North Malabar

North Malabar
Geographical / Historical Area
Clockwise from top: Mappila Bay harbour, Muzhappilangad Beach, Ezhimala, Indian Naval Academy, St. Angelo Fort, Kannur International Airport, Thalassery cuisine, Caltex Junction (South Bazar)
Coordinates: 11°45′N 75°30′E / 11.750°N 75.500°E / 11.750; 75.500
Country	India
State	Kerala Puducherry
Government
• Body	Northern Range, Kerala Mahé Sub-Division, Puducherry
Area
• Total	4,200 km2 (1,600 sq mi)
Population  (2001)(approx.)[1]
• Total	4,800,000
• Density	819/km2 (2,120/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	670***, 671*** and 673***
ISO 3166 code	IN-KL
Vehicle registration	KL-12, KL-13, KL-14, KL-18, KL-56, KL-58, KL-59, KL-60, KL-72, KL-77, KL-78, KL-79, KL-86 & PY-03
Literacy	94.52%%
Vidhan Sabha constituency	24
Civic agency	Northern Range, Kerala Mahé Sub-Division, Puducherry

North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala's present day Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara and Koyilandy in the Kozhikode District of Kerala and the entire Mahé Sub-Division of the Union Territory of Puducherry. Traditionally North Malabar has been defined as the northern portion of the erstwhile Malabar District which lies between Chandragiri River and Korapuzha River.^[2] The region between Netravathi River and Chandragiri River, which included the portions between Mangalore and Kasaragod, are also often included in the term North Malabar, as the Kumbla dynasty in the southernmost region of Tulu Nadu (between Mangalore and Kasaragod), had a mixed lineage of Malayali Nairs and Tuluva Brahmins.^[3][4]

The North Malabar region is bounded by Dakshina Kannada (Mangalore) to north, the hilly regions of Kodagu and Mysore Plateau to east, South Malabar (Korapuzha) to south, and Arabian Sea to west.^[5] The greater part of North Malabar (except Mahé) remained as one of the two administrative divisions of the Malabar District (an administrative district of British India under the Madras Presidency) until 1947 and later became part of India's Madras State until 1956. Mahé remained under French jurisdiction until 13 June 1954. On 1 November 1956, the state of Kerala was formed by the States Reorganisation Act, which merged the Malabar District with Travancore-Cochin apart from the four southern taluks, which were merged with Tamil Nadu, and the Kasaragod taluk of South Kanara District. During British rule, North Malabar's chief importance laid in producing Thalassery pepper and Coconuts.^[6]

North Malabar begins at Korapuzha in the south and ends at Manjeshwaram in the north of Kerala and traditionally comprises the erstwhile princely principalities and chiefdoms of Kolathu Nadu, Kingdom of Kottayam, Kadathanadu and southern part of Tulu Nadu. Wayanad, which forms a continuation of Mysore Plateau, was the only Plateau in North Malabar as well as Kerala. Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala is the Asia's largest, and the world's third-largest, naval academy.^[7][8][9] Muzhappilangad beach is the longest Drive-In Beach in Asia and is featured among the top 6 best beaches for driving in the world in BBC article for Autos.^[10][11] North Malabar is home to several forts which include Arikady fort, Bekal Fort, Chandragiri Fort, Hosdurg Fort, St. Angelo Fort, and Tellicherry Fort. Bekal Fort is the largest fort in Kerala.