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Karnataka
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Karnataka
(kärnä'təkə) or Carnatic (kärnăt'ĭk) , formerly Mysore (mīsôr') , state (2001 provisional pop. 52,733,958), 74,122 sq mi (191,976 sq km), SW India, bordering on the Arabian Sea. It is bordered on the north by the states of Goa and Maharashtra, on the east by Andhra Pradesh, on the south by Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and on the west by the Arabian Sea. The capital is Bangalore (Bengaluru).
Most of the area is a plateau (alt. 1,000–3,000 ft/305–915 m) traversed by the upper Kaveri, Tunga, and Bhadra rivers, flowing east. These plus its many other rivers are used for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. Coffee is the major crop, but cotton, millet, sugarcane, rice, and fodder are also grown. The state has the most valuable sandalwood forests in India. Karnataka produces nearly all of India's chromite and has considerable deposits of iron ore and manganese. The gold mines at Kolar are now closed, but some gold is still mined near Hutti. There is an excellent road and railway system, and the state manufactures steel and steel products, computer components and software, automobiles, and airplanes. At Karwar is a major modern Indian naval base. The population is largely Hindu and speaks Kannada (Kanarese). The linguistic uniformity of the state and its excellent education system contribute to one of India's highest literacy rates. Karnataka is governed by a chief minister and cabinet responsible to a bicameral legislature (with one elected house) and by a governor appointed by the president of India.
The region was part of the empire of the Mauryas (c.325–185 B.C.). From the 3d to the 11th cent. it was ruled by the Gangas and Chalukyas. In 1313 it was conquered by the Delhi Sultanate, but it was soon lost to the Vijayanagar kingdom. The region was the site of the earliest European settlements in India. During the 18th cent. the Carnatic plains became the arena for the struggle between Great Britain and France for supremacy in India. The early European settlers sometimes applied the term Carnatic to all of S India. In the late 18th cent. the Muslim leaders Haidar Ali and his son, Tippoo Sahib, conquered the Hindu rulers of Karnataka, but were defeated in 1799 by the British, who restored the Hindu dynasty and thereafter provided protection. In 1947 the state of Mysore acceded to the Indian Union. For centuries Kannada-speaking peoples had been fragmented by division into different regions; in the 1950s Mysore was granted additional territories, doubling its area and largely consolidating the linguistic group. In 1973 the state was renamed Karnataka.
WordNet:
Karnataka
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
state in southern India; formerly Mysore
Synonym: Mysore
Wikipedia:
Karnataka
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?Karnataka India |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST ([[UTC+5:30]]) |
| Area | |
| Capital | Bangalore |
| Largest city | Bangalore |
| District(s) | 29 |
| Population • Density |
[3] (9th) • /km² (/sq mi) |
| Language(s) | Kannada |
| Governor | Rameshwar Thakur |
| Chief Minister | H. D. Kumaraswamy, until October 9th, 2007. Now under President's rule [1] |
| Established | 1956-11-01 |
| Legislature (seats) | Bicameral (224 + 75) |
| ISO abbreviation | IN-KA |
| Website: www.karnataka.gov.in | |
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Coordinates: Karnātakā 
pronunciation? (Kannada: ಕನಾ೯ಟಕ)
(IPA: [kəɹnɑːʈəkɑː]) is one of the four
southern states of India. The state was created on November 1 1956 with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally named State of
Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east,
Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. The
state covers an area of 191,791 km² or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It is the eighth largest Indian state by area, the ninth largest by population and comprises 29 districts. Kannada is the official and most widely spoken
language.
Though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning elevated land. Karu nadu may also be read as Karu (black) and nadu (region), as a reference to the black cotton soil found in the Bayaluseeme region of Karnataka. During the British Raj, the word Carnatic or Karnatak was used to describe this part of the region in general.
With an antiquity that dates to the paleolithic, Karnataka has also been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient India. Great philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements whose ennobling effects have been felt far and wide. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions. Writers in the Kannada language have received the most number of Jnanpith awards in India. Bangalore, also known as Bengalūru, is the capital city of the state and is at the forefront of the rapid economic and technological development that India is experiencing.
