Tulu Nadu
Tulu Nadu, or Tulunad, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The region is predominantly inhabited by the Tulu people, also known as Tuluva, who speak Tulu, a Dravidian language. The former district encompassed the territories of the contemporary Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka State, and Kasaragod district of Kerala state. These areas collectively form the cultural region of the Tuluver.
Historically, Tulu Nadu lies between the Gangavalli River and Chandragiri/Payaswini River. Despite its distinct cultural identity, the region is not recognized as an official administrative entity.
Kudla is the largest city in Tulu Nadu, the third-largest city by area, and the fifth-largest by population in Karnataka. Udupi and Kasarogod are two other major cities in this region, both located on the Kerala-Karnataka border.
The term "Tulunadu" appears as "Tuḷu Nāṭṭu" in Akananuru, a classical Tamil poetic work that is part of the "Eight Anthologies" — a collection of Sangam literature composed over 2000 years ago.
Etymology
According to Keralolpathi, the name Tuluva comes from the name of one of the Cheraman Perumal kings of Kerala, who located their residence in the northern portion of their dominions just before its separation from Kerala, and was called Tulubhan Perumal.Foundation narrative
According to its foundation narrative, the district was reclaimed by Parashurama from the sea. According to the 17th-century Malayalam work Keralolpathi, the lands of Kerala and Tulu Nadu were recovered from the Arabian Sea by the ax-wielding warrior sage Lord Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Parasurama threw his ax across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached. According to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation; so Parashurama invoked the Snake King Nagaraja Vasuki, who spat holy poison known as Halahala and converted the soil into fertile lush green land. Out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land. P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar theorised that Cheran Senguttuvan may have been inspired by the Parashurama legend, which was brought by early Aryan settlers.History
Ancient period
According to the works of Sangam literature, Tulu Nadu was one of the 12 socio-geographical regions included in the ancient Tamilakam. Tulu Nadu likely formed part of ancient Kerala, where the western coastal dialect of Middle Tamil was spoken. It must have separated from Tamilakam sometime between 300 CE and 500 CE, when the Kadambas invaded the northern portions of Chera kingdom. No definite historical records relating to Tulu Nadu, other than those found in Sangam literature, have been discovered of an earlier date than 8th or 9th century CE.Alupa dynasty
, a Greco-Roman 2nd-century geographer, identifies the Tulu Nadu region as Olokhoira which is widely believed to be a corruption of the term Alva Kheda, "the land of the Alvas". Historically, Tulu Nadu included the two separate lands of Haiva and Tuluva. The longest-ruling and oldest known native dynasty of Tulu Nadu was that of the Alupas. Their kingdom was also known as Alvakheda. They initially ruled independently and later were the feudatories of the prominent dynasties. The Kadamba dynasty of Banavasi was the earliest, under which the Alupas flourished. Later, the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, Chalukyas of Badami, Chalukyas of Kalyani, Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra, and Rayas of Vijayanagara were the overlords. The Alupas, however, were independent, and their subordination was nominal at best. They ruled until the Vijayanagara Empire took control of Tulu Nadu from 14th to the 17th centuries.During the rule of Vijayanagara, Tulu Nadu was administered in two parts – Mangaluru Rajya and Barkuru Rajya. Tulu Nadu was governed by the native feudatories of the Vijayanagara Empire until the 18th century. These feudatories gained power towards the end of the Alupa period. An Old Malayalam inscription, dated to 1075, mentioning king Kunda Alupa, the ruler of Alupa dynasty of Mangalore, can be found at Ezhimala, near Payyanur, in Kerala State.
Notable among them were the Chowtas of Ullal and Moodabidri, Ajilas of Venur, the Savanta or Samantha Rajas of Mulki, the Bhairahawa Ideas of Karkala, the Tolaharas of Suralu, the Bangas of Bangadi, the Rajas of Kumbla, and the Rajas of Vitla.
The region became extremely prosperous during the Vijayanagara period, with Barkur and Mangalore gaining importance. After the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Keladi Nayakas of Ikkeri controlled much of Tulu Nadu. Over the following centuries, more ethnic groups migrated to the area. Konkanis from Goa arrived by sea, as Mangaluru was a major port that served not only the Portuguese but also the Arabs for maritime trades. Jains were already a prominent group and even today are uniquely preserved in Tulu Nadu. Though small in number, the Jains left behind indelible reminders of their glory with temples, in and monolithic statues of the Jain god Bahubali in Karkala, Venoor and Dharmasthala. In the 16th century, there was a large influx of Catholics to Tulu Nadu from Goa.
