opened as needed. After the first crop of rice has been harvested, 
dams are thrown across these channels at intervals ; and by this means 
the level of the water is maintained, and a second, and even a third, 
crop of rice can be grown by direct flow from the channel, water being 
let into the plots as required. Very often a permanent dam is main- 
tained above the cultivation, to divert part of the water down the side 
channels.


In the land immediately above these side channels a second 
crop of rice is grown by bailing either with picottahs, or, when the level 
admits, with hand-scoops (kaidambt) suspended from a cross-bar, or with 
a basket swung with ropes by two men. These lands are locally termed 
majaL Still higher up the slopes of the valley are other rice-fields, 
known as bettu, cut laboriously in terraces out of the hill-sides. These 
give only one crop of rice and, except. where fed by some small jungle 
stream, are entirely dependent on the rainfall; consequently their 
cultivation is somewhat precarious. The areca gardens are mostly 
situated in the sheltered nooks of the valleys in the more hilly parts of 
the District and in the recesses of the lower spurs and offshoots of the 
Ghats, where the two essentials of shade and a perennial water-supply 
occur in combination.


The finest coco-nut gardens are found in the 
sandy level stretches adjoining the coast, especially along the fringes 
of the numerous backwaters. 


A considerable quantity of black gram, horse-gram, and green gram 
is grown on the level land near the coast as a second crop, and on 
majal lands elsewhere if sufficient moisture is available. Sugar-cane 
is grown here and there beside the backwaters. Pepper has never 
recovered from the measures taken by Tipu to suppress its cultivation. 
In the south of the Kasaragod taluk, kumrt, or shifting cultivation, 
is still carried on in the jungles. 

The District is essentially ryotwari, such indms as exist being merely 
assignments of land revenue. Statistics of the various taluks for 
1903-4 are appended, areas being in square miles : — 



 [[File: karna south1.png||frame|500px]] 


More than a fourth of the District consists of forest, nearly one-half 
is hilly and rocky land not available for cultivation, and the area 
actually cropped is less than a fifth of the total. Rice is by for the 
most important staple, the area under it (counting twice over that 
cropped twice) being 760 square miles. The garden area, 82 square 
miles, consists almost entirely of coco-nut and areca-nut plantations. 
These three crops practically monopolize the cultivation. 



For agricultural purposes the ryots divide the year into three seasons, 
to correspond with the times of the three rice crops. These are 
Kartika or Yenel (May-October), Suggi (October-January), and 
Kolake (January-April). It is doubtful if any District in the Presi- 
dency shows such a round of orderly and careful cultivation, and the 
increased out-turn from any theoretical improvements that might be 
made would probably be more than counterbalanced by the enhanced 
cost of cultivation. The choice and rotation of crops, the properties 
of various soils, the selection of seed and of seed-beds, the number 
of ploughings, the amount of manure, the distribution of water, the 
regulation of all these, and the countless other details of high farming, 
if based on no book knowledge, have been minutely adapted by 
centuries of experience and tradition to every variety of holding. 



In the jungles which almost everywhere adjoin the cultivation the 
ryot finds an unfailing supply of manure for his fields, of timber for 
his agricultural implements, which he fashions at little expense to 
himself, and of fuel for domestic use. Consequently he has availed 
himself but little of the Land Improvements Loans Act. Under the 
name of kutnaki, holders of kadint wargs, or holdings formed before 
1866, enjoy these privileges to the exclusion of others within 100 yards 
of the cultivation. No figures are available to show the extension of 
tillage. 


The absence of a survey, the connivence of the village and 
subordinate revenue officials, and the nature of the country have made 
encroachments particularly easy; and land has been formally applied 
for only where the prior right to it has been disputed, or to serve as 
a nucleus for future encroachment. Cultivation has increased steadily 
everywhere except immediately under the Ghfits, where the miseries 
and depopulation caused by the disturbances of the eighteenth century 
threw out of cultivation large tracts which have never recovered, owing 
to the prevalence of malaria and the demand for labour elsewhere. 