History
The history of Karnataka can be traced back to a paleolithic hand-axe culture evidenced by discoveries of, among other things, hand axes and cleavers in the region. Evidence of neolithic and megalithic cultures have also been found in the state. Gold discovered in Harappa was found to be imported from mines in Karnataka, prompting scholars to hypothesize about contacts between ancient Karnataka and the Indus Valley Civilization in 3000 BCE.[4][5] Prior to the third century BCE, most of Karnataka was part of the Nanda Empire before coming under the Mauryan empire of Emperor Ashoka. Four centuries of Satavahana rule followed, allowing them to control large areas of Karnataka. The decline of Satavahana power led to the rise of the earliest native kingdoms, the Kadambas and the Western Gangas, marking the region's emergence as an independent political entity. The Kadamba Dynasty, founded by Mayurasharma, had its capital at Banavasi;[6][7] the Western Ganga Dynasty was formed with Talakad as its capital.[8][9]
These were also the first kingdoms to use Kannada in administration, as evidenced by the Halmidi inscription and a fifth-century copper coin discovered at Banavasi.[10][11] These dynasties were followed by Kannada empires such as the Badami Chalukyas,[12][13] the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta[14][15] and the Western Chalukya Empire,[16][17] which ruled over large parts of the Deccan and had their capitals in what is now Karnataka.
At the turn of the first millennium, the Hoysalas gained power in the region. Art and architecture flourished during this time, which led to the distinctive Kannada literary metres and the construction of temples and sculptures adhering to the Vesara style of architecture.[18][19][20][21] The expansion of the Hoysala Empire brought parts of modern Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu under its rule. In the early 14th century, Harihara and Bukka Raya established the Vijayanagara empire with its capital, Hosapattana (later named Vijayanagara), on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the modern Bellary district. The empire rose as a bulwark against Muslim advances into South India, which it completely controlled for over two centuries.[22][23]
In 1565, Karnataka and the rest of South India experienced a major geopolitical shift when the Vijayanagara Empire fell to a confederation of Islamic sultanates in the Battle of Talikota.[24] The Bijapur Sultanate, which had risen after the demise of the Bahmani Sultanate of Bidar, soon took control of the Deccan; it was defeated by the Moghuls in the late 17th century.[25][26] The Bahamani and Bijapur rulers encouraged Urdu and Persian literature and Indo-Saracenic architecture, the Gol Gumbaz being one of the high points of this style.[27]
In the period that followed, parts of northern Karnataka were ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, the British, and other powers. In the south, the Mysore Kingdom, former vassals of the Vijayanagara Empire, was briefly independent.[28] With the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, Haidar Ali, the commander-in-chief of the Mysore army, gained control of the region. After his death, the kingdom was inherited by his son Tipu Sultan.[29] To contain European expansion in South India, Haider Ali and later Tipu Sultan fought four significant Anglo-Mysore Wars, the last of which resulted in Tipu Sultan's death and the incorporation of Mysore into the British Raj in 1799.[30] The Kingdom of Mysore was restored to the Wodeyars and Mysore remained a princely state under the British Raj.
As the "doctrine of lapse" gave way to dissent and resistance from princely states across the country, Kittur Chennamma, Sangolli Rayanna and others spearheaded rebellions in Karnataka in 1830, nearly three decades before the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Other uprisings followed, such as the ones at Supa, Bagalkot, Shorapur, Nargund and Dandeli. These rebellions which coincided with the 1857 war of independence were led by Mundargi Bhimarao, Bhaskar Rao Bhave, the Halagali Bedas, Venkatappa Nayaka and others. By the late 19th century, the freedom movement had gained momentum; Karnad Sadashiva Rao, Aluru Venkata Raya, S. Nijalingappa, Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Nittoor Srinivasa Rau and others carried on the struggle into the early 20th century.[31]
After India's independence, the Maharaja, Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, allowed his kingdom's accession to India. In 1950, Mysore became an Indian state of the same name; the former Maharaja served as its Rajpramukh (head of state) until 1975. Following the long-standing demand of the Ekikarana Movement, Kodagu and Kannada speaking regions from the adjoining states of Madras, Hyderabad and Bombay were incorporated into the Mysore state, under the States Reorganization Act of 1956. The thus expanded state was renamed Karnataka, seventeen years later, in 1973.[32]
Geography
The state has three principal geographical zones: the coastal region of Karavali, the hilly Malnad region comprising the Western Ghats and the Bayaluseeme region comprising the plains of the Deccan plateau. The bulk of the state is in the Bayaluseeme region, the northern part of which is the second largest arid region in India.[33] The highest point in Karnataka is the Mullayanagiri hills in Chikkamagaluru district which has an altitude of metres ( ft). Some of the important rivers in Karnataka are the Kaveri, the Tungabhadra, the Krishna and the Sharavathi.
