Recent Developments
Throughout the medieval period and until well into the 19th century, the Kodavas had a pre-eminent role in Kodagu. By the middle of the 19th century, however, this dominance started waning. British individuals bought large stretches of land in Coorg and founded plantations. Institutions like the joint family system began to disappear. A number of socio-religious reform movements in India took shape from 1800s. The Kodavas also felt the need for reform in response to such changes. The sense of decline gave an impetus to the spirit of reform that expressed itself in the work of religious men like Sadguru Appayya Swami. Trouble arose for the community during the post-colonial years, after the Land Reform Act enacted in 1974. Many large land owners lost their lands to the tenants (land to the tiller) and the socio-economic structure of the prominent community of Kodavas changed irreversibly. These Land reforms led to massive loss of land-ownership by the Kodava gentry who were relegated to poverty overnight. The decline of Kodava dominance was however tempered by their conversion through the 20th century to the academic and professional classes and their dominance in Kodagu politics.
Efforts by community leaders have brought together all Kodava groups the world over under an umbrella " Federation of Kodava Samajas".It is a federation of about 27 Kodava Samajas and is headquartered at Balagodu,Virajpet Taluk,Kodagu District.
The foundation of the Coorg Association (predecessor of the Bangalore Kodava Samaj) was laid in Bangalore, in 1912. The Kodava Samaja (R),Bangalore is an organisation created for the traditional and cultural conservation, social well-being and welfare of the Kodava community. It is headquartered at Vasanthnagar in the city of Bangalore in Karnataka State, India. Expatriate Kodavas both in other states of India as well as in countries other than India have formed Kodava Samajas (Kodava Associations) in their states and countries of domicile. Examples are the Bangalore Kodava Samaja (already mentioned) with 33 branches in Bangalore City, the Mysore Kodava Samaja, the Canadian Kodavas in North America and the Muscat Kodavas of Oman. These associations of non Kodagu origin retain the cultural uniqueness of the Kodavas at the same time adapting many practices to the times and country of their adoption. Lately, some organisations including the Codava National Council (CNC) and Kodava Rashtriya Samiti are demanding Kodava homeland status and autonomy to Kodagu district.
Read more about this topic: Kodava People
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