jurisdiction of the Madras Presidency. South Canara encompassed the undivided territory of the contemporary Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, and Kasaragod districts. After India's independence in 1947, the Bombay Presidency was reconstituted as the Bombay State. Following the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the southern portion of Bombay State was added to Mysore State, which was renamed Karnataka in 1972. Kasaragod was included in Kerala. Subsequently, North and South Canara were renamed Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada respectively. In 1997, Udupi district was carved out of the bigger Dakshina Kannada district. Geography The Kanara region forms the coast of Karnataka situated on the south-western portion of Peninsular India. Coastal Karnataka forms the northern segment of the Malabar coast. Kanara constitutes an area of about 10,000 square kilometres (4,000 square miles). It is bounded by Konkan to the north, the Western Ghats to the east, the Kerala Plains to the south, and the Arabian Sea to the west. It stretches from north to south for about 225 kilometres (140 miles) and has a maximum width of about 64 kilometres (40 miles) in the south. Civil administration Contemporary Kanara extends from the village of Majali in the north to the village of Talapady in the south. The three districts in the region: Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada have their capitals in Karwar, Udupi, and Mangalore respectively. Demographics The Kanara region have 3 Districts Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada the combine population of these districts According to 2011 Census is about 47,04,179 Lakhs . Religious Demographics Hinduism is the largest and the most dominant religion in the region with over 35,98,634 lakh claiming to be practising hindus though some hindus don't follow the customary religious beliefs of Hinduism in this region and it have regional variations . Islam is the second largest religion in the region many belive it to be had existed before the Muslim conquests of India it have over 7,72,874 lakh followers . Christanity is the third largest religion in the region with over 2,81,718 lakh followers . See also Fort Anjediva Konkan Carwar, North Canara South Canara (erstwhile district) Sunquerim, Karnataka Tulunaad Udupi, Udupi district Mangalore, Dakshina Kannada Kasaragod, Kassergode district Hosdurg Fort Notes Konkan is now held to include all the land which lies between the Western Ghats and the Indian Ocean, from the latitude of Daman on the north to that of Terekhol, on the Goa frontier, on