Karnataka consists of four main types of geological formations[34] — the Archean complex made up of Dharwad schists and granitic gneisses, the Proterozoic non-fossiliferous sedimentary formations of the Kaladgi and Bhima series, the Deccan trappean and intertrappean deposits and the tertiary and recent laterites and alluvial deposits. Significantly, about 60% of the state is comprised of the Archean complex which consist of gneisses, granites and charnockite rocks. Laterite cappings that are found in many districts over the Deccan Traps were formed after the cessation of volcanic activity in the early tertiary period. Eleven groups of soil orders are found in Karnataka, viz. Entisols, Inceptisols, Mollisols, Spodosols, Alfisols, Ultisols, Oxisols, Aridisols, Vertisols, Andisols and Histosols.[34] Depending on the agricultural capability of the soil, the soil types are divided into six types, viz. Red, lateritic, black, alluvio-colluvial, forest and coastal soils.
Karnataka experiences four seasons. The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May, the
monsoon season between June and September and the post-monsoon season from October till December. Meteorologically, Karnataka is divided into three zones — coastal, north interior and south interior. Of
these, the coastal zone receives the heaviest rainfall with an average rainfall of about mm ( in) per annum, far in excess of the state average of mm
( in). Agumbe in the Shivamogga district
receives the second highest annual rainfall in India.[35] The highest recorded temperature was °C
(
About 38,724 km² of Karnataka (i.e. 20% of the state's geographic area) is covered by forests. The forests are classified as reserved, protected, unclosed, village and private forests. The percentage of forested area is slightly less than the all-India average of about 23%, and significantly less than the 33% prescribed in the National Forest Policy.[36]
Sub divisions
There are 29 districts in Karnataka—Bagalkote, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore Urban, Belgaum, Bellary, Bidar, Bijapur, Chamarajanagar, Chikballapur,[37] Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Davanagere, Dharwad, Gadag, Gulbarga, Hassan, Haveri, Kodagu, Kolar, Koppal, Mandya, Mysore, Raichur, Ramanagara,[37] Shimoga, Tumkur, Udupi and Uttara Kannada. Each district is governed by a district commissioner or district magistrate. Each district is divided into sub-divisions, which are governed by sub-divisional magistrates; sub-divisions comprise blocks containing panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities.
