[2] It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the administration at Mangalore city.

South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas of Madras Presidency, with Tulu, Malayalam, Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Urdu, and Beary languages being spoken.

South Canara District was bordered by North Canara to north, the princely state of Mysore to east, Coorg state to southeast, Malabar District to south, and Arabian Sea to west.

[8] The most widely spoken language was Tulu, which was the mother tongue of 40% of the population, followed by Malayalam for 24%, Kannada for 17%, and 13% for Konkani.

[13] The original indigenous people of the region are Tuluvas (Bunts, Billavas, Mogaveeras, Tulu gowda, Kulalas, Devadigas, Bearys, Jogis) and Malayalis in the Kasaragod Taluk (Nambudiris, Nairs, Thiyyas, Mappilas etc).