Overview of ethnic groups resident in Karnataka
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, Telangana and 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 as per the 2011 census is the mother tongue of 66.5% of the population.
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.
Significant linguistic minorities in the state in 2011 included speakers of Urdu (10.8%), Telugu (5.8%), Tamil (3.5%), Marathi (3.4%), Hindi (3.2%), Tulu (2.6%), Konkani (1.3%) and Malayalam (1.3%).
The Karnataka Vidyavardhaka Sangha was an institution established on 20 July 1890 by Sri R H Deshpande in Dharwad, India which was then under the British rule of Bombay Presidency.
This institution was established with the sole objective of promoting Kannada culture and language in times when the Kannada speaking regions of present day Karnataka were split into six different areas, where Kannada was often overshadowed by other languages.
Soon the Sangha morphed into a hub for the Karnataka Ekikarana (Unification) movement and played a pivotal role in the eventual unification of Karnataka.
It inspired the establishment of several institutions and organisations across the state.
For its invaluable services and contributions to Kannada and Karnataka, this institution was awarded the Ekikarana Award by the Government of Karnataka on the occasion of the 50th year celebrations of Karnataka state in 2006.
