Gulbarga Castle

Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka (Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi 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 in 1956.

Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation and is in the Kalaburagi 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 the Bahmani rule. Other Bahmani monuments include the Haft Gumbaz (seven domes together) and the Shor Gumbad. Kalaburagi has the world's largest cannon. Kalaburagi has a few architectural marvels built during the Bahamani Kingdom rule, including the Jama Masjid in the Kalaburagi Fort. Kalaburagi houses the circuit bench of the High Court of Karnataka. Several buildings in the city were put by UNESCO on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with others in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate (despite there being several sultanates).

History

The history of Kalaburagi dates to the sixth 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 Kalaburagi and Raichur districts formed part of their domain. The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1308 AD and the entire Deccan, including the district of Kalaburagi, 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 Kalaburagi (Hasanabad) to be the capital. When the Bahmani Sultanate came to an end in 1527, the kingdom broke up into five independent Deccan sultanates, Bijapur, Bidar, Berar, Ahmednagar, and Golconda. The present Kalaburagi district came partly under the sultanate of Bidar and partly under the sultanate of 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, Kalaburagi 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 Kalaburagi 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, Kalaburagi district became part of the 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.

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. Kalaburagi is the largest producer of toor dal, or pigeon peas, in Karnataka. Kalaburagi is an industrially backward district but is showing signs of growth in the cement, textile, leather and chemical industries. Kalaburagi has a university with Medical and Engineering Colleges. Central University of Karnataka (CuK) is located in Kadaganchi, Åland Taluk of Kalaburagi. The geographical area of the city is 64 square kilometres.

Climate

Kalaburagi 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 Kalaburagi 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, Kalaburagi city has a population of 533,587. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Kalaburagi has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 70%, while that of females is 30%. In Kalaburagi, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

At the time of the 2011 census, 55.04% of the population spoke Kannada, 35.78% Urdu

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