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Belagavi district

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The Belgaum District is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The city of Belgaum is the district headquarters. By the 2001 Census of India, it had a population of 4,214,505 of which 24.03% were urban. [1] The district has an area of 12,000 square kilometers, and is bounded on the west and north by Maharashtra state, on the northeast by Bijapur District, on the east by Bagalkot District, on the southeast by Gadag District, on the south by Dharawad District and Uttara Kannada districts, and on the southwest by the state of Goa. The languages spoken in this district include Kannada and Marathi.

Border Problem

Belgaum district was incorporated into the newly formed Mysore state (now Karnataka) with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act (1956), which reorganised India's states along linguistic lines. The Maharashtra government contested the inclusion, claiming the district for itself on the grounds of an assertion that the district had more Marathi speakers than it did Kannada speakers. Following a memorandum from the Maharashtra government on 23rd June, 1957, the Government of India constituted a four-member committee on June 5th, 1960 to look into the case. The four member committee gave a report which went against Maharashtra[1]. Maharashtra insisted Central Government of India which eventually constituted the Mahajan Commission on October 25, 1966. The commission was headed by the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Meherchand Mahajan. The commission, upon review of Maharashtra's claims, recommended the exchange of several villages in Belgaum district between the two states but rejected Maharashtra's claim on Belgaum city[2]. The Maharashtra government refuted the recommendations of the report and demanded another review of the issue. The Karnataka government has continued to press for the implementation of the report. Attempts were made by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to rekindle discussions on the boundary dispute with the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Karnataka and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [3]. On March 15 2006, the Maharashtra government filed a petition in the Supreme Court, citing, in its opinion, "the feeling of insecurity among the Marathi speaking people living in Karnataka, in the recent days".[2] Belgaum district along with Belgaum city continues to be a part of Karnataka state while Maharashtra awaits Supreme Court's verdict.

Recent development

Belgaum lost its industrial glory to near by city of Hubli and Dharwad it was political gimmick played by certain politicians of these cities stalling Belgaum’s development and added more fuel to border dispute disrupting power supply, TELCO has been moved to Dharwad , the special purpose vehicle (Earth moving Equipments) plant was planned here as Belgaum is also the birth place of hydraulics in Asia, Indal shut its smelter units and moved production to Hirakund the Airport remained in shabby state as the western part of runway was not re-carpeted during routine maintenance contracts reducing its length by 1200ft.The entrepreneurs of Belgaum are mostly associated with foundry ,casting and auto ancillary industry ,The Autonagar is no more having any indusries insted have residential plots.Entrepreneurs of Belgaum are moving to Maharashtra due to lack of Government attention for developing Industrial estates.

History

Belgaum is the Divisional Head quarter of North Karnataka The ancient name of the town of Belgaum was Venugrama meaning Bamboo Village. The most ancient place in the district is Halsi; and this, according to inscriptions on copper plates discovered in its neighborhood, was once the capital of a dynasty of nine Kadamba kings. It appears that from the middle of the 6th century to about 760 the area was held by the Chalukyas, who were succeeded by the Rashtrakutas. After the break-up of the Rashtrakuta power a portion of it survived in the Rattas (875-1250), who from 1210 onward made Venugrama their capital. Inscriptions give evidence of a long struggle between the Rattas and the Kadambas of Goa, who succeeded in the latter years of the 12th century in acquiring and holding part of the district. By 1208, however, the Kadambas had been overthrown by the Rattas, who in their turn succumbed to the Yadavas of Devagiri in 1250. After the overthrow of the Yadavas by the Delhi Sultanate (1320), Belgaum was for a short time under the rule of the latter; but only a few years later the part south of the Ghataprabha River was subject to the Hindu rajas of Vijayanagara. In 1347 the northern part was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate, which in 1473 took the town of Belgaum and conquered the southern part also. When Aurangzeb overthrew the Bijapur sultans in 1686, Belgaum passed to the Mughals. In 1776 the country was overrun by Hyder Ali of Mysore, but was retaken by the Peshwa with British assistance. In 1818 it was handed over to the British East India Company.In 1836 the southern district continuing to be known as Dharwad, the northern as Belgaum.

Kittur in Belgaum district is a place of historical importance. Rani Chennamma of Kittur (1778-1829) is known for her resistance to British rule; another person in the history of Belgaum known for his resistance to British rule is Sangolli Rayanna.

There are several names available for Belgaum city. Kannada people call Belgavi, Marathi people call Belgaon, North Indians call it as Belagam.

The British had a sizable infantry post here, having realised the military importance of its geographic location. Perhaps that is one of the reasons for Belgaum's sobriquet The Cradle of Infantry. Development of a Rail Network for movement of resources and later troops was one of the means employed by both the East India Company and the British to exert control over India. Belgaum's Railway Station, the Mahatma Gandhi Railway Station was established by the British. A signboard declaring the sobriquet can be seen hung on Platform 1 at the Railway Station.

Now the Visveswaraih Technological University is established in Belgaum. Under this university comes all the technical and engineering colleges in the Karnataka State. Belgaum is also known for the Airmen Training School, an Indian Air Force training centre located at Sambra. The Maratha Light Infantry has it's regimental headquarters in Belgaum. The Commando School and School of jungle warfare and the Indian Army is also situated in Belgaum. The Asia's biggest Karnataka Lingayat(K.L.E.) Education Society is in Belgaum. The K.L.E Hospital of Belgaum is the Second Largest Hospital in Asia which provides all the modern facilities and treatment. Medical Council of Inida have one of its Regional Research Centre here ,the Indian Institute of Hydrology and Vaccine Institute are also situated here.

Belgaum Division

Belgaum is also the Divisional Headquarters includes the districts of Bagalkot, Belgaum , Bijapur, Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag and Uttara Kannada.

References

 

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  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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