Coorg State

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Coorg State
Former State
1950–1956
Coorg in India (1951).svg
Location of Coorg State in India
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
Region South India
Formation26 January 1950
Dissolution1 November 1956
Government
  Chief minister
 1952-1956
C. M. Poonacha
Time zone UTC+05:30 (IST)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
British Raj Red Ensign.svg Coorg Province
Mysore State Flag of India.svg
Map of Southern India before the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 with Coorg State in dark green South Indian territories.svg
Map of Southern India before the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 with Coorg State in dark green

Coorg State was a Part-C state in India which existed from 1950 to 1956. [1] When the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, most of the existing provinces were reconstituted into states. Thus, Coorg Province became Coorg State. Coorg State was ruled by a Chief Commissioner with Mercara as its capital. The head of the government was the Chief Minister. Coorg State was abolished on 1 November 1956 as per the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and its territory was merged with Mysore State (later renamed as Karnataka in 1973). [2] Currently, Coorg forms a district of Karnataka state.

History

The Coorg State came into being on 26 January 1950 as per the Constitution of India. Prior to the enactment of the Constitution, Coorg had been a province of the Dominion of India.

The first legislative elections in Coorg were held in 1952. The main contenders were the Indian National Congress led in the state by C. M. Poonacha and the Takkadi party led by the Gandhian Pandyanda Belliappa. While the Congress supported merger with the neighbouring Mysore State, the Takkadi party fought the election on an anti-merger plank. The Indian National Congress won a majority of 15 seats while the Takkadi party bagged the remaining nine seats.

Commissioners of Coorg State

(1) Dewan Bahadur Ketolira Chengappa, became its first Chief Commissioner from 1947–1949

(2) C.T. Mudaliar became Chief Commissioner from 1949–1950 [1]

(3) Kanwar Baba Daya Singh Bedi, Chief Commissioner from 1950–1956 [1]

Government of Coorg

Government was formed in Coorg by Indian National Congress, who won 15 of 24 seats. Cabinet was formed with two ministers (including Chief Minister), which lasted till States Reorganisation Act on 1 November 1956.

Chief Minister

Cheppudira Muthana Poonacha won from Berriathnad constituency became the first and last Chief Minister of Coorg State from 1952 till 1956. [1]

Cabinet

Dissolution

As a result of the States Reorganisation Act of 1 November 1956, when India's state boundaries were reorganised, Coorg State became a district of the then Mysore State [1] [3] [4] Mysore State was later renamed as Karnataka and part of the historical region of Coorg now forms the Kodagu district of Karnataka. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 Coorg State Legislative Assembly election</span> Legislative Assembly election in Coorg, India

The 1952 Coorg Legislative Assembly election was held to constitute the Coorg Legislative Assembly, electing members of legislature for 18 constituencies of the erstwhile Indian State of Coorg. It took place on 27 March 1952 and a total of 87,947 people voted 24 out of 60 candidates to power. This was the only election to the assembly before the State was merged into Mysore as per the States Reorganisation Act in 1956.

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Pandyanda I. Belliappa was a Gandhian, a freedom fighter and politician from the erstwhile state of Coorg.

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Nidemane Somana was an Indian politician and lawyer. He was an Indian National Congress leader in Coorg State and served as the Member of Parliament for the state in the first legislature after the independence of India.

Coorg was a constituency of the Lok Sabha. It was used in the parliamentary election of 1951–1952. The constituency elected a single member of the Lok Sabha and was the sole Lok Sabha seat for the Coorg State. As of 1952, the constituency had 94,593 eligible voters.

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Atthur is a small village near Gonikoppa in Virajpet Taluk of Kodagu District, Karnataka State, India. It comes under Guhya Panchayath. It belongs to Mysore Division. It is located 37 km (23 mi) towards South from District headquarters Madikeri and 240 km (150 mi) from State capital Bangalore.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cahoon, Ben. "Indian states since 1947". www.worldstatesmen.org.
  2. "When Kodagu merged with Mysore: A short political history of the region". 12 August 2020.
  3. Gayathri, M. B.; Mysore, University of (6 April 1997). "Development of Mysore state, 1940-56". University of Mysore via Google Books.
  4. Ramaswamy, Harish (6 April 2018). Karnataka Government and Politics. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN   9788180693977 via Google Books.
  5. Muthanna, I M. Coorg Memoirs (The story of the Kodavas).

Further reading

12°25′15″N75°44′23″E / 12.4208°N 75.7397°E / 12.4208; 75.7397