obtained from Pullur shows the political sovereignty of the Chera Kingdom in this region. Later, when Kolathunadu of Kolathiri dynasty from Kannur administered the region, Kolathiri appointed Kanhan as the baron of the region. So the name Kanhante Naadu, meaning 'Kanhan's Province' contracted to Kanhangad. Due to the collapse of the Kolathiri Dynasty, the reign of Elamkoor came to an end and the powerful elite barons renowned as Ettadukkal lords gained the strength. Among them, the mightiest was Allohalan, whose reign was concentrated around Madiyan Kovilakam. With the help of the Zamorin, Kolathiri has assassinated him and established a new dynasty at Neeleswaram headquarters. Earlier Kanhangad was a crucial port in all sense. Hence the Vijayanagara kings attacked Kanhangad too during their conquest of Tulu Nadu. After the fall of the Vijayanagara dynasty, the Ikkeri Kings have been attacking this area since the 1630s. Since Kanhangad became a part of Nileshwaram kingdom following the reign of the Kolathunadu, the land witnessed frequent conflicts between Nileshwaram kingdom and Ikkeri Nayaks of Bednore. When the Ikkeri Nayaks defeated the Nileshwaram kingdom, the region came under the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom. In 1713 Somashekara Nayaka constructed a new fort to resist further attacks from Nileshwaram kingdom. The fort is now known as Puthiyakotta or Hosdurg, meaning 'New Fort' in Malayalam and Kannada respectively. In the 1760s Haidar Ali captured the land from Ikkeri Nayaks and the region came under the Mysore Kingdom which was later merged with the south Kanara district. In 1799, soon after the death of Tipu Sultan the entire region came under the control of East India Company. Till 1862, Kanhangad was in Bekal Taluk under Bombay Presidency. On 15 April 1862 when the Dakshina Kannada region shifted to Madras Presidency, the region came under Kasaragod taluk. After the formation of Kerala State, Kasaragod taluk was divided and Kanhangad came under Hosdurg taluk on 1 January 1957. Politics Kanhangad was an important centre of the Indian National movement. The Congress Working Committee joined at Kanhangad on 1 January 1925 and decided to launch a massive Khadi centre. It has given good direction to the freedom struggle in addition to the increase in the enthusiasm which the promotion of Khaadi had. In January 1925, the Hosdurg unit of the Indian National Congress was formed. AC Kannan Nair was the first President and KT Kunhiraman Nambiar was the first Secretary. Many members of