The following is a list of prominent

Kodavas The Kodava people or Kodavas are an ethno-linguistic group from the region of Kodagu district, Kodagu in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, who natively speak the Kodava language. They are traditionally land-owning agriculturists and pat ...

(also known as the Coorg or Coorgi community).

Religion

* Kalyatanda Ponnappa (c.1600) was a religious leader and warrior who is now worshipped as a demi-god *

Sadguru Appayya Swami Appaiah Swami or Sadguru Appayya Swami (ಅಪ್ಪಯ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ 1885–1956) (not to be mistaken with Appayya Swamy, a 17th-century Carnatic Musician and scholar of Tamil Nadu) was a Hindu Indian spiritual master who lived in Virajpet ...

(1885–1956), (born of Kodava parents) founder of Kaveri Ashram, a Hindu monastery in Virajpet, born as Palanganda Appaiah, ordained into Sannyas (monkhood) by Guru Ramgiri. * Swami Narayanananda * Swami Shambhavananda

Indian Independence Movement

* Mathanda Appachu, defeated the British in battle in 1834 *

Pandyanda Belliappa Pandyanda I. Belliappa (or Pandianda I. Belliappa) was a Gandhian, a freedom fighter and politician from the erstwhile state of Coorg. Freedom struggle Belliappa entered politics in 1921 as a member of the Coorg Planters' Association. He later ...

(also called Pandianda Belliappa or P I Belliappa) Gandhian, Freedom fighter, politician, journalist. * C M Poonacha (Cheppudira Muthanna Poonacha) Gandhian, Freedom fighter, politician.

Armed forces

* Field Marshal

K M Cariappa ' Field Marshal (India), Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa (28 January 1899 – 15 May 1993) was the first Indian Chief of the Army Staff (India), Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Army. He led Indian forces on the Western Fron ...

(Kodandera family), OBE, first Indian Commissioned Officer, later became first Indian General and then first Commander-in-Chief of India. High Commissioner (Ambassador in the Commonwealth) of India in Australia and New Zealand, Field Marshal in 1986. Residency Road and a park in Bangalore has been renamed after him. * General K. S. Thimayya (Kodandera), DSO, secured Ladakh for India during the Kashmir War of 1948, General and Chief of the Indian Army, after retirement he led the UN peacekeeping forces during when he won International acclaim, Chairman of the Repatriation Committee after Korean War, died in Cyprus, his statue was set up in Singapore Wax Museum, the Cyprus Govt. issued stamps in his honour. Richmond Road in Bangalore has been renamed after him. * General A C Iyappa, first chief of

Bharat Electronics Limited Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian Government-owned aerospace and defence electronics company. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for ground and aerospace applications. BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry ...

* Squadron Leader A B Devaiah (Ajjamada), who shot down an enemy aircraft before presumably dying in Pakistan during the 1965 war. He is the only Air Force officer to be awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously. * Mangerira Chinnappa Muthanna Army Martyr * Pattacheruvanda C. Thimayya -

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

of Indian Army

Sports

Ashwini Ponnappa Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda (born 18 September 1989) is an Indian badminton player who represents the country at the international badminton circuit in both the women's and mixed doubles disciplines. She had a successful partnership with Jwal ...

- Indian

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player *

Jagat and Anita Nanjappa Jagat and Anita Nanjappa are a well-known couple in the sport of motor racing in India. They belong to the Kodava community and are natives of Kodagu district of Karnataka. They have participated and won many motorbike and car rallies in India. ...

- motor racers *

Joshna Chinappa Joshna Chinappa (born 15 September 1986) is an Indian professional squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 10 in July 2016. She was the first Indian to win the British Junior Squash Championship title in 2005 in th ...

- Indian

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

player *

Rohan Bopanna Rohan Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player. His tennis singles, singles career-high ranking was world No. 213 in 2007 and his career-high ranking in doubles was world No. 3 on 22 July 2013. He has been a member ...

- Indian tennis player * K. C. Cariappa, professional cricketer *

Robin Uthappa Robin Venu Uthappa (; born 11 November 1985) is a former Indian cricketer, who last played for Kerala in domestic cricket & Chennai Super Kings in IPL. Robin has represented team India in ODIs and T20Is. Uthappa made his One Day International ...