As per the 2001 census, Karnataka's six largest cities sorted in order of decreasing population were, Bangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore, Gulbarga, Belgaum and Mangalore. Bangalore is the only city with a population of more than one million. Bangalore Urban, Belgaum and Gulbarga are the most populous districts, each of them having a population of more than three million. Gadag, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu districts have a population of less than one million.[38]
Demographics
According to the 2001 census of India, the total population of Karnataka is 52,850,562, of which 26,898,918 (50.89%) are male and 25,951,644 (49.11%) are female, or 1000 males for every 964 females. This represents a 17.25% increase over the population in 1991. The population density is 275.6 per km². 33.98% of the people live in urban areas. The literacy rate is 67% with 76% of males and 57% of females being literate.[39] 83.8% of the population are Hindu, 12.23% are Muslim, 1.91% are Christian, 0.78% are Jains, 0.73% are Buddhist, and with the remainder belonging to other religions.[40]
Kannada is the official language of Karnataka and spoken as a native language by about 64.75% of the people. Other linguistic minorities in the state as of 1991 are Urdu (9.72%), Telugu (8.34%), Marathi (3.95%), Tamil (3.82%), Tulu (3.38%), Hindi (1.87%), Konkani (1.78%), Malayalam (1.69%) and Kodava Takk (0.25%).[41] The state has a birth rate of 2.2%, a death rate of 0.72%, an infant mortality rate of 5.5% and a maternal mortality rate of 0.195%. The total fertility rate is 2.2.[42]
In the field of super-specialty health care, Karnataka's private sector competes with the best in the world.[43] Karnataka has also established a modicum of public health services having a better record of health care and child care than most other states of India. In spite of these advances, some parts of the state still leave much to be desired when it comes to primary health care.[44]
Government and administration
Karnataka has a parliamentary system of government with two democratically elected state legislatures, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Legislative Assembly consists of 224 members who are elected for five-year terms.[45] The Legislative Council is a permanent body which consists of 75 members with one-third of its members retiring every two years.[45]
The government of Karnataka is headed by the Chief Minister who is chosen by a majority vote of the members in the Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister along with the council of ministers, drives the legislative agenda and exercises most of the executive powers.[46] However, the constitutional and formal head of the state is the Governor who is appointed for a five year term by the President of India on the advice of the union government.[47] The citizens of Karnataka also elect 28 members to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament.[48] The members in the state assembly elect 12 members to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
For administrative purposes, Karnataka has been divided into four revenue divisions, 49 sub-divisions, 29 districts, 175 taluks and 745 hoblies/revenue circles.[49] The administration in each district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner who belongs to the Indian Administrative Service and is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Karnataka state services. The Deputy Commisioner of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service and assisted by the officers of the Karnataka Police Service, is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues in each district. The Deputy Conservator of Forests, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service, also serves the government. Sectoral development in the districts is looked after by the district head of each development department such as Public Works Department, Health, Education, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, etc.
The judiciary in the state consists of the Karnataka High Court (Attara Kacheri) in Bangalore, district and session courts in each district and lower courts and judges at the taluk level.
Politics in Karnataka has been dominated by three political parties, the Indian National Congress, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party.[50] Politicians from Karnataka have played prominent roles in federal government of India with some of them having held the high positions of Prime Minister and Vice President.
The official emblem of Karnataka has a Ganda Berunda in the centre. Surmounting this are four lions facing the four directions, taken from the Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath. The emblem also carries two Sharabhas with the head of an elephant and the body of a lion.
Economy
Karnataka, which had a GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) of about Rs. 1940.09 billion ($ 46.19 billion) in the 2006-2007 fiscal year, is one of the more economically progressive states in India.[51] The state registered a GSDP growth rate of 9.2% for the year 2006-2007.[52] Karnataka's contribution to India's GDP in the year 2004-05 was 5.2%.[53] Karnataka was the fastest growing state over the past decade in terms of GDP and per capita GDP. With GDP growth of 56.2% and per capita GDP growth of 43.9%, Karnataka now has the sixth highest per-capita GDP of all states.[54] Till September 2006 Karnataka received a Foreign Direct Investment of Rs. 78.097 billion ($ 1.7255 billion) for the fiscal year 2006-07, placing it third among the states of India.[55] At the end of 2004, the unemployment rate in Karnataka was 4.94% compared to the national rate of 5.99%.[56] For the fiscal year 2006-07, the inflation rate in Karnataka was 4.4%, compared to the national average of 4.7%.[57] As of 2004-05, Karnataka had an estimated poverty ratio of 25%, which was slightly lesser than the national ratio of 27.5%.[58]
Nearly 56% of the workforce in Karnataka is engaged in agriculture and related activities.[59] A total of 12.31 million hectares of land, or 64.6% of the state's total area, is cultivated.[60] Much of the agricultural output is dependent on the southwest monsoon as only 26.5% of the sown area is irrigated.[60]
Karnataka is the manufacturing hub for some of the largest public sector industries in India, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, National Aerospace Laboratories, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Indian Telephone Industries, Bharat Earth Movers Limited and Hindustan Machine Tools, which are based in Bangalore. Many of India's premier science and technology research centers, such as Indian Space Research Organization, Bharat electronics limited and the Central Food Technological Research Institute, are also headquartered in Karnataka.
