Gulbarga

Gulbarga
City Corporation
Kalaburagi
Clockwise from top left, Sharana Basaveshwara Temple, Buddha Vihar, Khwaja Banda Nawaz Dargah, CUK Gulbarga, ESIC Medical College Gulbarga and Gulbarga Fort
Gulbarga Location of Gulbarga in India Gulbarga Location of Gulbarga in Karnataka Show map of KarnatakaShow map of IndiaShow all
Coordinates: 17°19′44″N 76°49′30″E / 17.329°N 76.825°E / 17.329; 76.825Coordinates: 17°19′44″N 76°49′30″E / 17.329°N 76.825°E / 17.329; 76.825
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District	Gulbarga district
Regions of Karnataka	Kalyana-Karnataka
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council , Gulbarga City Corporation
• Body	District Administration
Area
• City Corporation	192 km2 (74 sq mi)
Elevation	454 m (1,490 ft)
Population  (2011)
• City Corporation	533,587[1]
• Density	8,275/km2 (21,430/sq mi)
• Metro	543,147[1]
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	585101-106
Telephone code	91(847)-2XXXXXX
Vehicle registration	KA-32
Website	kalaburagi.nic.in/en

Gulbarga, officially known as Kalaburagi,^[2] is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Gulbarga district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka( Kalyana-Karnataka). Gulbarga is 623 km north of the state capital city of Bangalore. It was incorporated into the newly formed Mysore State (now known as Karnataka) through the States Reorganisation Act^[3] in 1956.

Gulbarga city is governed by a Municipal Corporation and is in the Gulbarga Urban Region. It is called a Sufi city. It has famous religious structures, like the Khwaja Banda Nawaz Dargah, the Sharana Basaveshwara Temple and the Buddha Vihar. It also has a fort built during Bahmani rule. Other Bahmani monuments include the Haft Gumbaz (seven domes together) and the Shor Gumbad. Gulbarga has the world's largest cannon.^[4][5][6][7] Gulbarga has a few architectural marvels built during the Bahamani Kingdom rule, including the Jama Masjid in the Gulbarga Fort. Gulbarga houses the circuit bench of the High Court of Karnataka.

History[]

Asuf Gunj, Gulbarga in 1880

The history of Gulbarga dates to the 6th century. The Rashtrakutas gained control over the region, but the Chalukyas regained their domain within a short period and reigned supreme for over 200 years. The Kalyani Kalachuris who succeeded them ruled until the 12th century. Around the end of the 12th century, the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Dwarasamadra destroyed the supremacy of the Chalukyas and Kalachuris of Kalyani. Around the same period, the Kakatiya kings of Warangal came into prominence and the present Gulbarga and Raichur districts formed part of their domain. The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1323 AD and the entire Deccan, including the district of Gulbarga, passed under the control of the Delhi Sultanate.

The revolt of the officers appointed from Delhi resulted in the founding of the Bahmani Sultanate in 1347 CE by Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, who chose Gulbarga (Hasanabad) to be the capital.^[8] When the Bahamani dynasty came to an end in 1527, the kingdom broke up into five independent Sultanates, Bijapur, Bidar, Berar, Ahmednagar, and Golconda. The present Gulbarga district came partly under Bidar and partly under Bijapur. The last of these sultanates, Golconda, finally fell to Aurangzeb in 1687.

With the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangzeb in the 17th century, Gulbarga passed under the Mughal Empire. In the early part of the 18th century, with the decline of the Mughal Empire, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I, one of Aurangzeb's generals, formed the kingdom of Hyderabad, in which a major part of the Gulbarga area was also included. In 1948, Hyderabad State became a part of the Indian Union, and in 1956, excluding two talukas which were annexed to Andhra Pradesh, Gulbarga district became part of new Mysore State.

