Kanara or Canara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The subregion comprises three civil districts, namely: Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada. Kassergode was included prior to the States Reorganisation Act. Etymology According to historian Severino da Silva, the ancient name for this region is Parashurama Srushti (creation of Parashurama). According to him and Stephen Fuchs, the name Canara is the invention of Portuguese, Dutch, and English people who visited the area for trade from the early sixteenth century onwards. The Bednore Dynasty, under whose rule this tract was at that time, was known to them as the Kannada Dynasty, i.e., the dynasty speaking the Kannada language. "Karāvalli", the Kannada word for 'coast', is the term used by Kannada-speakers to refer to this region. The letter 'd' being always pronounced like 'r' by the Europeans, the district was named by them as 'Canara' (a corruption of the word "Kannada"). This name was retained by the British after their occupation of the district in 1799, and has remained ever since. However, they also say that this issue is controversial. History Since antiquity, much of the Canara coast (now spelled as 'Kanara') occupied a culturally distinct area known as Tulu Nadu. Historically, Tulu Nadu lay between the Gangavalli River in the north and the Chandragiri River in the south. Currently, Tulu Nadu consists of the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and the Kasaragod taluka of Kerala. The Uttara Kannada district in general is considered to be the southernmost part of the Konkan coast. Specifically, the littoral region north of the Gangavalli River is traditionally included in the Konkan. The Portuguese occupied Kanara from 1498–1763. During this period, the geographical extent of Canara stretched from the southern banks of the Kali River in Karwar in the north to the northern banks of the Chandragiri River in Kasaragod in the south. In 1799, after the conclusion of the Fourth Mysore War, the British took over the region and established the Canara district of the Madras Presidency. The district was bifurcated into the North and South Canara districts in 1859. The North Canara (also sometimes cited as 'North Kanara') district was transferred to the Bombay Presidency whereas the South Canara (also sometimes referred as 'South Kanara') district remained under the