Mangalorean regionalism
Encyclopedia
Mangalorean regionalism centers on increasing Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu is a Tulu-speaking region spread over to parts of present Karnataka and Kerala States of India. It consists of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka and the northern parts of the Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the Payaswini River...

's influence and political power through the formation of a separate Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu is a Tulu-speaking region spread over to parts of present Karnataka and Kerala States of India. It consists of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka and the northern parts of the Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the Payaswini River...

 state from Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

. Tulu Nadu is a region on the south-western coast of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It consists of the Dakshina Kannada
Dakshina Kannada
- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...

 and Udupi
Udupi district
Udupi district , ಉಡುಪಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ) in the Karnataka state of India was created in August 1997. The three northern taluks, Udupi, Kundapur and Karkal, were separated from Dakshina Kannada District to form Udupi district. Udupi district is surrounded by Uttara Kannada district in north, Dakshina Kannada...

 districts of Karnataka
Districts of Karnataka
The Indian State of Karnataka is located within 11°30' North and 18°30' North latitudes and 74° East and 78°30' East longitude. It is situated on a tableland where the Western and Eastern Ghat ranges converge into the Nilgiri hill complex, in the western part of the Deccan Peninsular region of India...

, and the northern parts of the Kasargod district up to the Chandragiri river in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. The Chandragiri river is traditionally considered to be a boundary between Tulu Nadu and Kerala. Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

 is the largest and the chief city of Tulu Nadu. Tulu activists have been demanding a separate Tulu Nadu state since the 1990s, considering language and culture as the basis for their demand.

Tulu Nadu was ruled by several major Kannada powers, including the Kadambas, Alupas
Alupas
The Alupas kings were a minor dynasty who ruled parts of coastal Karnataka. Later with the dominance of Kadambas in Banavasi, they became feudatory to them. With the changing political scenario, soon they became the feudatories to Chalukyas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara Rayas...

, Vijayanagar dynasty
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...

, and the Keladi Nayaka
Keladi Nayaka
Keladi Nayaka Kingdom were an important ruling dynasty of post-medieval Karnataka, India. They initially started to rule as a feudatory of the Vijayanagar Empire...

s. The region was unified with the state of Mysore
Mysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...

 (now called Karnataka) in 1956. The region encompassing Tulu Nadu is also known as South Canara
South Canara
South Canara was a district under the British empire, located at . It was bifurcated in 1859 from Canara district. It was the undivided Dakshina Kannada district...

. Tulu Nadu is demographically and linguistically diverse with several languages, including Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...

, Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...

, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...

, and Beary
Beary bashe
Beary bashe is a dialect mainly spoken by the Muslim communities of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka known as Bearys and a small number of Hindus in the District of Kasargod in Kerala state....

 commonly spoken and understood.

Distinct identity

.
According to the 1961 Census of India statistics, Tulu speakers (47.27%) outnumber Kannada speakers (20.62%) in South Canara. The four predominant languages in Tulu Nadu are Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...

, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...

, Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...

, and Beary
Beary bashe
Beary bashe is a dialect mainly spoken by the Muslim communities of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka known as Bearys and a small number of Hindus in the District of Kasargod in Kerala state....

. Hinduism is followed by a large number of the population, with Mogaveeras
Mogaveeras
Mogaveeras are the major fishing community in coastal Karnataka, India. They form one of the largest communities in the Tulu ethnic group. The word 'Mogaveera' is a modernised version of the old word 'Mogeyar'....

, Billava
Billava
The Billava, or Ilava people make up one of the largest Hindu communities of the Tulu ethnic group in India. They are also found in the Kannada-speaking Kundapura region of Karnataka and some parts of Kerala, including Kasaragod district...

s, Ganiga
Ganiga
Ganiga or Gandla is the name given to oil pressers in the Ganiga or Gandla is the name given to oil pressers in the Ganiga or Gandla is the name given to oil pressers in the [[India]...

s and Bunt
Bunt (community)
Bunt , previously spelled Bant, are a community of erstwhile nobility, feudatory and gentry from the region of Tulu Nadu in the south west of India which comprises the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka and Kasaragod taluk of Kerala...

s forming the largest groups. Kota Brahmin
Kota brahmin
Kota Brahmins hail from the Kundapur and surrounding areas of Udupi district in Karnataka, Bantwal and Puttur Taluk in Mangalore District and Kasargod District in Kerala...

s, Shivalli Brahmins, Sthanika Brahmins
Sthanika Brahmins
Sthānika Brāhmins are Smartha Brahmins, and come under the classification of Tuluva Brahmins; The belong to Pancha-Drāvida Brahmin Community. The Kuladevatha of Sthānika Brahmin's is Subramanya...

