History
Kanhangad can claim to have a prominent historic past.
The land was called Poozhinadu in Sangham period. Later the land between Chithari River and Kariankode River was known as Paduvanadu. It was under the Muzhaka dynasty ruled being Ezhimala as their head quarter. The kingdom under Cheraman Perumal was laying spread unto Kanhangad. The land was under Kolathiri dynasty from 12th century. Ilankur Raja of Kolathiri was so weak that the feudal lords became powerful and his power came to an end. The Ettukoodakkal lords were the strongest among the then lords.
Vijayanagara kings invaded Kumbala and Tulunadu in 1345. As a result King of Kumbala surrendered. It is believed that Kanhangad was then a potential land of prosperity. After the fall of Vijayanagara Empire, Ikkeri kings of Vidanoor became powerful. They attacked frequently since 1630. In 1731 Somasekhara Naik reconstructed the fort at Kanhangad. Now the fort came to be known as New Fort (Hos Durg) (‘Hosa’ (Kannada) means new and ‘Durg’ means fort. For the construction of fort, hundreds of workers from Kerala and neighboring lands were deputed. Several thatched huts were made for the workers near the fort. A lot of thatched huts made for the shelter of workers became a slum (cheri). Gradually the land became Kottacheri. (Kotta means fort and cheri, slum)
In 1763, Haidarali captured the land from Ikkeri Naiks and made a part of South Canara District. Unto 1792, under the reign of Tippusultan, no changes were made in the possession. According to the Sreerangapattanam Pact, the fort became under the control of East India Company. They formed a Taluk being Bekal its capital. Hos Durg Taluk came in force in 1956.
C.K.Sreedharan for C.K. & Associates