Since the 1980s, Karnataka has emerged as the pan-Indian leader in the field of IT (information technology). As of 2007, there were nearly 2,000 firms operating out of Karnataka. Many of them, including two of India's biggest software firms, Infosys and Wipro are also headquartered in the state.[61] Exports from these firms exceeded Rs. 50,000 crores ($12.5 billion) in 2006-07, accounting for nearly 38% of all IT exports from India.[61] All this has earned the state capital, Bangalore, the sobriquet Silicon Valley of India.[62]
Karnataka also leads the nation in biotechnology. It is home to India's largest biocluster, with 158 of the country's 320 biotechnology firms being based here.[63] The state also accounts for 75% of India's floriculture, an upcoming industry which supplies flowers and ornamental plants worldwide.[64]
Seven of India's leading banks, Canara Bank, Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank, Vijaya Bank, Karnataka Bank, Vysya Bank and the State Bank of Mysore originated in this state.[65] The coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada have a branch for every 500 persons - the best distribution of banks in India.[66] As of March 2002, Karnataka had 4767 branches of different banks with each branch serving 11,000 persons, which is lower than the national average of 16,000.[67]
Transport
Air transport in Karnataka, as in the rest of the country, is still a fledgling but fast expanding sector. Karnataka has airports at Bangalore, Mangalore, Hubli, Belgaum, Hampi and Bellary with international operations from Mangalore and Bangalore airports. Airports at Mysore, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga are expected to be operational by the end of 2007.[68] Major airlines such as Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan are based in Bangalore.
Karnataka has a railway network with a total length of approximately kilometres ( mi). Until the creation of the South Western Zone headquartered at Hubli in 2003, the railway network in the state was in the Southern and Western railway zones. Several parts of the state now come under the South Western Zone, with the remainder under the Southern Railways. Coastal Karnataka is covered under the Konkan railway network which was considered India's biggest railway project of the century.[69] Bangalore is extensively connected with inter-state destinations while other important cities and towns in the state are not so well-connected.[70][71]
Karnataka has one major port, the New Mangalore Port, and ten other minor ports.[72] The New Mangalore port was incorporated as the ninth major port in India on 4th May 1974. This port handled 32.04 million tonnes of traffic in the fiscal year 2006-07 with 17.92 million tonnes of imports and 14.12 million tonnes of exports. The port also handled 1015 vessels including 18 cruise vessels during the year 2006-07. The inland water transport within the state is not well developed.
The total lengths of National Highways and state highways in Karnataka are kilometres ( mi) and kilometres ( mi), respectively. The KSRTC, the state public transport corporation, transports an average of 2.2 million passengers daily and employs about 25,000 people.[73] In the late nineties, KSRTC was split into three corporations, viz., The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, The North-West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and The North-East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation with their headquarters in Bangalore, Hubli and Gulbarga respectively.[73]
Culture
The diverse linguistic and religious ethnicities that are native to Karnataka combined with their long histories have contributed immensely to the varied cultural heritage of the state. Apart from Kannadigas, Karnataka is home to Tuluvas, Kodavas and Konkanis. Minor populations of Tibetan Buddhists and tribes like the Soligas, Yeravas, Todas and Siddhis also live in Karnataka. The traditional folk arts cover the entire gamut of music, dance, drama, storytelling by itinerant troupes, etc. Yakshagana of coastal Karnataka, a classical folk play, is one of the major theatrical forms of Karnataka. Contemporary theatre culture in Karnataka remains vibrant with organizations like Ninasam, Ranga Shankara, Rangayana and Prabhat Kalavidaru continuing to build on the foundations laid by Gubbi Veeranna, T. P. Kailasam, B. V. Karanth, K V Subbanna, Prasanna and others.[74] Veeragase, Kamsale and Dollu Kunitha are popular dance forms. The Mysore style of Bharatanatya nurtured and popularised by the likes of the legendary Jatti Tayamma continues to hold sway in Karnataka and Bangalore also enjoys an eminent place as one of the foremost centers of Bharatanatya.[75]
Karnataka also has a special place in the world of Indian classical music with both Carnatic and Hindustani styles finding place in the state and Karnataka has produced a number of stalwarts in both styles. The Haridasa movement of the sixteenth century contributed seminally to the development of Carnatic music as a performing art form. Purandara Dasa, one of the most revered Haridasas, is known as the Karnataka Sangeeta Pitamaha ('Father of Carnatic music').[76] Celebrated Hindustani musicians like Gangubai Hangal, Mallikarjun Mansur, Bhimsen Joshi, Basavaraja Rajaguru, Sawai Gandharva and several others hail from Karnataka and some of them have been recipients of the Kalidas Samman, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awards.
