Raichur District is an administrative

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north,

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural i ...

and

Bagalkot district Bagalakote district(), is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The district headquarters is located in the town of Bagalakote. The district is located in northern Karnataka and borders Belgaum, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur an ...

in the northwest, Koppal district in the west,

Bellary district Bellary, officially known as Ballari (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka un ...

in the south, Jogulamba Gadwal district of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

and

Kurnool district Kurnool district is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the North western part of the state and is bounded by Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana in the north, Rai ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

in the east.

Geography

The district is bounded by the Krishna River on the north and the Tungabhadra River on the south. The wedge of land between the rivers is known as the Raichuru Doab, after the city of Raichur.

and

Yadgir Yadgir is a city and the administrative headquarters of Yadgir district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also the administrative headquarters of Yadgir Taluka, one of the six taluks of Yadgir. Geography Yadgir town covers an area ...

districts lie to the north across the Krishna River.

Bagalkot Bagalakote, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India, which is also the headquarters of Bagalakote district. It is situated on branch of River Ghataprabha about 481 km (299 mi) northwest of state capital Bengaluru, 410 km (2 ...

and Koppal districts lie to the west. Across the Tungabhadra lies

Bellary District Bellary, officially known as Ballari (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka un ...

of Karnataka to the southwest and Mahabubnagar of

to the southeast.

Kurnool District Kurnool district is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the North western part of the state and is bounded by Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana in the north, Rai ...

state lies to the east, and includes the lower portion of the Raichur Doab.

History

The recorded history of the district is traced to as far back as the third century B.C. The fact that three minor rock edicts of Ashoka are found in this district one at Maski in the Lingasugur taluk and the other two near Koppal, prove that this area was included in the dominions of the great

Maurya The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

n king

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

(273 - 236 B.C.). At that time, this region was under the governance of the Viceroy or

Mahamatra A Mahamatra (meaning "Officer of high rank") was an "officer of morality" established by the Indian Emperor Ashoka (reigned 269-233 BCE). Their full title was ''Dhaṃma Mahāmātā'', the "Inspectors of the Dharma". They were apparently a cl ...

of Ashoka. Early in the Christian era, the district appears to have been a part of the kingdom of the

Satavahana The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the l ...

s. The

Vakataka The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in th ...

s, who reigned during the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D., seem to have held sway over Raichur for sometime, after which it appears to have been included in the Kadamba dominions. The next dynasty of importance, which ruled over this region, was that of the

Chalukyas of Badami The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...

. According to an inscription from Aihole,

Pulakeshin II Pulakeshin II (IAST: Pulakeśin, r. c. 610–642 CE) was the most famous ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi (present-day Badami in Karnataka, India). During his reign, the Chalukya kingdom expanded to cover most of the Deccan region in pe ...

having defeated the

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

s, occupied this area and made it a province in his empire under the governance of his son Adityavarma. Later the whole of the present Raichur district was included in the dominions of the

Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing the ...

s, who rose to power in the eighth century, as could be gathered from the inscriptions of that period found in this district. According to an inscription from Manvi taluk, one Jagattunga, a subordinate ruler under the Rashtrakuta king Krishna-II, was ruling the province of Adedore Eradusavirapranta, i.e., the area constituting the present Raichur district. Nripatunga, a Rashtrakuta king, has described Koppal in his Kannada work, Kavirajamarga, as the great Kopananagara. Numerous inscriptions of the

Western Chalukyas The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in th ...

, found in the various parts of the district, testify to the fact that this region was under their sway for a considerable length of time between the 10th and 12th centuries A.D. It is learnt from an inscription found at Naoli in Lingsugur taluk that during the reign of Chalukya Vikramaditya-V, the Adedore-pranta, i.e., the Raichur region, was being ruled by his younger brother Jagadekamalla-I. Another inscription from Maski describes the place as a capital and makes a reference to the reign of Jayasimha. There were, however, frequent wars between the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

kings of the south and the Chalukyan kings of Kalyani (aka Western Chalukyas) for supremacy over the Raichur region and the territory had passed into the hands of the Cholas for a brief period. The

Haihaya The Heheya Kingdom (also known as Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya _sa.html" ;"title="nowiki/> sa">हैहय was a kingdom ruled by the Yadava people, who claimed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. One of the mo ...

s and Sindas also seem to have ruled some parts of this region for sometime. Later, after the fall of the Chalukyas, Raichur passed into the hands of the Kalachuris of Kalyani and later Sevna Yadava kings. Then came the

Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...

s in the 13th century. From an inscription on the fort-wall of Raichur, referred to earlier, it is learn that the original fort was built by one Gona Ganna Reddy, a general of the Kakatiya queen Rudramma Devi of

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal ser ...

, in 1294 A.D., at the instance of the latter. Raichur was sacked by

Malik Kafur Malik Kafur (died 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent slave-general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan during the 1299 invasion of Gujarat, and rose to promi ...

, was commander of

Sultanate of Delhi The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

in 1312. Raichur district was passed to

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

in 1323 after demise of

Kakatiyas The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. T ...

due to invasions of

Sultanate of Delhi The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

. It was captured by

Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan,

in 1363. It was passed to

Bijapur Sultanate The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's T ...

in 1489 after fragmentation of Bahmanids. Vijayanagara recaptured it after Battle of Raichur in 1520 but Bijapur recaptured it in 1565 after Vijayanagara's defeat at hands of

Deccan Sultanates The Deccan sultanates were five Islamic late-medieval Indian kingdoms—on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range—that were ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. ...

during

Battle of Talikota The Battle of Talikota (23 January 1565) was a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and an alliance of the Deccan sultanates. The battle resulted in the defeat of Aliya Rama Raya which led to the eventual collapse of the poli ...