, Indian Cricketer

Hockey

Kodavas have a long history of association with the game of

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

. The district of

Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

is considered as the ''cradle of Indian hockey''. *

A B Subbaiah Anjaparavanda Bopaiah Subbaiah is a former Indian hockey goalkeeper and coach. Early life He was born in Madikeri (Kodagu district, Karnataka) into the Kodava community. He played hockey for his school, St. Michael's Madikeri, as a fourteen ...

- Indian field hockey goalkeeper and coach. *

Len Aiyappa Len Aiyappa (born 31 March 1979) is an Indian professional field hockey player. He remained one of India's best drag-flickers until he retired from the national team following a fallout with the Indian Hockey Federation in 2006. He last played ...

- Indian field hockey player. * M. M. Somaya - Indian field hockey player. * M. P. Ganesh - Indian field hockey captain and coach. * S. K. Uthappa - Indian field hockey player.

Civil office

* B. B. Ashok Kumar, police officer * C B Muthamma (Chonira), first woman

Indian Foreign Service The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...

officer * C. G. Somiah was the first IAS Officer from

Coorg Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

to rise to be the Home Secretary, Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and Comptroller and Auditor General. *Diwan Bahadur

Ketoli Chengappa Dewan Bahadur Ketolira Chengappa, C.I.E., was born on 3 March 1878 to Ketolira Muddaiah (worked as a village official) & Bolliavva from Yavakapadi Village, Kabinakad, Napoklu. He completed his matriculation in the year 1893. Thereafter, he went ...

, administrator (Chief Commissioner of Coorg province) Shri.Kodandera.Chengappa Maddappa (I.A.S) the first Kodava Secretary to the President of India under Dr.Sanjeeva Reddy.

Law and order

Rao Bahadur IGP P.K.Monnappa Rao Bahadur Pemmanda K. Monnappa was a police officer of South India. He served in three Southern states, Madras (before its disintegration), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) and Mysore (Karnataka), at different times. However he is to be best remembe ...

(Pemmanda), IPS Officer, DGP of Madras, helped suppress the Nizam's rebellion in Hyderabad in 1950 as part of the Police Action led by Sardar Patel, IGP of Hyderabad then of Mysore, also first police chief of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. * A. S. Bopanna (Ajjikuttira Somaiah Bopanna) is a Judge of Supreme Court of India. He is former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court. He is also former Judge of Karnataka High Court. He was born in Madikeri, Kodagu on 20 May 1959.

Actors

* Prema (Kannada actress) *

Rashmika Mandanna Rashmika Mandanna (born 5 April 1996) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu and Kannada films besides few Hindi and Tamil films. She is a recipient of four SIIMA Awards and a Filmfare Award South. She made her acting debut wi ...

Gulshan Devaiah Gulshan Devaiah is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Hindi films. He is known for his roles in '' Shaitan'', ''Hate Story'' and '' Hunterrr''. His performance in Shaitan was critically praised and earned him a nomination for Filmfare Aw ...

Literature

* Appachcha Kavi (also called Appachu Kavi), playwright * Boverianda Nanjamma and Chinnappa, translators, authors * B D Ganapathy * I. M. Muthanna author and translator *

Nadikerianda Chinnappa Nadikerianda Chinnappa (1875–1931) was an Indian compiler, poet, translator, army man, police officer, cricket player, singer and philanthropist from Kodagu. Origins Ancestry The Nadikerianda clan name originated from the words ''Nadu keri ...

, folklore compiler

Entrepreneurs

* Kavya Madappa, Amanvana Spa Resort Coorg, Bluecat Paper Founder, * N S Narendra, Firepro founder

Politics

Prema Cariappa Iychettira Prema Cariappa is an Indian political and social worker. A politician from Indian National Congress party, she was a former Mayor of Bangalore and a former MP (member of the Parliament of India), as she was representing Karnataka in ...

, Mayor of Bangalore, Rajya Sabha MP *

Appachu Ranjan M. P. Appachu Ranjan (born 11 September 1957) is an Indian politician who was the former Minister for Youth Services and Sports in Karnataka, a state in Southern India. He is a leader of the BJP in Karnataka and a fifth time Member of the Karna ...

, former sports minister, Government of Karnataka

Music

* Biddu Appaiah is a Kodava (Coorgi) by birth. He is a British Indian musician and winner of Grammy award. He was pivotal in the career success of sister-brother duo, Nazia and Zoheb Hassan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Kodavas

Kodava people