The chief drawback to agriculture in South Kanara is the want of 
a good indigenous breed of cattle. All the best draught and plough 
cattle have to be imported from Mysore,~and even where well tended 
they are apt to deteriorate. The ordinary village cattle, owing to 
exposure to the heavy rains, indiscriminate breeding, bad housing, and 
a regime of six months' plenty and six months' want, are miserably 
undersized and weakly. The climate is equally unfavourable to sheep 
and horses, the number of which is small and kept up only by importa- 
tion. A fair is held annually at Subrahmanya, to which about 50,000 
head of cattle are brought from Mysore to meet local requirements. 



The heavy rainfall and the rapid nature of the rivers do not admit 
of large irrigation reservoirs or permanent dams being formed, and 
as a result there are no Government irrigation works in the District. 
But the ryots have themselves most skilfully utilized the springs and 
streams by countless channels, feeders, and temporary dams. Along 
the coast, cultivation is largely assisted by shallow ponds scooped at 
little expense out of the sandy soil, and farther inland reservoirs of 
a more substantial nature are sometimes constructed at the valley 
heads. Many areca gardens are so supplied.

==Forest==

South Kanara is essentially a forest District. With the exception 
of the bare laterite plateaux and downs of the Kasaragod and Manga- 
lore taluks, and the spots where the hills near the coast 
have been stripped of their growth for timber, fuel, 
and manure, the country is everywhere richly wooded. 


The whole 
line of the Ghats with their spurs and offshoots presents an almost 
unbroken stretch of virgin forest, which finds its richest and most 
luxuriant development in the recesses of the Uppinangadi taluk, where 
the most important and largest Reserves are found. The total forest 
area in the District is 662 square miles, and 408 square miles of 
'reserved' land are also controlled by the Forest department In 
the early years of British administration the claims of Government to 
the forests and their prospective importance were alike overlooked; 
but the rights of the Crown began to be asserted from the year 1839 
onwards, and during the last thirty years Reserves have been selected 
and a system of conservation introduced. 



The destructive system of shifting cultivation, locally known as kumri, 
has been prohibited since i860, except in a few small tracts where 
it is strictly regulated. Such regulation is a matter of the greatest 
importance to a District with an annual rainfall averaging over 140 
inches, the seasonable distribution of which depends largely on the 
proper protection of its catchment area. 

The most valuable timber trees are teak, poonspar (Calophyllum 
elatutn), black-wood (Dal) ventek (Lagerstroemta microcarpa) kiralbhog 
(Hopea parviflora) banapu (Terminalia tomentosa) and marva (T.pani- 
culata). But development must still be said to be in its infancy. In 
fact, the chief revenue is at present derived from items of minor 
produce, such as catechu, grazing fees, &c. The main obstacle is the 
want of good communications ; but once this is overcome, whether 
by a system of light railways or otherwise, the South Kanara forests 
should be of the greatest value. 


A fine clay excellently adapted for pottery is found in several 
localities, especially along the banks of the Netravati, which supplies 
material for the Mangalore tile-works mentioned below. Gold and 
garnets are known to occur in one or two places, but the mineral 
resources of the District are as yet practically unexplored. The 
ordinary laterite rock, which is easily cut and hardens on exposure, 
forms the common building material. 

==Trade and communication==

The only large manufactures in South Kanara are the results of 
European enterprise. Tile-making was introduced by the Basel 
Mission, and this body has now two factories at 
Mangalore and another at Malpe near Udipi. At 
Mangalore one other European firm and nine 
native merchants are engaged in the industry, and elsewhere in the 
District are two more native factories. The industry employs 
altogether about 1,000 hands.


The Basel Mission has also a large 
weaving establishment at Mangalore, and some of its employes have 
started small concerns elsewhere; but otherwise the weaving of the 
District is of the ordinary kind. The same may be said with reference 
to the work of the goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and other. artisans. Four 
European and three native firms are engaged in coffee-curing. In 
1903-4 coffee from above the Ghats to the value of 41 lakhs was 
exported. Coir yarn is manufactured in considerable quantities in the 
Amindlvi Islands, where it forms a Government monopoly, and along 
the coast.


