Gulbarga

Gulbarga Kalaburagi
Corporation City
Kalaburagi
Clockwise from top left, Gulbarga se Sharana Basaveshwara Temple, Buddha Vihar Khwaja Banda Nawaz Dargah, Central University of Karnataka, ESI Hospital Kalburgi and Gulbarga Fort
Nickname(s): Sun City/ಬಿಸಿಲು ನಗರ, Land of Pigeon pea/ತೊಗರಿ ನಾಡು
Gulbarga Show map of Karnataka Gulbarga Show map of India
Coordinates: 17°20′00″N 76°50′00″E / 17.3333°N 76.8333°E / 17.3333; 76.8333Coordinates: 17°20′00″N 76°50′00″E / 17.3333°N 76.8333°E / 17.3333; 76.8333
Country	India
State	Karnataka
Region	Hyderabad-Karnataka
District	Gulbarga district
Official name	Gulbarga
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council , Gulbarga Mahanagara Palike
• Body	District Administration
Area
• Total	192 km2 (74 sq mi)
Elevation	454 m (1,490 ft)
Population (2018)
• Total	840,000
• Density	4,400/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Gulbargian, Gulbargi
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	585101/102/103/104/105/106
Telephone code	91(847)-2XXXXXX
Vehicle registration	KA-32
Website	www.gulbargacity.gov.in

Gulbarga, officially known as Kalaburagi,^[1] is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Gulbarga district and a major city of the North Karnataka region. Gulbarga is 623 km north of the state capital city of Bangalore and 220 km from Hyderabad. Previously it was part of Hyderabad State and incorporated into a newly formed Mysore State (now known as Karnataka) through the States Reorganisation Act^[2] in 1956.

Gulbarga city is governed by Municipal Corporation and is in Gulbarga Urban Region. It is called one of the Sufi cities having famous religious places, like Sharana Basaveshwara Temple Khwaja Banda Nawaz Dargah and Ladle Mashak ,and Buddha Vihar. It also has a fort built during Bahmani rule. Has many domes like Hafth Gumbad (seven domes together) and Shor Gumbad.^[3][4][5][6] Gulbarga has a few architectural marvels built during the Bahamani Kingdom rule, including the Jama Masjid sited in the Gulbarga Fort.

History

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 Kalaharis 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 1321 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 Zafar Khan Alaudin Hasan Gangu, who chose Gulbarga (Hasanabad) to be the capital.^[7] When the Bahmani dynasty came to an end in 1527, the kingdom broke up into five independent Sultanates, Bijapur, Bidar, Berar, Ahmednager, and Golconda. The present Gulbarga/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 Aurangezeb 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, Asaf Jha, one of Aurangzeb's generals, formed the Hyderabad State, 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, buragi means Fort)) effective 1 November 2014.^[8]

Art and architecture

The largest collection of Islamic art is seen only 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.

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 Persian architect named Rafi in 1367 during the reign of Muhammad Shah Bahmani I.

The glory of the towns in north Karnataka waned with the decline of 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. It has affected the mental health of people.

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

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 Jowar. 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, Aland Taluk of Gulbarga.^[9]The geographical area of the city is 64 square kilometres.^[10]

Climate

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 mid-June. It is followed by the southwest monsoon, which lasts from late June to late September. This is then followed by dry winter weather until mid-January.

Demographics

As of the 2011 Indian census,^[11] Gulbarga has a population of 543,000.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, Deccani Urdu (Hyderabadi Urdu) and English are the main languages.

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 Indian National Congress party. Mallikarjun Kharge is the present Member of Parliament and was also formerly the Union Minister for Railways and Minister of Labour and Employment. The Legislative Assembly members from Gulbarga are: Mrs Qamar-ul-Islam Gulbarga North, Dattatraya C Patil Revoor Gulbarga South and Basavraj mattimood Gulbarga Rural. Gulbarga's present Mayor is : Dr Sharankumar Modi.

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Gulbarga.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gulbarga.