Karnataka ethnic groups

Cowbells collected from various regions of Karnataka being played at Janapada Loka.

Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act. Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the north-west, Maharashtra to the north, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the south-east, and Kerala to the south-west. The state covers an area of 74,122 sq mi (191,976 km²), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It comprises 30 districts. Kannada is the official language of Karnataka and is spoken as a native language by about 74% of the people.^[1] Various ethnic groups with origins in other parts of India have unique customs and use languages at home other than Kannada, adding to the cultural diversity of the state. Other ethnic minorities in the state in 1991 were Urdu people (9.72%), Telugu people (6.34%), Marathi people (3.95%), Tamil people (3.82%), Tuluvas (3.38%), Hindi (1.87%), Konkani people (1.78%), Malayalis (1.69%), Kodavas (0.25%), Kodava maaples (0.13%) and Gujarati people (0.10%).^[1] Kannada is spoken widely and predominantly.

Kannadiga

Kannadigas form the dominant ethnic group in Karnataka, making up to 72% of the total population of the state. They are the native speakers of the Kannada language. Kannada is one of the official languages of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka.^[2] Based on the recommendations of the Committee of Linguistic Experts, appointed by the Ministry of Culture, the Government of India officially recognised Kannada as a classical language.^[3][4]

Tuluva people

A regional map of Tulu Nadu in Karnataka. Tulu Nadu also includes Northern part of the Kasaragod district

Tuluvas are the native speakers of Tulu language. They form the dominant linguistic group in the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, which together is often termed as a single region called as Tulu Nadu. As per 1991 census, Tuluvas form 2.38% of the total population of the state.^[1] Most Tulu-speaking people of state are bilingual in Kannada and Konkani due to inter-marriages between the two communities.

Konkani people

The speakers of Konkani language are widely settled in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada (Udupi and Dakshina Kannada was the erstwhile South Canara district).^[5] In Karwar Taluk (Uttara Kannada district) alone, Konkani language is spoken by about 78% of the population.^[5] Significant population of Konkani people has also settled in Belgaum, Sirsi and Bangalore.^[5] As per 1991 census, the speakers of Konkani form 1.78% of the total population of the state.^[1] In Karnataka, which has the largest number of Konkanis, leading organizations and activists have similarly demanded that Kannada script be made the medium of instruction for Konkani in local schools instead of Devanagari.^[6] Most Konkani-speaking people of the state are bilingual in Kannada and Tulu.

Kodava people

Dolls in Kodava attire

Kodava people are the native speakers of Kodava language and are mainly settled in the district of Kodagu.^[7] As per 1991 census, the speakers of Kodava Takk make up to 0.25% of the total population of the state.^[1] According to Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, apart from Kodavas, 18 other ethnic groups speak Kodava Takk in and outside the district including Heggade, Iri, Koyava, Banna, Madivala, Hajama, Kembatti, and Meda.^[8] Though the language has no script, recently a German linguist by name Gregg M. Cox developed a new writing system for the language known as the Coorgi-Cox alphabet, used by a number of individuals within Kodagu.^[9] Lately, some organizations including the Codava National Council (CNC) and Kodava Rashtriya Samiti are demanding Kodava homeland status and autonomy to Kodagu district.^{[10] [11]}

Other ethnic groups

Urdu

People speaking Urdu as their mother tongue form the second largest ethnic group in Karnataka (9.72% of the total population as per 1991 census), the majority of whom are Muslims (constituting 85.6% of the Muslim population in Karnataka).^[1] The concentration of speakers of Urdu shows an uneven distribution over different districts in Karnataka. The difference in the numerical strength of Urdu speakers varies from a few hundred to thousands.^[1] Almost 57.5% of the total Urdu population in Karnataka are bilingual. Kannada is the most preferred language among the Urdu speakers of Karnataka. About 43.5% of the total Urdu population has bilingualism in Kannada.^[1]

Marathi people

Marathi people are the native speakers of the Marathi language, which serves as the official language of the adjoining state of Maharashtra. Marathi speakers are mostly found in the districts of Belgaum and Bidar and as per 1991 census form 2.95% of the total population of the state. The migration of Marathi-speakers to Karnataka date from the 17th century when the Maratha Empire was established.^[1] Belgaum district was incorporated into the newly formed Mysore state (now Karnataka) with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act (1956), which reorganised India's states along linguistic lines, despite having a large Marathi-speaking population;^[12] about three-fourths of the total population.^[13] There are also considerable number of Marathi-speakers in Bangalore city.^[14]

Telugu people

As per 1991 census, speakers of Telugu formed the third largest ethnic group in Karnataka (8.34% of the total population).^[1] The speakers of Telugu language form the native ethnic group of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the neighbouring states of Karnataka. Telugu is the official language of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states spoken by 88.5% of the population. Telugu is the third most spoken language in India.^[15] The Indian government designated Telugu as a classical and ancient language on 1 November 2008.^[16] Telugu and Kannada share a long relationship, both having a similar script and culture. There has been a large migration of Telugu-speakers to Karnataka ever since the days of the Vijayanagara Empire.

There are significant populations of Telugu speakers in the eastern districts of Karnataka viz. Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Bellary, Chikballapur, Kolar, Raichur and Tumkur.^[17] Telugu people are the third largest ethnic group in Bengaluru after Kannadigas and Urdus, constituting 16% of the total population as per the 1991 census.^[18] The recent migrants from Andhra Pradesh speak Telugu while older migrants are bilingual in both Kannada and Telugu. Some Telugu people settled in Karnataka for generations have adopted Kannada as their mother-tongue.