On the coast, too, a considerable industry exists in fish- 
curing, which is done with duty-free salt in fourteen Government 
curing-yards. Most of the product is exported to Colombo, but large 
quantities are also sent inland. Sandal oil is distilled in the Udipi 
taluk from sandal-wood brought down from Mysore. 



The principal articles of export are coffee, tiles, coco-nut kernels 
(copra), rice, salted fish, spices, and wood. The tiles are exported to 
Bombay and to ports in the Presidency. The coffee is brought from 
Mysore and Coorg to be cured, and is exported chiefly to the United 
Kingdom and France. The coco-nut kernels go chiefly to Bombay, 
rice to Malabar and Goa, and salted fish to Colombo. Large quantities 
of areca-nuts are shipped to Bombay and Kathiawar. The wood 
exported is chiefly sandal brought from Mysore and Coorg. The 
chief imports are cotton piece-goods, grain, liquor, oil, copra, pulses, 
spices, sugar, salt, and salted fish, largely to meet local needs, but 
partly for re-export to Mysore and Coorg.



The bulk of the trade 
is carried on at Mangalore (the commerce of which is referred to in 
the separate article upon the place); and Malpe, Hangarkatta, and 
Gangoli are the most important of the outports. The most prominent 
by far of the mercantile castes are the Mappillas, who are followed by 
Telugu traders, such as the Balijas and the Chettis. Konkani Brah- 
mans, native Christians, and Rajapuris also take a share. There are 
twenty weekly markets in the District under the control of the local 
boards. 



The District had recently no railways ; but the Azhikal-Mangalore ex- 
tension of the Madras Railway, opened throughout in 1907, now affords 
communication with Malabar and the rest of the Presidency. Its con- 
struction is estimated to have cost 109 lakhs for a length of 78 miles. 
A line from Arsikere on the Southern Mahratta Railway to Mangalore 
has also been projected and surveyed. 


The total length of metalled roads is 148 miles and of unmetalled 
roads 833 miles, all of which are maintained from Local funds. 
Avenues of trees have been planted along 467 miles. The main lines 
are the coast road from Kavoy to Shirur ; the roads leading to Mercara 
through the Sampaji ghat from Kasaragod and Mangalore ; and those 
from Mangalore through the Charm&di ghat to Mudugere taluk, and 
through Karkala and the Agumbe ghat to the Koppa taluk in Mysore. 
Lines running through the Kollur, Hosangadi, Shiradi, and Bisale 
ghats also afford access to Mysore, and the main routes are fed by 
numerous cross-roads.



The tidal reaches of the rivers and the numerous 
backwaters furnish a cheap means of internal communication along the 
coast. In the monsoon communication by sea is entirely closed ; but 
during the fair season, from the middle of September to the middle 
of May, steamers of the Bombay Steam Navigation Company call twice 
weekly at Mangalore and other ports in the District Mangalore is 
also a port of call for steamers of the British India Company and other 
lines. Large numbers of coasting craft carry on a brisk trade. 



Owing to the abundant monsoons the District always produces more 
grain than is sufficient for its requirements. It is practically exempt 
from famine, and no relief has ever been needed except in the 
year 1812. 


==Administrations==

For administrative purposes South Kanara is divided into three 
subdivisions. Coondapoor, comprising the Coondapoor and Udipi 
. . taluks, is usually in charge of a Covenanted Civilian. 
Mangalore, corresponding to the taluk of the same 
name (but including also the Amindlvi Islands), and Puttur, comprising 
the Uppinangadi and Kasaragod taluks , are under Deputy-Collectors 
recruited in India. A tahsildar and a stationary sub-magistrate are 
posted at the head-quarters of each taluk, and deputy-taksildars at 
K&rkala, Bantval, Beltangadi, and Hosdrug, besides a sub-magistrate 
for Mangalore town. 



