Mysore district

Mysore District is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. The district is bounded by Mandya district to the northeast, Chamrajanagar district to the southeast, Kerala state to the south, Kodagu district to the west, and Hassan district to the north. It features many tourist destinations, from Mysore Palace to Nagarhole National Park. This district has a prominent place in the history of Karnataka; Mysore was ruled by the Wodeyars from the year 1399 till the independence of India in the year 1947. Mysore's prominence can be gauged from the fact that the Karnataka state was known previously as Mysore state.

It is the third most populous district in Karnataka (out of 30), after Bangalore and Belgaum.

Origin of name

Mysore district gets its name from the city of Mysore which is also the headquarters of the district. The original name of this city was Mahishapura derived from a demon named Mahishasura. A statue of Mahishasura, after whom the city is named, and a temple dedicated to Goddess Chamundeshwari on the top of Chamundi Hill near Mysore city, relate to the legend of its origin.

Mysore

Mysore (ⁱ/maɪˈsʊər/), officially renamed as Mysuru, is the third largest city in terms of population in the state of Karnataka, India, which served as the capital city of Mysore Princely Kingdom (Kingdom of Mysore) for nearly six centuries, from 1399 until 1947. Located at the base of the Chamundi Hills about 146 km (91 mi) southwest of the state capital Bangalore, it is spread across an area of 128.42 km² (50 sq mi). According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census of India, the population of Mysore is 887,446. Mysore City Corporation is responsible for the civic administration of the city, which is also the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division. Mysore is the cleanest city of India.

Mysore (region)

The Mysore region is an unofficial region that is part of Karnataka state in southern India. It forms approximately the southern half of the non-coastal areas of that state. The area corresponds almost exactly to that of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore. Almost all of that principality, with the exception of a few areas that now lie in neighbouring states, is comprehended by this term.

The region lies on the Deccan plateau, east of the hilly Malenadu region, which includes the eastern foothills of the Western Ghats range. It consists of gently rolling plains, punctuated by several of the large rivers that rise in the Western Ghats and flow eastward to empty into the Bay of Bengal.

Mysore region, also known as the Southern Karnataka Plateau, is made up of the low rolling granite hills from 600 to 900 meters elevation. It is bounded on the west by the Western Ghats and on the south and east by ranges of hills, and on the north it drops to the lower-elevation northern Maidan. It includes Bangalore, Bangalore Rural, Chamrajnagar, Hassan, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Mandya, Mysore, Ramanagara, chitradurga, davangere and Tumkur districts. Most of the region is covered by the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion, which extends south into eastern Tamil Nadu.

No. 129 Squadron RAF

No. 129 (Mysore) Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron active during World War II.

World War I

Like a number of Squadrons, No. 129 was initially formed during the later months of the First World War, but never became operational before the Armistice. It was to be a day bomber unit based at RAF Duxford.

World War II

No. 129 Squadron was reformed on 16 June 1941 at RAF Leconfield equipped with Spitfires.

As a result of the Indian government raising large sums of money through its sale of War Bonds a number of squadrons within the RAF were given names of Indian cities and provinces in recognition of this. No. 129 became No. 129 (Mysore) Squadron being named after Mysore province in southwest India. The squadron's badge, the Ghunda Berunda of Mysore, also reflects this association.

After spending August 1942 providing bomber escort and undertaking offensive sweeps over France the squadron moved to Orkney in Northern Scotland to provide local air defence.

The squadron returned south in February 1943 undertaking anti-shipping and escort missions. 129 Squadron became part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force in June 1943 converting to the P-51 Mustang in April 1944 in time for Operation Overlord. After forming part of the 133 (Polish) Wing for D-Day the squadron returned to RAF Romney Marsh where it undertook anti V-1 activities.