| Chamarajanagara District | |
| — district — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Karnataka |
| Subdistrict(s) | Yelandur, Gundlupet, Chamarajanagara, Kollegal, Hanur |
| Headquarters | Chamarajanagara town |
| Deputy Commissioner | |
| Population • Density |
965,462 (2001[update]) • 189 /km2 (490 /sq mi) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area | 5,101 square kilometres (1,970 sq mi) |
Chamarajanagara (Kannada: ಚಾಮರಾಜನಗರ) is the southern-most district in the state of Karnataka, India. It was carved out of the original larger Mysore District in the year 1998. Chamarajanagara town is the headquarters of this district.[1]
It is the third least populous district in Karnataka (out of 30), after Kodagu and Bangalore Rural.[2]
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Chamarajanagar was earlier known as Arikottara. Chamaraja Wodeyar, the Wodeyar king of Mysooru was born here and hence this place was renamed after him. The Vijaya Parsvanath Basadi, a holy Jain shrine was constructed by Punisadandanayaka, the commander of the Hoysala king Gangaraja in the year 1117 A.D.
Being the southernmost district of Karnataka, Chamarajanagara district borders the state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Specifically, it borders Mysooru district of Karnataka to the west and north, Mandya and Bengalooru districts of Karnataka to the north-east, Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu to the east, Salem and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu to the south-east, Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu to the south and Wayanad district of Kerala to the south-west.
Most of the district lies in the leeward region of the Nilgiris and consists of mainly semi-arid rain-dependent flatlands along with forested hills.
According to the 2011 census Chamarajanagar district has a population of 1,020,962,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus[3] or the US state of Montana.[4] This gives it a ranking of 441st in India (out of a total of 640).[2] The district has a population density of 200 inhabitants per square kilometre (520 /sq mi) .[2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 5.75 %.[2] Chamarajanagar has a sex ratio of 989 females for every 1000 males,[2] and a literacy rate of 61.12 %.[2]
Having a large percentage of forest cover, the district also has a high population of forest-dwelling tribals; prominent among them are the Soligas, Yeravas, Jenu Kurubas and Betta Kurubas. These tribals have their own dialect and their total population is said to be around 82000. The literacy level of Chamarajanagara district is 51%.
Since much of the southern area of the district is dense forest, it provided good refuge to the notorious bandit Veerappan, responsible for the death of over a hundred policemen. He was shot dead in an encounter with the specially formed Special Task Force (STF) on 18 October 2004, in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. He had been on the run for over two decades. The presence of illegal quarrying for black stone imposes a great threat to the forests in the region.
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