Civil justice is administered by a District Judge and a Subordinate 
Judge at Mangalore, and by District Munsifs at Mangalore, Kasaragod, 
Udipi, Coondapoor, Puttur, and Kfirkala. The Court of Session hears 
the more important criminal cases, but serious crime is not more than 
usually common, and there are no professional criminal tribes in the 
District. Offences under the Abkari, Salt, and Forest Acts are 
numerous; and civil disputes are frequently made the ground of 
criminal charges, especially in connexion with land and inheritance, 
the majority of the Hindu castes in the District being governed by 
the Aliya Santana law of inheritance, under which a man's heirs are 
not his own but his sister's sons. 



Little is known of the early revenue history of the District Tradi- 
tion gives one-sixth of the gross produce, estimated at first in unhusked 
and latterly in husked rice, as the share demanded by the government 
prior to the ascendancy of Vijayanagar. About 1336, in the time of 
Harihara, the first of the kings of that line, the land revenue system 
was revised. One-half of the gross produce was apportioned to the 
cultivator, one-quarter to the landlord, one-sixth to the government, 
and one-twelfth .to the gods and to Brahmans. This arrangement 
thinly disguised an addition of 50 per cent to the land revenue ; and 
the assumed share of the gods and Brahmans, being collected by the 
government, was entirely at its disposal.


In 1618 the Ikkeri Rajas of 
Bednur imposed an additional assessment of 50 per cent, on all the 
District except the Mangalore hobli, and at a later date imposed a tax 
on fruit trees. These additions were permanently added to the stan- 
dard revenue. Other additions were made from time to time, amount- 
ing in 1762, when Haidar conquered Kanara, to a further 35 per cent, 
of the standard revenue, but still not sufficient to affect seriously the 
prosperity of the District. Haidar cancelled the deductions previously 
allowed on waste lands and imposed other additions, so that at his 
death the extras exceeded the standard revenue. The further exac- 
tions and oppressions of Tipu were such that much land went out of 
cultivation, collections showed deficiencies ranging from 10 to 60 per 
cent., and the District was so impoverished that little land had any 
saleable value. 



Major (afterwards Sir Thomas) Munro, the first Collector of the 
District, setting aside all merely nominal imposts and assessments on 
waste lands, imposed on Kanara and Sonda (the present Districts of 
North and South Kanara) a new settlement in 17 99- 1800. Some 
slight reductions were made in the following year. It worked smoothly 
for some time ; then difficulty in the collections and signs of deteriora- 
tion owing to over-assessment induced the Board of Revenue to order 
a revision, based on the average collections from each estate since the 
country came under the British Government. This assessment, intro- 
duced in 1819-20, was till recently in force in South Kanara, with the 
exception of a portion of the Uppinangadi taluk which was subse- 
quently taken over from Coorg. 



Continued difficulty in realizing the 
demand, owing to low prices and riotous assemblages of the cultivators, 
who refused to pay their assessment, led to a Member of the Board of 
Revenue being deputed in 1831 to inquire into the state of the District. 
He reported that the disturbances were due to official intrigues, that 
the assessment was on the whole moderate, though low prices had 
caused some distress, and that where over-assessment existed it was 
due entirely to the unequal incidence of the settlement, aggravated by 
the frauds of the village accountants, who had complete control over 
the public records. In accordance with his views, some relief was 
granted in the settlement for 1833-4 to those estates which were over- 
assessed. The Board did not, however, regard these measures as 
satisfactory.



Further correspondence confirmed the view that any 
attempt to base a redistribution of the assessment on the accounts then 
available was doomed to failure, owing to their fallacious nature. The 
Board therefore expressed the opinion that the only remedy was 
a settlement based on a correct survey. This proposal involved a con- 
sideration of the question whether any pledge had been given for the 
fixity of the settlement of 1819-20. After further correspondence 
between the Collectors, the Board, and the Government, the question 
was dropped in 1851, the improvement in prices having meanwhile 
relieved the pressure of assessment on particular estates. 