Gulbarga (Urdu) (city of flowers and gardens) was renamed Kalaburagi (Kannada) (Kal-means stone in Kannada, bur means thorns in Kannada the whole name represents "The Land of stones and thorns") effective 1 November 2014.^[9]

Geography[]

The entire district is on the Deccan Plateau, and the elevation ranges from 300 to 750 m above MSL. Two main rivers, the Krishna and Bhima, flow through the district. The predominant soil type is black soil. The district has many tanks, which irrigate the land along with the river. The Upper Krishna Project is a major irrigation venture in the district of Kalaburagi. The main crops are groundnuts, rice, and pulses. Gulbarga is the largest producer of toor dal, or pigeon peas, in Karnataka. Gulbarga is an industrially backward district but is showing signs of growth in the cement, textile, leather and chemical industries. Gulbarga has a university with Medical and Engineering Colleges. Central University of Karnataka (CuK) is located in Kadaganchi, Åland Taluk of Gulbarga.^[10] The geographical area of the city is 64 square kilometers.^[11]

Climate[]

Gulbarga has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) bordering on a tropical wet and dry climate (Aw). The climate of the district is generally dry, with temperatures ranging from 8 °C to 45 °C and an annual rainfall of about 750 mm. The year in Gulbarga is divided into three main seasons. The summer lasts from late February to May. It is followed by the southwest monsoon, which lasts from late June to late October. This is then followed by dry winter weather from late November until February.

Demographics[]

As of the 2011 Indian census,^[1] Gulbarga city has a population of 533,587. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Gulbarga has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. The male literacy is 70%, while that of females is 30%. In Gulbarga, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Kannada is the main language and is spoken by 56% of the population in the city. Deccani Urdu is the second largest language and is spoken by 36%. Other small minority languages are Marathi, Hindi, Telugu and Lambadi.

Government and politics[]

Gulbarga has been home to two ex-chief ministers of Karnataka, namely Veerendra Patil (1968–1971, 1988–1992) and Dharam Singh (2004–2006); both belonged to the Indian National Congress party.

Gulbarga comes under Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency. Mallikarjun Kharge is the former Member of Parliament and was also formerly the Union Minister for Railways and is current opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha.^[15]

Gulbarga city has two Vidhan Sabha constituencies: Gulbarga North and Gulbarga South. Both are part of Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency. The MLA for Gulbarga North is Kaneez Fatima from Congress, while the MLA for Gulbarga South is Dattatraya C. Patil Revoor from the BJP.

Culture/Cityscape[]

Art and architecture[]

Haft Gumbaz

The largest collection of Islamic art is seen at the domed ceiling and walls are adorned with painting containing calligraphy designs and floral, flower and plants and geometric patterns inside the 14th century tomb of Sufi saint Syed Shah Qhabulullah Husayni with natural colours. By religious restrictions the artist was prohibited from depicting living beings in the interior of tomb, and his imagination was therefore employed either in inventing new designs for religious texts or in adding further delicacy and subtleness to the geometric and floral devices by making the drawings more and more intricate. A small tomb beside the said Sufi's has an excellent work painted flower plants on ceiling. Another vacant Shore Gumbad outside the city has delicate designs on its domed ceiling is superb.^{[citation needed]}

The walls and ceiling of the tomb of Sultan Firuz Shah Bahmani can be appreciated which, although in monotone, represents faithfully the creepers and floral patterns, the numerous geometric devices and calligraphic styles. The most notable building, however, of this period is Jama Masjid of Gulbarga fort, built by a Persian architect named Rafi in 1367 during the reign of Bahmani King Mohammed Shah I.

The glory of the towns in north Karnataka waned with the decline of the Bahmani dynasty, although Barid Shahi and Adil Shahi Kings kept up its beauty during their chequered rule. It suffers from pollution through nickel and lead.

Royal patronage played an important role in the making of Islamic art, as it has in the arts of other cultures. From the 14th century onwards, especially in eastern lands, the books of art provide the best documentation of the courtly patronage.

Transport[]

By Air[]

Gulbarga has its own airport named Kalaburagi airport which was inaugurated by Karnataka CM Yediyurappa on 22 November 2019 and started on the same day.^[16]

By Rail[]

Gulbarga Railway Station

Gulbarga has a railway station named Kalaburagi railway station which comes under the solapur division.

Gulbarga will soon be a part of high-speed rail corridor running from Mumbai to Hyderabad. ^[17]

By Road[]

Gulbarga is a headquarter of the NEKRTC bus transport which was founded and started on 15 August 2000 and serves the North-Eastern Districts of Karnataka.^[18] It also has Nrupatunga city bus service which serves Gulbarga urban and Sedam and is operated by NEKRTC itself.^[19]

Education[]

The Central University of Karnataka is located in Gulbarga. The Gulbarga University, Sharnbasva University, and Khaja Bandanawaz University, are the other universities in the city.

References[]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Gulbarga.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gulbarga.