Gamaka is another classical music genre based on Carnatic music that is practiced in Karnataka. Kannada Bhavageete is a genre of popular music that draws inspiration from the expressionist poetry of modern poets. The Mysore school of painting has produced painters like Sundarayya, Tanjavur Kondayya, B. Venkatappa and Keshavayya.[77] Chitrakala Parishat is an organisation in Karnataka dedicated to promoting painting, mainly in the Mysore painting style.
Saree is the traditional dress of women in Karnataka. Women in Kodagu have a distinct style of wearing the saree, different from the rest of Karnataka.[78] Dhoti, known as Panche in Karnataka is the traditional attire of men. Shirt, Trouser and Salwar kameez are widely worn in Urban areas. Mysore peta is the traditional headgear of Karnataka.
Rice and Ragi form the staple food in South Karnataka, whereas Sorghum is staple to North Karnataka. Apart from this, coastal Karnataka and Kodagu have a distinctive cuisine of their own. Bisi bele bath, Jolada rotti, Ragi mudde, Uppittu, Masala Dose and Maddur Vade are some of the popular food items in Karnataka. Among sweets, Mysore Pak and Dharwad pedha are popular.
- Religion
The three most important schools of Hindu philosophy, Advaita, Vishistadvaita and Dvaita blossomed in Karnataka.[79] While Madhvacharya was born in Karnataka, Adi Shankaracharya chose Sringeri in Karnataka to establish the first of his four mathas. Ramanujacharya, who fled persecution by the Cholas in modern Tamil Nadu, spent many years in Melkote.[80] In the twelfth century, Veerashaivism emerged in northern Karnataka as a protest against the rigidity of the prevailing social and caste system. Leading figures of this movement were Basava, Akka Mahadevi and Allama Prabhu, who established the Anubhava Mantapa where the philosophy of Shakti Vishishtadvaita was expounded. This was the basis of the Lingayat faith which today counts millions among its followers.[81] The Jain philosophy and literature have contributed immensely to the religious and cultural landscape of Karnataka. Islam, which had an early presence on the west coast of India as early as the tenth century, gained a foothold in Karnataka with the rise of the Bahamani and Bijapur sultanates that ruled parts of Karnataka.[82] Christianity reached Karnataka in the sixteenth century with the arrival of the Portuguese and St. Francis Xavier in 1545.[83] Buddhism was popular in Karnataka during the first millennium in places such as Gulbarga and Banavasi. A chance discovery of edicts and several Mauryan relics at Sannati in Gulbarga district in 1986 has proven that the Krishna River basin was once home to both Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism.
Mysore Dasara is celebrated as the Nada habba (state festival) and this is marked by major festivities at Mysore.[84] Ugadi (Kannada New Year), Makara Sankranti (the harvest festival), Ganesh Chaturthi, Nagapanchami, Basava Jayanthi and Ramzan are the other major festivals of Karnataka.
Language
The Kannada language is the official language of the state and is the native language of approximately 65% of Karnataka's population.[85][86] Kannada played a crucial role in the creation of Karnataka since linguistic demographics was a major criterion chosen to create the state in 1956. Tulu, Kodava Takk and Konkani are other major native languages that share a long history in the state. Urdu is spoken widely by the Muslim population. Less widely spoken languages include Beary bashe and certain dialects such as Sankethi. Kannada features a rich and ancient body of literature covering topics as diverse as Jainism, Vachanas, and