Under Portuguese rule, the region was called the Misao do Sul. In the mid- to late-18th century, it was conquered by Hyder Ali, the de facto ruler of Mysore. After the British defeated Haidar's successor Tipu Sultan in 1799, the region was attached to the Madras Presidency before being reverted to the state of Mysore after independence. Mangalore played a prominent role in Tipu's battles with the British. The British gained full control by 1801. The British ruled the region with Madras as its headquarters. Under the British, the region was organized into the districts of North Canara and South Canara respectively.
File:Parshuramsaraswats.jpg|thumb|As per Hindu mythology, Parashurama commanded Lord Varuna to make the seas recede to make the Tulu Nadu.
When the states were reorganized on a linguistic basis in 1956, Tulu Nadu, which was earlier a part of Madras Presidency, and North Canara, which was a part of Bombay Presidency, became part of the newly formed Mysore state, which was later renamed as Karnataka. Kasaragod became part of the newly formed state of Kerala. The Tuluvas began demanding official language status for Tulu and a separate state named Tulu Nadu for themselves. Organizations like the Tulu Rajya Horata Samiti have taken up the cause of the Tuluvas, and meetings and demonstrations were held at towns like Mangalore and Udupi to voice their demand.
Demographics
South Canara had a total population of 1,748,991 in 1951, of whom 76.58% were Hindus, 14.31% Muslim, and 8.85% Christian. The most widely spoken language was Tulu which was the mother tongue of 40% of the population, followed by Malayalam which formed the mother tongue of 24% each of the population. Around 17% of the total population spoke Kannada. Around 13% of the population spoke Konkani as their mother tongue. In 1901, it had a density of.The 1908 Imperial Gazetteer of India lists South Canara, along with the Thanjavur and Ganjam districts, as the three districts of the Madras Presidency where Brahmins are most numerous.
The majority of the people were Billavas and Bunts. There were more Brahmins in South Kanara than in any other district of the Madras Presidency, making South Kanara, along with Tanjore and Ganjam one of the three districts of the province where Brahmins were most numerous.
The original indigenous people of the region are Tuluvas and Malayalis in the Kasaragod Taluk. The Brahmins who settled first belonged chiefly to the Sthanika and thus they were called Tulu Brahmins. Others were Shivalli, Saraswat, Havyaka, Kota sub-sections, Mahars, the hill-tribes.
Language
The most widely spoken language is Tulu, which belongs to the Dravidian family of languages, and whose native speakers are referred to as Tuluva. The number of Tulu speakers was estimated to be about 1.7 million in 2001, although some sources quote as many as 3 million. The other languages spoken in Tulu Nadu include Kundagannada, Arebhashe, Malayalam, Konkani, Koraga, and Beary.The Tulu script originates from the Grantha script and bears strong similarity to the Malayalam script. It was used in Tulu Nadu for many centuries before later being replaced by the Kannada script for most writing. A large corpus of Sanskrit manuscripts—including Vedic and religious works—was historically written in this script, and several important Tulu classical works, such as the Tulu Mahabharata, Kaveri, Bhagavato, and Devimahatme, also survive in this script.
Geography and climate
Tulu Nadu lies along the Konkan Coast. Tulu Nadu is bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea and on the east by the Western Ghats. The Chandragiri river forms a historical border to the south. Tulu Nadu spans an area of, roughly 4.4 percent of the total geographical area of present-day Karnataka and Kasaragod district is the northernmost district of Kerala.The coastal region of Tulu Nadu is characterized by its lush rainforests and serene backwaters. The area enjoys a tropical climate, marked by scorching summers, humid days, and a monsoon season that brings heavy rainfall. While summer and winter months experience similar temperature conditions, with average temperatures ranging from 24 to 33 degrees Celsius, the monsoon season brings a refreshing respite from the heat.
Monsoon starts at the beginning of June, with the heaviest rainfall during Aati month, which spans from mid-July to mid-August. Occasional rain persists until Deepawali and Marnemi festivals in October–November. Winter lasts from December to early February, and Summer from mid-February until May. With occasional tropical rain during April and May.