Gulbarga

Gulbarga

ಗುಲ್ಬರ್ಗ/गुलबर्गा/گلبرگہ

—  city  —
Gulbarga
Location of Gulbarga
in Karnataka and India
Coordinates
Country India
Region Bayaluseeme
State Karnataka
District(s) Gulbarga District
Municipal commissioner
Time zone IST (UTC+05:30)
Area

Elevation


454 metres (1,490 ft)

Gulbarga (Kannada: ಗುಲಬರ್ಗಾ) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Gulbarga District. It was formerly part of Nizam's Hyderabad state. Gulbarga is 200 km from Hyderabad and 623 km north of Bangalore.

Contents

History

In the 6th century, the Rashtrakutas gained control over the area around present-day Gulbarga, but the Chalukyas regained their domain and reigned for over two hundred years. Around the close of the 12th century, the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Halebidu took control of the district. The present Gulbarga District and Raichur District formed part of their domain.

The city of Gulbarga was founded by the Bahmani Sultans in the 14th century as their capital. The northern Deccan, including the district of Gulbarga, passed under control of the Sultanate of Delhi. The revolt of the officers appointed from Delhi resulted in founding of the Bahmani Sultanate in 1347 by Hassan Gangu, who chose Gulbarga (Ahsenabad during this period) to be his capital.

From 1724 to 1948 Gulbarga was part of Hyderabad state ruled by the famous Nizams. It was integrated into India in September 1948 after the Indian army defeated the Nizam. GULBARGA was known as 'KALBURGI' in former days which means stony land in Kannada, but also means "rose petals" in poetic Persian. Gulbarga district is situated in the northern part of Karnataka State. In the earlier days, Gulbarga was a district of Hyderabad Karnataka area and became a part of Karnataka State after re-organization of states.

Recorded history of this district dates back to the 6th Century A.D. The Rashtrakutas gained control over the area but the Chalukyas regained their domain within a short period and regained supreme for over two hundred years. The Kalahari's who succeeded them ruled till the 12th Century AD. Around the close of the 12th century.

The Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Dwarasamadra destroyed the supremacy of the Chalukyas and kalachuris. About the same period the kakatiya kings of Wrangle came into prominence and the present Gulbarga and Raichur districts formed part of their domain. The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1321 AD and the entire Deccan including the district of Gulbarga passed under the control of the Emperors of Delhi.

The revolt of the officers appointed from Delhi resulted in founding of the Bahmani kingdom in 1347 AD, by Hassan Gangu who chose Gulbarga to be his capital. When the Bahmani dynasty came to an end, the kingdom broke up into five independent Sultanates and the present Gulbarga district came partly under Bidar and partly under Bijapur.

With the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangezeb in the 17th century, Gulbarga passed back to the Mughal Empire. In the early part of the 18th century when Mughal Empire was declining Asaf Jha a general of Aurangzeb became independent and formed the Hyderabad State in which a major part of Gulbarga area was also included. In 1948 Hyderabad state became a part of Indian Union and in 1956, excluding two talukas which were annexed to Andhra Pradesh the remaining talukus of Gulbarga district became part of New Mysore State.

Gulbarga is 613 km north of Bangalore and well connected by road to Bijapur, Hyderabad and Bidar. Train from southern part of India to Mumbai and Delhi passes through Gulbarga. The government has given green signal for airport. The Airport is under construction near a village called Srinivas Saradagi (named after Srinivas temple in that village). Shri Kshetra Gangapur an well known pilgrimage of God Shri Sadguru Dattarya is very close from Gulbarga. The climate of the district is generally dry and healthy with temperature ranging from 5c to 45c and an annual rainfall of about 750mm. The entire district is situated in Deccan Plateau and the general elevation ranges from 300 to 750 meters above MSL.

Two main river, Krishna and Bhima, also flow in the district. The predominant type of soil in the district is black soil. The district has a large number of tanks which in addition to the river irrigate the land. The Upper Krishna Project is major irrigational venture in the district. Jowar, groundnut, rice, and pulses are the main crops. Gulbarga an industrially backward district is presently showing signs of growth in the Cement, textile, leather and chemical industries sectors. Gulbarga has a University with Medical and Engineering Colleges.

