of Davanagere district in the late 12th century before the region was taken by the Yadavas of Devagiri. The Yadava and Hoysala rule in the region was overthrown by the invasions of Malik Kafur of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century, but soon the district came under the control of the Vijayanagara Empire direct from Vijayanagara. After the VIjayanagara Empire was severely weakened in 1565 after the Battle of Talikota, the local nayakas in Davanagere started asserting their independence. Some of these chiefs were allowed to rule as feudatories of the Adlil Shahis of Bijapur. Both the Mughals and Marathas briefly captured forts in the district. In 1763, one of these families, the Nayaks of Belagutti, submitted to Hyder Ali and the district was under the rule of Mysore. Dhondia Wagh of Channagiri who had created an independent principality resisted the Britishers after Tipu Sultan's defeat until his death in 1800. The district then was kept by Mysore state. Geography Davanagere district lies in the plain region on the Deccan Plateau locally known as Bayaluseeme. The district is bounded by Haveri district in the northwest, Shimoga district in the southwest, Chikmagalur district in the south, Chitradurga district in the southeast and Vijayanagara district in the north. The district lies in the center of Karnataka between the latitudes 13°5' and 14°50' N and between the longitudes 75°30' and 76°30' E. There are many windy places within the district favouring the recent growth of wind energy industry across the district. The district has an area of . Economy In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Davanagere one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the five districts in Karnataka currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). Demographics According to the 2011 census Davanagere district has a population of 1,945,497 roughly equal to the nation of Lesotho or the US state of West Virginia. This gives it a ranking of 241 amongst a total of 640 districts in India. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 8.71%. Davanagere has a sex ratio of 967 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 76.3%. After transfer of Harapanahalli taluk the district had a population of 1,643,494. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 19.4% and 11.1%