Mysore district

Mysore district, officiallyMysuru district, is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state ofKarnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters ofMysore division.Chamarajanagar Districtwas carved out of the original larger Mysore District in the year 1998. The district is bounded by Chamrajanagar district to the southeast,Mandya districtto the east and northeast,Keralastate to the south,Kodagudistrict to the west, andHassan districtto the north.
This district has a prominent place in the history of Karnataka;Mysorewas ruled by theWodeyarsfrom the year 1399 till the independence of India in the year 1947. It features many tourist destinations, fromMysore PalacetoNagarhole National Park. It is the third-most populous district in Karnataka (out of31), afterBangalore UrbanandBelgaum.
Mysore district gets its name from the city ofMysorewhich is also the headquarters of the district. The original name of this city was Mahishapura derived from a demon namedMahishasura. A statue of Mahishasura and a temple dedicated toGoddess Chamundeshwarion the top ofChamundi Hillnear Mysore city, relate to the legend of its origin.
The earliest known reference of rulers in Mysore district are theGangaswho during the rule of King Avinitha (469-529 CE), moved the capital fromKolartoTalakaduon the banks of the riverKaveriin theTirumakudalu Narasipurataluk.Talakadu remained their regal capital till the end of Ganga rule in the early 11th century. Gangas ruled over a greater part of Mysore district, then known by the name ofGangavadi. In the end of the 8th century, the Rashtrakuta kingDhruva Dharavarshadefeated the Ganga kingShivamara IIand wrested Gangavadi from him. Gangavadi came under the governorship ofKambarasa, the son of Dhruva Dharavarsha. Gangas who were overthrown from Gangavadi, had to wait till their king Nitimarga Ereganga (853–869 CE) won a victory against the Rashtrakutas at Rajaramudu. Seeing the increasing might of the Gangas, the Rashtrakuta KingAmoghavarsha Igave his daughter Revakanimmadi in marriage to the son of Ereganga,Butuga IIwho became the ruler of Gangavadi. Gangas ruled over Gangavadi till the Ganga king, Rakkasa Ganga (985–1024 CE) was defeated by theCholas.
In the year 1117,Vishnuvardhana, the great king ofHoysaladynasty seized Gangavathi and its capitalTalakadfrom the Cholas. To commemorate this achievement, Vishnuvardhana built the Keerthinarayana temple at Talakad.Gangavadi was ruled by the Hoysalas till the death of their last ruler,Veera Ballala IIIafter which Gangavadi became a part of theVijayanagara Empire. In 1399, Yaduraya established the Wodeyar dynasty at Mysore.It remained as a feudatory to the Vijayanagara Empire owing allegiance to the Vijayanagara kings and the Vijayanagara representative atSrirangapatna, till the fall of theVijayanagara Empirein 1565 CE. In the vacuum that was created, Raja Wodeyar I (1578–1617) established control and became the first major ruler of the Wodeyar family. He defeated the Vijayanagara representative in a battle at Kesare near Mysore, shifted his capital from Mysore to Srirangapatna in 1610 AD.
The Wodeyars continued to rule over Mysore till the reign of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II (1734–1766), whenHyder AliKhan and his sonTipu Sultanbecame the virtual rulers of Mysore.Though there were Wodeyar kings during the rule of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, they were mere figureheads. With the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 under the hands of theBritish, the Wodeyars were reinstated to the throne of Mysore and the capital was shifted back to Mysore. Prince Krishnaraja Wodeyar III who was just 5 years old was installed on the throne of Mysore in 1799.Wodeyars were the subsidiaries of theBritish Empireand had to pay annual subsidies. During the rule of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, the British took the kingdom back from Wodeyars in 1831 under the pretext that the Wodeyar king did not pay the annual subsidy.Commissioners were appointed to rule over the Mysore kingdom. Mark Cubbon (Cubbon Road and Cubbon Park inBangalorecity are named after him) and L. B. Bowring (Bowring Hospital in Bangalore city is named after him) were the prominent British Commissioners who ruled over Mysore. However, the Wodeyar kings raised a plea against this with the British Parliament who gave a ruling favour of the Wodeyars. In 1881,Chamaraja Wodeyar IX(son of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III and Wodeyar king since 1868) was given back the reins of the Mysore kingdom from the British.The Wodeyars continued to rule over the Mysore Kingdom, till the rule ofJayachamaraja Wodeyarwho, in the year 1947, merged his kingdom into the new dominion of independent India. He remained as a Maharaja till India became a republic in the year 1950 after which he was anointed as a Raja Pramukh (a constitutional position) as the head of Mysore state till 1956. In 1956, after the reorganisation of Indian states, the Mysore state was born and Jayachamaraja Wodeyar was made as the governor of this state – the position he held until 1964.
