Kasargod

District Profile Lying in the northern tip of Kerala bounded by the Western ghats in the east and Arabian sea in the west, twelve rivers flowing across its terrain, Kasaragod is an enchanting beauty of Nature's creations. History

Lying on the north western coast of the State, Kasargod was famous from time immemorial. Many Arab travellers, who came to Kerala between 9th and 14th centuries A.D., visited Kasargod as it was then an important trade centre. They called this area Harkwillia. Mr.Barbose, the Portuguese traveller,who visited Kumbla near Kasargod in 1514, had recorded that rice was exported to Male Island whence coir was imported. Dr.Fracis Buccanan, who was the family doctor of Lord Wellesly, visited Kasargod in 1800. In his travelogue, he has included information on the political and communal set-up in places like Athiparamba, Kavvai, Nileshwar, Bekkal, Chandragiri and Manjeshwar. Kasargod was part of the Kumbala Kingdom in which there were 64 Tulu and Malayalam villages. When Vijayanagar empire attacked Kasargod, it was ruled by the Kolathiri king who had Nileswar as his headquarters. It is said that the characters appearing in Theyyam, the ritualistic folk dance of northern Kerala, represent those who had helped king Kolathiri fight against the attack of the Vijayanagar empire. During the decline of that empire in the 14 century, the administration of this area was vested with the Ikkeri Naikans. They continued to be the rulers till the fall of the Vijayanagar empire in 16th century. Then Vengappa Naik declared independence to Ikkeri. In 1645 Sivappa Naik took the reins and transferred the capital to Bednoor. Thus they came to be known as Bendoor Naiks. Chandragiri fort and Bekkal fort are considered to be part of a chain of forts constructed by Sivappa Naik for the defense of the kingdom. In 1763 Hyder Ali of Mysore conquered Bednoor and his intention was to capture entire Kerala. But when his attempt to conquer Thalassery Fort was foiled, Hyder Ali returned to Mysore and died there in 1782. His son, Tippu Sulthan, continued the attack and conquered Malabar. As per the Sreerangapattanam treaty of 1792, Tippu surrendered Malabar except Tulunadu (Canara) to the British. The British got Canara only after the death of Tippu Sulthan in 1799. Kasargod was part of Bekal taluk in the South Canara district of Bombay presidency. Kasargod taluk came into being when Bekal taluk was included in the Madras presidency on April 16, 1882. Though Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar moved a resolution in 1913 on the floor of Madras Governor's Council demanding the merger of Kasargod taluk with the Malabar district, it had to be withdrawn because of the stiff opposition of the members from Karnataka. In 1927,a political convention held at Kozhikode, passed a resolution stressing the above demand. In the same year, an organisation titled Malayalee Seva Sangham was constituted. Thanks to the efforts made by many eminent persons like K.P.Keshva Menon, Kasargod became part of Kerala following the reorganisation of states and formation of Kerala in November 1,1956. District formation NATIONAL MOVEMENT Kasargod played a prominent role in the National Movement for the freedom of the country. Mohammed Sherul Sahib and Kandige Krishna Bhat were the frontline leaders of the independence movement. Umesh Rao, K.M.Krishnan Nambiar, Shreesankarji, Naranthatta Raman Nair, A.C.Kannan Nair, T.Gopalan Nair, and Meloth Narayanan Nambair were prominent freedom fighters. The agrarian struggles to end the exploitation and oppression by landlords and chieftains were part of the National Movement. The Kadakom Sathyagraha various struggles unleashed for the uplift of the scheduled castes and tribes also supported and enlivened in National Movement. Demography Geographical Area 1992 Sq.Kms. Taluks Kasargod, Hosdurg Revenue Villages 75 Nos. Municipalities Kasargod, Kanhangad Development blocks Manjeshwar, Kasargod, Kanhangad, and Nileshwar Panchayaths 39 Nos. Post Offices 234 Telephone Exchanges 46 TV Relay centres 2 Population, Literacy and Other figures 1991 Census 2001 Census Total Population 10,71,508 12,03,342   Male 5,28,803 5,87,763   Female 5,42,705 6,15,579 Density / Sq.Km. 538 604 Sex Ratio/1000 males 1026 1047 Growth Rate 22.78%(1981-1991) 12.30%(1991-2001) Child population : Total 1,65,090 1,50,907   Male 84,158 76,071   Female 80,932 74,836 Child Ratio/1000 males 962 984 Scheduled Caste 81,970 N.A Scheduled Tribe 29,283 N.A House holds 1,81,667 N.A Literacy Rate : Total 82.51% 85.17%   Male 88.97% 90.84%   Female 76.29% 79.80% Marginal workers: Total 30,796 89,564   Male 13,162 47,337   Female 17,634 42,227 Work participation rate (1000 males) 542 443 No. of Non-workers: Total 7,14,212 7,85,623   Male 2,85,219 2,98,239   Female 4,28,993 4,87,384 (Figures from CENSUS OF INDIA 2001, SERIES-33, KERALA "Provisional Population Totals")   POPULATION, LITERACY AND CHILD POPULATION KERALA STATE & KASARGOD DISTRICT 2001 Census (Provisional) KERALA STATE KASARGOD DISTRICT Comparison with State Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Population Rural 23571484 11450785 35022269 1203342 587763 1791105 5.11% 5.13% 5.11% Urban 8267135 4017879 12285014 969597 474899 1444496 11.73% 11.82% 11.76% Total 31838619 15468664 47307283 233745 112864 346609 0.73% 0.73% 0.73% Literacy Rural 9400183 9347029 18747212 371861 341734 713595 3.96% 3.66% 3.81% Urban 3417780 3460706 6878486 92983 89789 182772 2.72% 2.59% 2.66% Total 12817963 12807735 25625698 464844 431523 896367 3.63% 3.37% 3.50% Child population (Age 0-6) Rural 1401551 1350989 2752540 62149 60857 123006 4.43% 4.50% 4.47% Urban 460118 440920 901038 13922 13979 27901 3.03% 3.17% 3.10% Total 1861669 1791909 3653578 76071 74836 150907 4.09% 4.18% 4.13%