, Havyaka Brahmins
Havyaka
Havyaka Brahmins are a Hindu Pancha Dravida Brahmin subsect primarily from the Indian state of Karnataka and Northern Kerala. Havyakas profess the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankaracharya.-Etymology:...

, Goud Saraswat Brahmins (GSBs), Daivajna Brahmins, and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins
Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins
Rājāpur/Bhālāvalikar Gauda Sāraswat Brāhmins , as they are known, belong to the "Pancha Gauda Brahmana" groups or "Gaudadi Panchakas". Rājāpur Sāraswat Brahmins are a branch of the saraswat brahmins, who were supposed to have resided on the banks of the legendary Saraswati River. They migrated to...

 also form considerable sections of the Hindu population. Christians form a sizable section of Mangalorean society, with Konkani-speaking Catholics, popularly known as Mangalorean Catholics, accounting for the largest Christian community in Tulu Nadu. Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 in Tulu Nadu known as Mangalorean Protestants
Mangalorean Protestants
-The community:The biggest denomination among Mangalorean Protestants is the Church of South India , composed of the Basel Mission Protestant church and the Anglican church. They number about 60,434 and are spread all over the South Canara district. They have a Theological College of their own and...

 typically speak Kannada. Most Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s in Tulu Nadu are Beary
Beary
The Beary is a small Muslim community concentrated mostly in coastal South Kanara , in the district of Karnataka, a south Indian state. It is an ethnic society, having its own unique traditions and distinct cultural identity...

s, who speak a dialect called Beary bashe
Beary bashe
Beary bashe is a dialect mainly spoken by the Muslim communities of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka known as Bearys and a small number of Hindus in the District of Kasargod in Kerala state....

. There is also a sizeable group of landowners following Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...

, that form the Tulu Jain community..

Reasons

As a result of the States Reorganisation Act
States Reorganisation Act
The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of India's states and territories. The act reorganised the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and amended the Indian Constitution to replace the three types of states, known as Parts A, B,...

 (1956), South Canara (part of the Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...

 under the British) was incorporated into the dominion of the newly created Mysore State
Mysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...

 (now called Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

). Tulu activists have been demanding a separate Tulu Nadu state since the 1990s. Tulu activists had raised some serious issues on the development of Mangalore
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...

 and Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu is a Tulu-speaking region spread over to parts of present Karnataka and Kerala States of India. It consists of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka and the northern parts of the Kasaragod district of Kerala up to the Payaswini River...

. One of them was that the Karnataka State Government
Government of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka is a democratically elected body with the Governor as the constitutional head. The Governor who is appointed for a period of five years appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers...

 has been focussing only on the development of Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, the capital of Karnataka, and its periphery, and cities such as Mangalore and Udupi in Tulu Nadu have received a raw deal. They also alleged that the Government had "totally neglected" Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The Kerala Government too showed similar attitude towards the northern parts of Kasargod district.

The Tulu Rajya Horata Samiti, which is now active in the three districts, advocates Self-rule as the only solution for the much awaited developmental works of the region. The Samithi rejected the initiative of the Karnataka State Government to change the name of Mangalore as Mangaluru. It insisted that if it is changed it should be changed as Kudla. Other demands are renaming Mangalore International Airport
Mangalore International Airport
Mangalore Airport, formerly known as Bajpe Airport, is a domestic and customs airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India...

 as "Tulunadu International Airport". Samiti has a drive to create awareness among the Tulu speaking people with regard to the inevitability of a separate state and enthusing them to fight for the cause."
In the early 21st century, The Tulu Nadu movement again gained momentum in the region with support from notable Mangalorean poet Kayyara Kinyanna Rai
Kayyara Kinyanna Rai
Kayyar Kinhanna Rai is an Indian independence activist,author, poet and a former journalist.-Early life:Rai was born on March 29, 1915 in a Tulu speaking Bunt family to Duggappa and Deyyakka Rai...

 and former Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 Ramanna Rai. In an interview, Kinyanna Rai said "political boundaries might not mean anything to people who were fighting for the survival of a language and its culture. Karnataka and Kerala governments spoke about "tier II cities" and the "Smart City" concept, but investment was not forthcoming". In an interview, Ramanna Rai said that "the work on the Mangalore-Bangalore railway line was completed after 35 years of its launch." He also said that " he would not accept the laying of a meter gauge line between the two cities and converting it into broad gauge as a development project particularly when there was no rail link for nine years."