Mysore district is located between latitude 11°45' to 12°40' N and longitude 75°57' to 77°15' E. It is bounded byMandya districtto the northeast,Chamrajanagardistrict to the southeast,Keralastate to the south,Kodagudistrict to the west, andHassan districtto the north. It has an area of 6,854 km(ranked 12th in the state). The administrative center of Mysore District is Mysore City. The district is a part ofMysore division. Prior to 1998, Mysore district also contained the Chamarajanagar district before that area was separated off.
The district lies on the undulating table land of the southernDeccan plateau, within the watershed of theKaveri River, which flows through the northwestern and eastern parts of the district. TheKrishna Raja Sagarareservoir, which was formed by building a dam across the Kaveri, lies on the northern edge of the district.Nagarhole National Parklies partly in Mysore district and partly in adjacent Kodagu District.
The district is undulating with only a few isolated peaks.  These includeChamundi Hill(1,030 m (3,380 ft) aboveMSL) and Bettadapura hill (1,320 m (4,330 ft) above MSL) in Periyapatna Taluk.  The latter is the highest mountain peak in Mysore district.
The temperature in the district varies from 15 °C in winters to 35 °C in summers. Mysore district receives an average rainfall of 785 mm.
In 2022, Mysore district received an average annual rainfall of 1,318 millimetres (51.9 in) (an excess of 57%). The top three highest rainfall receiving hoblis were:
The types of soil found in this district are red soils (red gravelly loam soil, red loam soil, red gravelly clay soil, red clay soil), lateritic soil, deep black soil, saline alluvio-colluvial soil and brown forest soil.Some of the minerals found in this district arekyanite,sillimanite,quartz,magnesite,chromite,soapstone,felsite,corundum,graphite,limestone,dolomite, siliconite anddunite
According to the2011 censusMysore district has apopulationof 3,001,127,roughly equal to the nation ofArmeniaor the US state ofMississippi.This gives it a ranking of 125th in India (out of a total of640).The district has a population density of 437 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,130/sq mi) .Itspopulation growth rateover the decade 2001-2011 was 13.39%.Mysore has asex ratioof 982femalesfor every 1000 males,and aliteracy rateof 72.56%. 41.50% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 17.88% and 11.15% of the population respectively.Some of the more ancient forest tribes areJenu Kuruba,Betta Kuruba,Paniya,YerevaandSoliga.
Hindusconstitute 87.70% of the population with Muslims making up 9.68% of the population; the remaining part of the population is made up by Christians,Buddhistsand other religious groups.
At the time of the 2011 census, 80.81% of the population spokeKannada, 9.27%Urdu, 2.91%Telugu, 2.22%Tamil, 1.12%Marathiand 0.92%Hindias their first language.
Mysore district is divided into three subdivisions,Nanjangud, Mysore andHunsur. The Mysore district administration is headed by the Deputy Commissioner who also has the additional role of a District Magistrate. Assistant Commissioners, Tahsildars, Shirastedars (revenue official at Tahsil level), Revenue inspectors and Village Accountants help the Deputy Commissioner in the administration of the district. Mysore city is the headquarters of the district. It lies on the north eastern part of the district and is well known for its beautiful palaces and also for the festivities that take place duringDasara.
