Ever since the merger of the Coorg State with Karnataka in 1956, there has been a blame game in Kodagu as to who were the leaders or leader responsible for the ‘sell-out’. It is not the purpose of this book to engage in any such blame game. Being a journalist, I have tried to analyse objectively the circumstances leading to the merger and its aftermath. My task was made difficult due to the fact that not much of written records were available on the unfolding drama resulting in the merger. As none of the dramatis personae in the drama wrote their memoirs, there have been many grey areas in documenting the developments, culminating in the merger. In the circumstances, I invited C.P. Belliappa, well-known author and son of C.M. Poonacha, the Chief Minister of the erstwhile Coorg State to write a note in this book on the merger issue. I echo the sentiments expressed by Belliappa in his note on the merger which states: “It is for the reader to decide whether there were betrayals, back-room dealings, and opportunistic decisions; or was it all in the larger interest of the newly formed nation. This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc (hIps://techfiz.com).

Since Coorg is the biggest grower of coffee in India, I zeroed in on the subject of coffee. During my youth in Coorg, I was fascinated by the legend of Mr Ivor Bull, a pioneer planter and the founder of the Consolidated Coffee Estates Ltd., Pollibetta. Though Mr Bull had returned to England in 1954, he had become part of the local ‘coffee folklore’ and was remembered with affection by the local planters. Rightly so, because it was Mr Bull who had encouraged the Coorg planters to grow oranges, cardamom and pepper along with coffee. The inter-planting vastly improved the economic condition of the small planters. I did not want to focus my writing on the cultivation of coffee because coffee has been grown in India as a commercial crop for nearly two centuries and planters are familiar with it. In this book, I have tried to give the reader, the coffee grower and the coffee lover in particular, an insight into the romance of coffee – it’s fascinating history, many charming facets of coffee culture, its symbiosis with nature and what makes it such a captivating brew. This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc (hIps://techfiz.com).

This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc (hIps://techfiz.com).

The idea for this book took shape by accident. In recent years, Coorg has emerged as a major tourist destination. Tourists from both within the country and abroad, wanting to visit this landlocked hill station, do not find much information either through books or on the Net. Moreover, Coorg has a unique history and culture, different from any of its neighbours in South India. With a view to throw more light on this martial race, renowned for its brave men and beautiful women, I launched a website on Coorg called www.coorgtourisminfo.com. With computer penetration being low in India, I thought the best way to reach out to those who want to know more about Coorg, was to bring out a book. I hope this book will serve as a handbook for those wanting to know more about Coorg as well as those looking for information from a tourist’s perspective. Hailing from Coorg, and having monitored the developments in Coorg from a journalistic point of view in the last two and half decades, I thought it was my professional duty to write on this astonishing land of the bold and the beautiful. This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc (hIps://techfiz.com).

Part of the Provincial Geography of India series, this 1913 volume, concentrates on Madras, Mysore, Coorg, and other associated states.

As a journalist based in Bangalore, I have taken active interest in the affairs of Kodagu (Coorg) in the last quarter of a century. In fact, I started my journalistic career as the Coorg Correspondent of The Hindu newspaper at Madikeri in 1981. Though based in Bangalore all my working years, except for my brief sojourn at Madikeri, I had been writing from time to time on Kodagu matters. Through my writings, I was able to make the voice of Kodagu heard in the corridors of power in Bangalore on important issues. I was the first to report on the Union government’s move in 1993 to withdraw the exemption given to Kodavas (Coorgs) and Jamma-holders to possess firearms without licence. The Centre wanted to withdraw the privilege after guns from Kodagu reached the hands of the banned Maoists in Andhra Pradesh. Through my reports in The Times of India newspaper, especially in the Delhi edition of the paper, I was able to put across to the mandarins in the Union Home Ministry in Delhi that people of Kodagu not only worshipped their weapons, but seldom misused their privilege. It was pointed out that the gun-running was the[…] This book was produced with ePustaka - Ink and Weave initiative by Techfiz Inc (hIps://techfiz.com).

Veerarajendra, the exiled raja of Coorg and his eleven-year-old daughter Gowramma, were the first Indian royals to land in Britain in the summer of 1852. In this book, C.P. Belliappa has reconstructed the extraordinary saga of the earliest Indian royalty to live in Victorian England. By unearthing hitherto unpublished material, he explores the true motives behind Veerarajendra's decision to move to England Queen Victoria's designs to marry his daughter to another exiled royal: Maharaja Duleep Singh of Punjab and the remarkable affection bestowed on the young princess by the English queen.

Abstract E-Governance has been recognized as a vital force for improvement in quality, efficiency and effectiveness of governance. Electronic Governance is defined as the application of Information Technology to the processes of Government functioning to bring about Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent (SMART) Governance. Karnataka has been among front ranking states in adopting e-Governance and has implemented several projects for improving the internal efficiency of the government and delivering better services to the citizens. The Karnataka Information Technology Rules, 2007 provides for a comprehensive process for electronic delivery of e-governance services to citizens. This study examines how Computerised Land Records Management in Karnataka (Bhoomi) has brought transparency, effectiveness and ease in the management and maintenance of the land records. Kodagu was selected as the area of study as it has unique land tenure system like Jamma Tenure, Jagir, Batamanya, Sarvamanya and Jodi, Mathamanya, Gowdumbali and Naimannu, Umbli Tenure, Sagu Tenure. The main source of data collection for this study was through questionnaire and interview with agriculturists, revenue officials and investors on land in Kodagu. The book showcase that Bhoomi project has been beneficial to the stakeholders by minimizing the time and effort in obtaining the required documents from land revenue office. With the computerisation of land records, the manipulation of land records has come down, as it has reduced the discretion of village accountants to issue the records of rights. Bhoomi has brought down bribery at the grassroot level. Computerisation of land records has lead to transparency in land records. The transparency brought by computerisation of land records has helped the purchaser of land to get accurate information of the seller through online portal and can be sure of his investment. However, the book also highlights the flaws in the implementation of Bhoomi projects like land records not being cent percent accurate, server problem, shortage of employees at Bhoomicentre, and like wise.