Tamil people

Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form of India which has its origin in Tamil Nadu, but is immensely popular in Karnataka as well

Tamil people are the native speakers of the Tamil language, which is spoken predominantly in the adjoining state of Tamil Nadu. The language has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Puducherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius and Fiji Islands. It is one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of India and the first Indian language to be declared as a classical language by the government of India in 2004. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Myanmar, Mauritius, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and Réunion as well as emigrant communities around the world.^[19]

In Karnataka however, Tamils form 5.46% of the total population of the state.^[1][20] There has been a recorded presence of Tamil-speaking people in Southern Karnataka since the 10th century.^[21] During the eleventh century AD, the areas in and around Bangalore were a bone of contention between the Tamil-speaking Cholas and the Kannada-speaking Western Chalukyas.^[21] The Vaishnavite Brahmins of Southern Karnataka use the Tamil surname "Iyengar" and are believed to have migrated during the time of the 12th century Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya. Most Iyengars in Karnataka use sub-dialects of Iyengar Tamil. Some believe that Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore city, was a Vanniyakula Kshatriya from Kanchipuram district.^[21]

After the fall of Tipu Sultan, a large British Army presence in the Cantonment area (Bangalore) attracted speakers of Tamil, who either were attached to the military or were military suppliers.In fact, the area was administered directly by the Madras Presidency, and was handed over to the Mysore State only in 1949.^[14] Today, the erstwhile Cantonment area of Bangalore comprising Ulsoor, Shivajinagar, Benson Town, Richard’s Town, Frazer Town, Austin Town, Richmond Town, Cox Town, Murphy Town and others still boast a large Tamil populace.^[14] The boom in the textile industry in the early part of 20th Century also witnessed migration from the Madras Presidency. Some of the very well known mills of the time employed Tamil-speaking people in large numbers, who settled down in areas in and around Bangalore^[14]

Tamil-speaking people are largely found in the districts of Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural,Shivamogga, Ramanagaram, Mysore, Kolar, Hassan, Mandya and Chamarajanagar in southern Karnataka and Bellary in northern Karnataka. Recent migrants speak Tamil while older migrants are bilingual in Kannada and Tamil. Some who have resided in Karnataka for generations have even adopted Kannada as their mother tongue. In 1991, Tamils constituted the largest ethnolinguistic minority in Bangalore city making up 21.38% of the total population.^[18] Today, Tamil speakers form an estimated 25-30 percent of the population of Bangalore city.^[22][23] As of 1971, Tamil formed the second-largest mother tongue in Bangalore and Bhadravathi, third in Mysore and Shimoga, fourth in Bellary, fifth in Davanagere and sixth in Mangalore.^[24] The districts, according to the 1971 census, where the largest proportion of Karnataka's Tamil population live are Bangalore (53.7 percent of the Tamil-speaking population of Karnataka), Kolar (14 percent) and Mysore (8.6 percent).

There are also Tamil families from Sri Lanka who were originally of South Indian Tamil descent, settled in Sulya and Puttur taluks of Dakshina Kannada district and are currently working in rubber plantations in the district.^[25][26][27]

Malayali people

Malayalis are the native speakers of the Malayalam language, which has official status in the state of Kerala, and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry.^[28][29]

As per 1991 census, Malayalis form 0.69% of the total population of the state^[1] Native Malayalam-speaking people are found in large numbers in the districts of Dakshina Kannada Mysore Shivamogga Kodagu.^{[30][31][32][33]} In the early part of the 20th century, a large number of traders from the Malabar region settled in Bangalore for business reasons. The number of migrants increased with the establishment of public sector undertakings in the 1950s. Improving educational standards of Bangalore also brought a large number of students from Kerala.^[14] Even though Kodagu is known for its native Kodavas, the district also has a thriving population of Malayalis and not all of them are recent economic migrants. The ancestry of the people go a long way back and have developed their own distinct identity.^[34] It is also evident that Kodagu-Malabar association is ancient by the fact that people of Kodagu worshipped gods and goddesses common to the Malabari Malayali people.^[31]

Others

Entrance to golden temple, Bylakuppe

Other ethnic groups settled in Karnataka includes Gujarati people (0.10%), Bengali people (0.03%), Punjabi people (0.03%), Sindhi (0.03%), Oriya people (0.01%), Arabic, (0.01%) Nepali (0.01%) and Tibetan (0.05%).^[1] Another minor ethnic group which needs to be mentioned here are the Bearys. They follow Islam religion and are mainly settled in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.^[35] They are the native speakers of Beary bashe, a language made of Malayalam idioms with Tulu phonology and grammar.^[36] This dialect was traditionally known as Mappila Malayalam because of Bearys' close contact with Mappilas.^[36] Due to vast influence of Tulu for centuries, it is today considered as a language, close to both Malayalam and Tulu.^[36] The word 'Beary' is said to be derived from the Tulu word 'Byara' which means trade or business, as this community were primarily traders. Since the major portion of this community people were involved in business activities, the local Tulu-speaking majority called them as Beary or Byari.^[37] There is also a small Tibetan settlement in Bylakuppe, in Mysore district. This was the first and largest of the intentional Tibetan settlements in India, and was created in response to accommodate fleeing Tibetans due to the Chinese occupation of their homeland. The camp is home to some 14,000 Tibetans.^[38] Another ethnic group that needs special mention is the Siddis. They are found in the ghat area of Uttara Kannada district, Dharwad district and Belgaum district. These people have African ancestry as majority of these people were said to have come from Goa, where they were imported from East Africa (mainly Mozambique) by Portuguese as slaves.^[39] They speak Are Marathi, a mixture of Marathi, Konkani and Kannada language.^[39]

References