Tulu Nadu or Tulunad is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India.[5] The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, are the preponderant ethnic group of this region.[6]South Canara, an erstwhile district and a historical area, encompassing the undivided territory of the contemporary Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka State and Kasaragod district of Kerala state forms the cultural area of the Tuluver.[7]
Historically, Tulu Nadu lay between the Gangavalli River (Uttara Kannada district) in the north and the Chandragiri River (Kasaragod district) in the south.[8] Currently, Tulu Nadu consists of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka state and Kasaragod district of Kerala state.[9] This region is not an official administrative entity.[10][11]
Mangalore, the fourth largest (in terms of area and population)[12] and a major city of Karnataka is the largest city of Tulu Nadu.[13]Udupi and Kasaragod are the other major cities of this region.[14]
Moreover, the term "Tulunad" is cited as "Tuḷu Nāṭṭu" in the "Akananuru", which is a classical Tamil poetic work and part of the "Eight Anthologies" (Ettuthokai), a collection of Sangam literature composed around more than 2000 years ago.[15][16]
^"Tourism in DK District". National Informatics Centre, Karnataka State Unit. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
^Anthropological Survey of India (Department of Anthropology) (1980). Bulletin of the Anthropological Survey of India, Volume 25. Director, Anthropological Survey of India, Indian Museum. p. 41.
^Minahan, James B. (2012). "Tuluvas". Ethnic Groups of South Asia and the Pacific: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia. Ethnic Groups of the World (illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. ISBN978-1-59884-660-7.
^Bhat, N. Shyam (1998). "Introduction". South Kanara, 1799–1860: A Study in Colonial Administration and Regional Response. Mittal Publications. pp. 1–16. ISBN9788170995869.
^Bhatt, P. Gururaja (1969). Antiquities of South Kanara. Prabhakara Press. p. 2.