In 1880 the matter was again raised by the Government of India, in 
connexion with the general revision of settlements in the Presidency ; 
and it was finally determined that the Government was in no way 
pledged to maintain the assessment unaltered, and that the survey and 
revision of settlement should be extended to Kanara in due course. 
A survey was begun in 1889 an d settlement operations in October, 
1894. A scheme was sanctioned for all the taluks and has now 
been brought into operation. Under this the average assessment on 
' dry ' land is R. 0-9-7 per acre (maximum Rs. 2, minimum 2 annas) ; 
on 'wet' land Rs. 4-7-1 1 (maximum Rs. 10, including charge for 
second crop; minimum 12 annas); and on garden land Rs. 4-13-7 
(maximum Rs. 8, minimum Rs. 2). The proposals anticipate an ulti- 
mate increase in the assessment of the District of Rs. 9,22,000, or 
65 per cent., over the former revenue. 

The revenue from land and the total revenue in recent years are 
given below, in thousands of rupees: — 

[[File: karna south2.png||frame|500px]] 


Outside the municipality of Mangalore, local affairs are managed 
by the District board and the three taluk boards of Coondapoor, 
Mangalore, and Puttur, the areas in charge of which correspond 
with the subdivisions of the same names. Their total expenditure in 
1903-4 was Rs. 2,82,000, of which Rs. 1,57,000 was laid out on roads 
and buildings. The chief source of income is, as usual, the land 
cess. South Kanara contains none of the Unions which on the east 
coast control the affairs of many of the smaller towns. 



The police are in charge of a District Superintendent, whose head- 
quarters are at Mangalore. The force numbers 10 inspectors and 
558 constables, and there are 50 police stations. Village police do 
not exist. 



There is a District jail at Mangalore, and 8 subsidiary jails at the 
head-quarters of the tahsildars and their deputies have accommodation 
for 85 males and 35 females. 



At the Census of 1901 South Kanara stood eleventh among the 
Districts of the Presidency in the literacy of its population, 5*8 per 
cent, (n-i males and 0.9 females) being able to read and write. 
Education is most advanced in the Mangalore taluk, and most back- 
ward in the hilly inland taluk of Uppinangadi In r 880-1 the number 
of pupils of both sexes under instruction in the District numbered 
6,178; in 1890-1, 18,688; in 1900-1, 24,311; and in 1903-4, 27,684. 
On March 31, 1904, the number of educational institutions of all 
kinds was 658, of which 502 were classed as public and 156 as 
private. The public institutions included 474 primary, 23 secondary, 
and 3 special schools, and 2 colleges.


The girls in all of these 
numbered 4,107, besides 1,566 under instruction in elementary private 
schools. Six of the public institutions were managed by the Educa- 
tional department, 85 by local boards, and 7 by the Mangalore 
municipality, while 278 were aided from public funds, and 126 were 
unaided but conformed to the rules of the department. Of the male 
population of school-going age in 1903-4, 21 per cent, were in the 
primary stage of instruction, and of the female population of. the same 
age 4 per cent Among Musalmans, the corresponding percentages 
were 30 and 6 respectively. Education, especially that of girls, is most 
advanced in the Christian community.



Two schools provide for the 
education of Panchamas or depressed castes, and are attended by 
37 pupils. The two Arts colleges are the St. Aloysius College, a first- 
grade aided institution, and the second-grade Government College, 
both at Mangalore. The former was established in 1880 by the 
Jesuit Fathers. The total expenditure on education in 1903-4 was 
Rs. 2,22,000, of which Rs. 77,000, or 35 per cent, was derived from 
fees ; and 53 per cent of the total was devoted to primary education. 



The District possesses 8 hospitals and 1 1 dispensaries, with accom- 
modation for 75 in-patients. In 1903 the number of cases treated was 
135,000, including 1,600 in-patients, and 3,200 operations were per- 
formed. The expenditure was Rs. 38,000, which was mostly met from 
Local and municipal funds. 



In 1903-4 the number of persons successfully vaccinated was 
28,000, or 23 per 1,000 of the population. Vaccination is compulsory 
only in the Mangalore municipality. 

[J. Sturrock and H. A. Stuart, District Manual (1894).]