History of Kodagu

The district of Kodagu in present-day Karnataka comprises the area of the former princely state of the same name.

Kannada inscriptions speak of Kudagu nad (parts of Kodagu, Western Mysore and Kerala) as well. Both the name of the natives and of the region are synonymous (Kodava-Kodavu; Kodaga-Kodagu; Coorgs-Coorg).

The Haleri dynasty was an offshoot of Keladi Nayakas also called Ikkeri Arasu dynasty. Kodagu was independent of Mysore, which was hard pressed by enemies, and a prince of the Ikkeri or Bednur family (perhaps related to the Changalvas) succeeded in bringing the whole country under his sway, his descendants continuing to be Rajas of Kodagu till 1834. The capital was removed in 1681 by Muddu Raja to Madikeri (Mercara).

In 1770 a disputed succession led to the intervention of Hyder Ali of Mysore in favour of Linga Raja, who had fled to him for justice, and whom he placed on the throne benevolently. As a gesture of his gratitude the Raja ceded certain territories and offered to pay tribute. On Linga Rajas death in 1780 Hyder Ali interned his sons, who were minors, in a fort in Mysore, and installed a governor as their guardian at Mercara with a Mysore garrison. In 1782, however, the Kodava rose in rebellion and drove out the Mysore troops. Two years later Tipu Sultan incited the Kodavas and to become violent by means of a derogatory speech made in Madikeri. In that speech he spoke about five brothers having a wife in common among the Hindus (a reference to the Pandavas). He 'punished' the Kodavas and Are'bhase gowdas(by capturing them in large numbers by treachery over a peace deal, imprisoning them and converting them, those who refused were killed) and reduced the country; but the Kodava having again rebelled in 1785, he vowed their destruction. Kodagu was partitioned among Mysorean proprietors, and held down by garrisons in four forts. In 1788, however, Dodda Vira Raja (or Vira Rajendra Wodeyar), with his wife and his brothers Linga Raja and Appaji, succeeded in escaping from his captivity, at Periapatam and, placing himself at the head of a Kodava rebellion, aligned with the British and succeeded in driving the forces of Tipu (who had aligned with the French) out of the country. By the ill meant treaty of peace Kodagu, though not adjacent to the British East India Company's territories, was included in the cessions forced upon Tipu. On the spot where he had first met the British commander, General Abercromby, the Kodagu Raja founded the city of Virarajendrapet (this is now usually called Virajpet). Those who were converted into Islam by Tipu were settled in Kodagu in their respective villages. Parts of Northern Kodagu had been depopulated as Tipu's men had killed the Kodava farmers of those regions. So the Raja got Tulu and Kannada farmers (later called Kodagu Are'bhashe Gowdas) from neighbouring Sulya (which was part of coorg'called lower coorg')(Dakshina Kannada) and Sakleshpura (Hassan) to settle down in those regions. Meanwhile, craftsmen and farmers from Northern Kerala, called Airi and Heggade, were also settled in parts of Kodagu at that time. Konkani Roman Catholics who escaped imprisonment in Srirangapatna (Mysore's capital at that time) were settled down in Virajpet town. While some 50,000 Kodavas and early Are'bhashe gowda's were reported missing (most of them were killed in the Mysore Sultanate atrocities and a remaining minuscule few were converted into Mappilas), some 10,000-15,000 Kodavas still existed in Kodagu at that time. The total population of Kodagu was very small at that time (around 25,00-50,000) as a result of the mass killings and ethnic cleansing under the Mysore Sultan.

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