The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in the southern part of Deccan Plateau traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 by two Hindu brothers, in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with British India. The British took direct control over the princely state in 1831. Upon accession to the Dominion of India, it became Mysore State, later uniting with other Kannada speaking regions to form the state of Karnataka, with its ruler remaining as Rajapramukh until 1956, when he became the first governor of the reformed state.

South India, also known as Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area and 20% of India's population. It is bound by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse, with two mountain ranges, the Western and Eastern Ghats, bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Tungabhadra and Vaigai rivers are important non-perennial sources of water. Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Kochi are the largest urban areas in the region.