In 2008, the former president of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat Harikrishna Punaroor said that "all Tulu organisations from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod districts will meet shortly to chart out a plan for a separate State and to take it up with the Centre. The people of these districts had a legitimate reason to seek a separate State. Noting that most States came into being on the basis of linguistic consideration. People from Tulu-speaking areas too could stake a claim in this regard. Tulu is one of the five Dravidian languages with its own script. The demand for the inclusion of Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution had not materialised over the years due to the apathy of the State and Union governments. Creating a separate State would give a fillip to the growth and sustenance of Tulu. It was the responsibility of elected representatives from the region to press for this cause. If the Government failed to fulfil their demand, an organised agitation would be inevitable."

Mangaloreans are also opposing the Netravati Diversion Project project which intends to divert water from rivers of this region to other parts of upland Karnataka. Statewide strikes and agitations called by various Pro Kannada organisations does not invoke any response in Tulu Nadu region.

Mahajan Panel Report

The issue of bifurcation and merger of the northern part of Kasaragod district
Kasaragod district
Kasaragod District is one of the districts of the Indian state of Kerala. Kasaragod District was organised as a separate district on 24 May 1984...

 (to the north of the Chandragiri river) with Karnataka, as recommended by the Justice Mahajan Commission as early as in 1968, was discussed in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 elections in 2004. The bifurcation issue re-emerged when the Maharashtra Government put forth its demand to bifurcate and merge Belgaum
Belgaum
Belgaum is a city and a municipal corporation in Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the fourth largest city of the state of Karnataka, the first three being Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad....

 and the neighbouring areas (now in Karnataka) with Maharashtra. The Vileeneekarana Kriya Samithi (VKS) in Kasargod had then urged Kannadigas to unite and take the issue to the apex court. Though considered a non-issue for the people of Kasaragod in general, the bifurcation scheme was important to the linguistic minorities, Tuluvas, Horanadu Kannadigas, Konkanis
Konkani people
Konkani people , form a group of people mainly found in the Konkan Coast of western India whose mother-tongue is the Konkani language....

, Marathi
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...

s, Beary, in the district, bordering Karnataka on its north and eastern boundary. The implementation of the Justice Mahajan Commission report that recommended the bifurcation of Kasaragod and merger of its northern part with Karnataka topped the agenda of the "Kasaragod Vileeneekarana Kriya Samithi" (Merger Action Council). The 2,500-member strong "Karnataka Samithi", the "Kannada Sahitya Parishad" and a section of the Horanadu Kannadigas have joined hands with the Vileeneekarana Kriya Samithi. The first official resolution demanding the bifurcation of Kasaragod district was moved and passed in the Kasaragod Municipal Council in 1956, then headed by Ramanna Rai.

According to the veteran Kannada literary and social figure, Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, who is also the founder of the Vileenekarana Kriya Samithi (VKS), the linguistic minorities in the district were not against the Malayalis or Kerala State, per se, but were demanding the implementation of the Justice Mahajan Commission report, vis-a-vis the fulfilment of promises made by the former Chief Ministers, E. M. S. Namboodiripad
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, , popularly known as EMS, was an Indian Communist leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala. As the first non-Congress chief minister in independent India, he became the leader of the first democratically elected communist government in the world...

, C. Achutha Menon
C. Achutha Menon
Chelat Achutha Menon was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India . He was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. Achutha Menon is widely considered as the best Chief Minister...

 and Pattam Thanu Pillai, in this regard.

Noted Mangalorean Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...

 (BJP) candidate Balakrishna Shetty had categorically declared his support to the cause. According to Mr. Shetty, he would welcome a move in this regard by the Karnataka Government. In an interview to The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...

, he said "We are not in power either in Karnataka or in Kerala. It is for the State Government to project the issue and seek the implementation of the Mahajan commission report. Taking into consideration the fact that a majority of the people living in the Northeast areas of the district still follow the Karnataka tradition, culturally and educationally, I would certainly support a bill on bifurcation if moved in Parliament."

United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (India)
United Democratic Front is an alliance of political parties of Kerala state in India. This alliance is led by the Indian National Congress....

 (UDF) candidate N.A. Muhammed in an interview to The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...

said he would not do anything that would distort or topple a bill favouring the implementation of the Mahajan Commission report. He also that he would not press for implementation of the Mahajan Commission report but would certainly not act against it if such a bill was moved in the Parliament.

Karnataka Samithi leader B.V. Kakkillaya said "A resolution demanding the merger of the north of Kasaragod as recommended by Justice Mahajan was moved and approved by the Vidhan Soudha under the Deve Gowda regime in Karnataka. The S.M. Krishna Government also supported this move. It would be up to the new Karnataka Government to press for the expedition of the resolution at the Centre.
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