Kannadiga in the context of "Dravidian peoples"

The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They emerged after the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate and were ruled by various dynasties: Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. Ahmadnagar was the first to declare independence, in 1490; followed by Bijapur and Berar in the same year. Bidar became independent in c. 1492, and Golconda in 1512.

Although the five sultanates were all ruled by Muslims, their founders were of diverse origins: the Nizam Shahi dynasty, the ruling family of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, was founded by Malik Hasan Bahri, a Marathi Muslim of Brahmin origin; the Berar Sultanate by a Kannadiga Muslim of Brahmin origin; the Bidar Sultanate by a Georgian slave; the Bijapur Sultanate by a foreigner who may have been a Georgian slave purchased by Mahmud Gawan; and the Golconda Sultanate by a slave of Iranian Turkmen origin.

The Nīlgiris district (Tamil: [n̪iːlɐɡiɾi]) is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nīlagiri (lit. 'Blue Mountains') is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The Nilgiri Hills are part of a larger mountain chain known as the Western Ghats. Their highest point is the mountain of Doddabetta, height 2,637 m. The district is contained mainly within the Nilgiri Mountains range. The administrative headquarters is located at Ooty (Ootacamund or Udhagamandalam). The district is bounded by Coimbatore to the south, Erode to the east, and Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka and Wayanad district of Kerala to the north. As it is located at the junction of three states, namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, significant Malayali and Kannadiga populations reside in the district. Nilgiris district is known for natural mines of Gold, which is also seen in the other parts of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve extended in the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Kerala too.

Nilgiris district ranked first in a comprehensive Economic Environment index ranking districts in Tamil Nadu (except Chennai district) prepared by the Institute for Financial Management and Research in August 2009. Tea and coffee plantations have been important to its economy. As of 2011, the Nilgiris district had a population of 735,394, with a sex-ratio of 1,042 females for every 1,000 males.