Mysore District is subdivided into nine taluks:
Mysore district has 1 Municipal Corporation, 3 City Municipal Councils, 5 Town Municipal Councils and 6 Town Panchayats.
Mysore district elects 11 members to the Legislative Assembly of the State of Karnataka. The 11 assembly constituencies are:
Mysore district also elects 1 member to theLok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The Mysore Lok Sabha constituency consists of all the Assembly constituencies mentioned above except for Nanjangud,Tirumakudalu Narasipura,K.R.NagaraandH.D.Kotewhich belong to theChamarajanagarLok Sabha constituency.
The seat of the administrative head for 128 years was a heritage building constructed in 1895 on Krishnaraja Boulevard.   In order to decongest the old office, a new office was constructed on a 15 acres (6.1 ha) plot inSiddhartha Nagarat a cost of Rs. 670 million (67 crores).  The three storey building resembles theLalitha Mahal Palace Hotel.  It has a built-up area of 13,720 m(147,700 sq ft). In addition, there is basement parking of 9,150 m(98,500 sq ft).  The total area of 23,000 m(250,000 sq ft) is 3-4 times larger than the old office.  The foundation stone was laid in October 2016 and building was inaugurated on 10 March 2018, whenSiddaramaiahwas the Chief Minister.  However, with the change of government a few weeks later, the office lay vacant for several years. On 8 June 2023, soon after Siddaramaiah became Chief Minister again, the Deputy Commissioner shifted his office to the new building.
Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of this district as it is with the rest of India. Though the agriculture is highly dependent on the rainfall, about 45% of the sown area is irrigated.  The principal means of irrigation are canals from the rivers Kaveri andKabinirivers and tubewells.According to the 2001 census, about 3,25,823 farmers are involved in cultivation in this district. In the year 2001–2002, Mysore district yielded a food grain production of 608,596 Tonnes which is a contribution of 6.94% of the total food grain production in the state for the year.Some of the important crops grown here are cotton,grams,groundnut,jowar, maize,ragi, rice,sugarcane,sunflowerandtur.Horticulture is another area contributing significantly to the economy.  The principal fruits by area arebananaandmango.  By production, banana, mango,papayaandsapotaare the main fruits.
Industries in Mysore district are mainly concentrated around the cities of Mysore and Nanjangud. Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has established two industrial estates as Mysore and Nanjangud and established six industrial areas in Mysore district to encourage Industrial Development of the district. These are located at Belagola, Belawadi, Hebbal (Electronic City) and Hootagalli of Mysore Industrial estate and the industrial areas Nanjangud and Thandavapura of Nanjangud industrial estate.
The first major industry to be set up in Mysore with the partnership of the Maharaja of Mysore when Mysore was still an industrially backward district in 1960 was the now defunctIdeal JawaIndia Ltd. motorcycle factory with technical collaboration withJawa MotorsofCzechoslovakia.
Some of the major industries located near Mysore city are:
Some of the major industries located in Nanjangud are:
Mysore is proving to be the next IT hub inKarnatakaafter the phenomenal success of Bangalore. The government of India has recognised Mysore as number one among the 20 Tier II cities of India for the promotion of the IT industry.Currently, all of the IT related industries are concentrated around Mysore city. The Software Technology Park (STP) inMysorewas inaugurated in 1998 by the prime minister of India,Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As of August 2006, there are 42 companies registered with the STP. Software exports from Mysore were expected to double to about Rs. 850 crores in the financial year 2006-07 from previous year's exports of Rs. 400 crores.Some of the major IT companies located here are:
Tourism is another big industry in Mysore. Its importance as a tourist destination was evident when it was selected as the venue for the Karnataka Tourism Expo in 2006.Though Mysore city is well known as a tourist place, other parts the district are yet to see growth in tourism. However, the tourism department plans to develop other areas like Nanjangud, Bettadapura, Hedathali, Kapadi, Mudukuthore Betta, Mugur and Tirumakudalu Narasipura as tourist places.