The majority of Kannadigas are of Dravidian origin. Dravidians were the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent and in Vedic literature they have been mentioned as Dasyus and Rakshasas, the people who had black skin and were opposed to the Aryans.
The Aryans, with their better war technology (they were the first race who brought to India horses and iron), defeated the original inhabitants of the land and forced them to convert to Hinduism. Many of them left the plains of North India and moved towards the south to inhabit the Indian Peninsula.
Karnataka is a part of the Indian Peninsula and the people of this land speak a language that has its roots in the Dravidian languages. The religion of most of the people is Hinduism with a small population of Muslims. |