This town was the Bahmani capital form 1347 until its transfer to bidar in 1428 Later the kingdom broke up into a number of smaller kingdoms - Bijapur, Bidar, berar, Ahmednager and Golconda. The last of these, Golconda, finally fell to Aurangzeb in 1687. Gulbarg's old moated fort is in a much teteriorated state, but it has a number of interesting buildings inside including the Jama Masjid, reputed tohave been built by a Moorish architect during the late 14th or early 15th century who imitated the great mosque in Cordoba, Spain. The mosque is unique in India, with a huge dome covering the whole area, four smaller ones at the corners, and 75 smaller still all the way around. The fort itself has 15 towers. Gulbarga also has a number of imposing tombs of Bahmani kings, a shrine to an important Muslim saint and the Sharana Basaveshwara Temple.

Climate

The weather in Gulbarga consists of three main seasons. The summer spans from late February to mid-June. It is followed by the southwest monsoon, which spans from late June to late September. It is then followed by dry winter weather until mid-January.

Temperatures during the different seasons are:

Monthly mean maximum & minimum temperature and total rainfall based upon 1901-2000 data as per Indian Meteorological Department

Month Temperature(High) in C Temperature(Low) in C
Jan 30.7 16.0
Feb 33.6 18.3
Mar 37.3 21.8
Apr 39.6 25.0
May 40.3 26.0
Jun 35.3 23.7
Jul 31.8 22.5
Aug 31.3 22.2
Sep 31.5 22.1
Oct 32.3 20.9
Nov 30.8 17.8
Dec 29.7 15.2
Month Rainfall in mm
Jan 5.0
Feb 5.6
Mar 7.9
Apr 18.6
May 35.5
Jun 107.3
Jul 136.8
Aug 140.1
Sep 190.1
Oct 80.7
Nov 26.8
Dec 05.1

[1]

Demographics

As of the 2001 India census,[2] Gulbarga had a population of 427,929. 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%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 60%. In Gulbarga, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Places of religious importance

There are beautiful temples in and around Gulbarga to visit namely: Shri Sharanbasveshwar Temple, Shri Kshetra Ganagapur(Ganagapura), a well known pilgrimage of God Shri Sadguru Dattatreya Narasimha Saraswati, Sri. Hulakantheshwar Temple (Herur. B), and the Ghathargi Bhagamma Temple (Afzalfur Taluk) located on the bank of Bhima river.

Places of religious importance in Gulbarga are the Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah, Sharanabasaveshwar Temple, Buddha Vihar and Sheikh Roza Dargah. Devotees from all over the world visit these places of worship.

Cuisine

TAHARI : Tahari is similar to pulao and is very popular in Gulbarga. Tahri is prepared by adding the meat to the rice, as opposed to the traditional Biryani where the rice is added to the meat.

Malpuri: Malpuri also known as "mamu ki malpuri" is quite famous sweet of gulbarga.

Jolada Rotti: Jolada Rotti/Jowari Bhakri (Known as Sorghum in western world) is the staple diet of the region. It is prepared from jowar flour. Jolada Rotti or Jwarichi Bhakri is served with a traditional curry and spiced peanut powder. Generally, the food in Gulbarga is believed to be very spicy when compared with the rest of the state.

Hoorana Holige : This is a sweet which is a specialty in the place and prepared on all festivals. It is kind of stuffed pancake. Chickpeas and Jaggery are ground and stuffed into wheat flour and then cooked. This is served with Mango pulp as a side dish.

Transport

Gulbarga is well connected by road and rail to Bangalore, Mumbai,Hyderabad and other major cities. The airport is under construction near a village called Srinivas Saradagi(named after Srinivas temple in that village).

Local transport

Auto rickshaws are available for getting around the city at fairly reasonable rates. NEKRTC city buses circulate within the city and also travel to the nearby towns and villages.

Long-distance bus routes

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs a bus service to other cities and villages. There are also various private bus services. The Bidar-Srirangapatna state highway made travel easy to Bangalore, and neighboring states of Maharashtra, Goa. There are many private services running Volvo buses between Bangalore and Gulbarga, and between Mumbai and Gulbarga.

Railways

Gulbarga is served by a major rail line and is well connected by trains to all major parts of India such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal and Agra.

