Kolar district

Kolar ಕೋಲಾರ  is a district in  state of. The town of is the district headquarters. Due to the modern discovery of the, Kolar has become popularly known as the "Golden Land" of India.

Geography
Kolar District is situated in the state of, and belongs to its semi-arid drought-prone region. It lies between 77° 21' to 78° 35' east longitude and 120 46' to 130 58' north latitude, extending over an area of 8,225 km². Kolar district is located in the southern region of the State and happens to be the eastern-most district of the State. The district is bounded by the districts of and  on the west and on all other sides by the districts of the adjoining States of  and. On the north, it is bounded by district; on the east by  district of  and on the south by the districts of  and  of.

The district, at its greatest length, reaches about 135 km from north to south with almost the same distance from east to west. It occupies the table land of Mysore, bordering the eastern ghats. The general plateau surface is interrupted by a number of hills and peaks of varying heights, particularly in the north. The principal chain of mountains is the Nandidurga range which runs north from Nandi towards and Dharmavaram of Andhra Pradesh. The rivers of the district, are small and seasonal. , Uttara Pinakini and Dakshina Pinakini are the important rivers which originate in the elevated regions in the district.

History
Formerly, Kolar was known variously as Kolahala, Kuvalala and Kolala. Kolar was called Kolahalapura during the Middle Ages, but later came to be known as Kolar. Kolahahapura in meant "violent city", as it was the battlefield for the warring kingdoms of  in the north and Cholas to the south. It was the capital of the till 4th century AD when they shifted the capital to  in. In 1004 A.D., the Cholas annexed Kolar till 1116 A.D,. Vishnuvardhana (1108-1142AD) freed Gangavadi from the Cholas, and in commemoration of his victory, built the celebrated Vijayanarayana (Chennakeshva) Temple at Belur.

The major and important temples in the town are Kolaramma Temple and Someswara Temple. Someswara Temple is a fine example of Vijayanagara style while the Kolaramma temple is of Dravida Style built in Ganga Tradition(11 century-A.D).

Old City
The old city of Kolar mainly consisted of the four areas of, Gowripet, Aralepet and. Kote, or the fort area once encompassed the temples of, and was bordered by the. Now the fort is all but gone, disappeared into new residential areas. The collapse of old town was hastened by the   who constructed a  and school next to the temples.

People and Culture
As a district headquarters, Kolar has room for many communities and represents a mini-India. The primary languages spoken here are and.

Kolar Gold Fields(KGF) is a town in Kolar district which was once the primary gold mines in the country. Set up by the British, this town which is close to the border of Andhra Pradesh and has a Tamil and Population. were employed by the British and brought to KGF to work in the mines.

Economy
The major sources of employment are, and , hence it is popularly known as the land of ",  and ". Farmers in Kolar are totally dependent upon borewell water for and. The gold mines in was closed in the s due to reducing deposits and increasing costs.

Statistics
The district, at present comprises 11 talukas. It has 15 towns and 3,321 villages (2889 inhabited villages and 432 uninhabited villages). Total population of the district according to 2001 census was 2,536,069 of which 24.67% were urban. 
 * Area (km²) - 8,223
 * Density (per km²) - 269
 * Sex ratio (females/1,000 males) - 966
 * Literacy rate (%) - 68.35

Famous people from Kolar

 * Anilgowda-kodihalli-kolar-he is famous youth leader and also chairman for bangalore south youth club.
 * Amarnath Gowda - Attorney at Law, President of AKKA, President of VPA, Convener of IAFC, first foreign lawyer to be licensed in,.
 * - Highest crossword writer in Kannadigan.
 * B. Suresha - Social worker, President Medal Awardee (Meritorious Service in Home Guards), journalist representing PTI since 1986 & Karnataka Prabha State Kannada daily since 1997.
 * - Kannadigan
 * - Father of.
 * - Editor in chief of Kannada Eveninger.
 * - first Chief Minister of
 * - Union Minister for Road Transport, Shipping & National Highways Government of India.
 * K. Srinivas Gowda - Member of legislature and Chairman of Iffco Tokiyo, Chairman of Karnataka State Marketing Federation.
 * - No.1 & Graeat Silk Merchant
 * - Kannadigan writer, awardee.
 * M. Abdul Iatheef - Social reformist and leader, guru to K. Srinivas Gowda.
 * Sir - The architect of modern Karnataka.
 * - Member of Parliament and Chairman of Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College.
 * - Film actress.

Educational Institutions

 * , Kolar
 * Smt.Danamma Chanabasaviah PU and degree college, KOLAR
 * Mahila Samaja school, KOLAR
 * St Anne's convent High school, KOLAR
 * Golden Valley Institute of Education, KGF
 * First Grade College, KGF
 * Beml High School, Beml Nagar
 * , KGF
 * Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, KGF
 * Sri Byraveshwara Vidya Samaste, Srinivasapur
 * Sri Byraveshwara Vidya Samaste, Srinivasapur

Local Newspapers

 * Kolara Patrike - The first Kannada daily periodical.
 * Kolaravani - Largest circulated daily of the Kolar District.
 * Honnudi - First locally published daily with founder-editor,.