Education

The first educational institute in gulbarga is sharanabasaveswara institute and it is the first educational institute for girls in north karnataka and it is still running successfully,leading all educational institute in north karnataka.it is established by doddappa appa. it also started 2 engineering colleges namely appa and godutai(first women engineering college in north karanataka) and also it offered many more educational institute of all courses.

Poojya Doddappa Appa of Hyderabad Karnataka Education Society, understood the importance of education to women so they started educational institutes for girls which is the first girls school of karnataka in 1930s. Later they started many educational institutes which are now the top educational institutes of this region. Sharnbaswappa appa the current president of the sangha promoted the educational institutes and started two engineering colleges, Appa Institute of Engineering and Technology and Godutai women engineering college along with many educational programs for current trends.There are two Muslim Org.Engg Colleges:KBNCollege of Engg & KCT College of Engg One new; Shetty College of Engg. Gulbarga has Local Centre of Institution of Engineers(India).It has two Medical Colleges:MRMedical College & KBN Medical College.

Also Gulbarga has a university, Gulbarga University, established in 1980. Its jurisdiction extends to the six districts of Gulbarga, Yadgir district Bidar, Raichur, Bellary and Koppal. Earlier it was a post-graduate centre of Karnatak University, Dharwad since 1970. The main campus is situated on 860 acres (3.5 km2) of land, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of Gulbarga city. It has 37 post-graduate departments and 4 post-graduate centres located at Krishnadevarayanagar, Bellary, Raichur and Bidar. Another post-graduate centre at Basavakalyan is on the anvil. The University enrolls about 3500 students every year for various post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes in various disciplines. There are about 200 faculty members and about 700 technical and non-technical supporting staff. There are 230 colleges affiliated with this University which enroll graduate/diploma courses in arts, fine arts, music, social sciences, science and technology, commerce, education and law. There are several institutions which offer a good education in the field nursing, to name some Vijaykumar College of Nursing, H.K.E Societies C.O.N, Al kareem, al qamar, etc.

The City also hoists the Karnataka Central University. Gulbarga is known as the 'City of Education' for its institutions managed by private as well as the government sectors.

The city has a 50 year old Poojya Doddappa Appa college of engg. with 12-14 branches. electronics and communication stream was first started here in entire karnataka, the only college in karnataka to have cement and ceramic technology stream at U G level.

Politics

Gulbarga has been home to two ex-chief ministers of Karnataka, namely Veerendra Patil (1968–1971, 1988–1990) and Dharam Singh (2004–2006); both belonged to the Congress party. Dr Neeraj Patil who served as " Mayor of The London Borough of Lambeth" is originally from Gulbarga.

The current member of Parliament from Gulbarga is Mallikarjun Kharge. He is India's Minister of Labour and Employment.

The members of the State Legislative Assembly are Qamar ul Islam (Gulbarga North), Smt.Aruna Devi Chandrashekhar Patil Revoor (Gulbarga South) and Revu Naik Belamgi (Gulbarga Rural).

Attractions

The Uttaradi Matha of the Dwaita School of philosophy of Madhvacharya. The remains of one of its most prominent saints, Sri Jayatirtha, are buried in a Brindavana here. He was a commentator of the celebrated aNuvyakhyana of Madhvacharya, which itself is a commentary upon the Brahma Sutras. For this commentary, called Nyaya Sudha, he is popularly known as Teekacharya.

* masjid - e- ali the new recent attraction in gulbaga 
* masjid -e- al farrooq 
*masjid - e - ameena

Apart from the religious attractions, Gulbarga also has entertainment attractions like Shetty's Talkie Town multiplex (a value based division of Fun Cinemas) which has 4 screens in total with all facilities for quality entertainment, located on Aland road in Gulbarga.

A new mall is under development on Darga Road, Jagat, Gulbarga. A cinema theatre called "Tirandaz Talkies" was formerly located at this place. THE VERY RECENT MALL IN GULBARGA IS ASIAN MALL WHICH GIVES THE GREATER ATTRACTION AND BETTER LOOK TO GULBARGA CITY AND PROVIDE WIDER RANGE OF SHOPPING FACILITIES TO THE CITIZEN OF GULBARGA

Notable personalities

External links

References