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

, emperor of

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

captured the district in 1686. Finally 1724 Raichur became part of

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

between 1724 and 1948 except

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

rule between 1853 and 1860 as part of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. During Nizam rule it was part of

Gulbarga Division Kalaburagi division, formerly known as Gulbarga division, is one of the four divisions of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has seven districts, namely: Bellary district, Bidar district, Kalaburagi district, Koppal district, Raichur district, Y ...

. After the

Operation Polo Operation Polo was the code name of the Hyderabad " police action" in September 1948, by the then newly independent Dominion of India against Hyderabad State. It was a military operation in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the Nizam-ru ...

, Hyderabad State was integrated to Indian Union on 17 September 1948. Between 1948 and 1956, it was part of

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and ...

. During division of the state on linguistic basis, it became part of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

State and later was renamed at Karnataka.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Raichuru district has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 1,928,812, roughly equal to the nation of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...

or the US state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. This gives it a ranking of 246th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.27%. Raichur has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of 992

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 60.46%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 20.79% and 19.03% of the population respectively. According to the 2011 census, 74.87% of the population spoke

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, 11.57%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

, 1.79% Lambadi and 1.75%

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

as their first language.

Administration

Raichuru District has seven taluks: * Raichuru, * Devadurga, *

Sindhanur Sindhanur is a city and taluk headquarter of Sindhanur taluk of Raichur District in Karnataka. It is the main commercial center o a e distri and the state. Riverer Tungabhadra covers the irrigation area by left bank canal. Most of the lan ...

, * Manvi, *

Maski Maski is a town and an archaeological site in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India.Amalananda Ghosh (1990), p282 It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the Tungabhadra. Maski derives its name from Mahas ...

, * Sirwar, * Lingsuguru. The capital of the district is the city of

Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...

, which is 409 km from the state capital,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Tourism

Among the historical attractions in the district is the Raichur Fort, built in 1294. Also notable is the nearby town of

Anegundi Anegundi previously called Kishkindha is a village in the Gangavathi taluk, Koppal district in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is older than Hampi, situated on the northern bank of the Tungabhadra River. Huchappayana matha temple (with bla ...

, which has a number of monuments from the

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bell ...

empire, including the Ranganatha temple, Pampa Lake and ''Kamal Mahal'', MahaLaxmi Temple is located in a nearby village, Kallur, at a distance of 20 km from Raichur. * Shaktinagar Sri Sugureshwara Temple (Lord Veerabadhra) at the bank of river Krishna, about 18 km from Raichur. Both temples are easily accessible at all times via bus routes. *

is a town and an archaeological site. The site has an edict of Emperor Ashoka and it was the first edict of Emperor Ashoka that contained the name Ashoka in it instead of the earlier edicts that referred him as Devanampiye piyadasi. * Mudgal The main attractions Mudgal are the remnants of the Mudgal fort and an ancient Roman Catholic church built by the Jesuits before 1557. *

Hatti Gold Mines Hatti Gold Mines, also spelled Hutti, is a notified area council in Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The mines are owned and operated by Hutti Gold Mines Limited. Hatti is situated in Raichur District, Karnataka State and ...

This mine is probably one of the most ancient metal mines in the world, dating to the Pre-Ashokan period. It is the only functioning Gold mine in India. * Naradagadde is a holy place where Lord

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

is believed to have performed penance. Naradagadde and Koormagadde are islands famous the temples and are located on Krishna river. *

Jaladurga Jaladurga is a fortified village in Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka, about 20 km northeast of Lingsugur town. The Adil Shahi Kings of Bijapur built the fort. Jaladurga Fort Grand Canyon Of Raichur The Krishna River cas ...

is a fortified village. The Adil Shahi Kings of Bijapur built the fort. *

Piklihal Piklihal is a village near Mudgal in the Lingasugur taluk of Raichur district in Karnataka state, India. Piklihal is a neolithic period site. The site was excavated by F. Raymond Allchin in 1952. Piklihal is 6 km south to Mudgal town. The ...

is a pre-historic site belonging to neolithic period is located 5 km south to Mudgal. *

Kallur archaeological site Kallur is an archaeological site and village located in the Manvi taluk of Raichur district in the state of Karnataka, India.Amalananda Ghosh (1990), p197 It belongs to Gulbarga division. The site came into prominence with the discovery of ante ...

is a Copper Hoard culture site in Manvi taluk of

. Kallur archaeological site is 30 km from Raichur.

Economy

The

Raichur Thermal Power Station Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) is a coal-fired electric power station located at Yadlapur D(Shaktinagar) in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India. It is operated by the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) and was th ...

at Shaktinagar and Yaramaras Thermal Power Station at Yaramaras, generate electricity for

. Raichur District is one of few places in India with

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

resources.

are situated in Raichur District, around 90 km away from Raichur city. All the five talukas mentioned above are well irrigated, with water from the Tungabhadra Dam on the Tungabhadra River, and the Narayanpura Dam on the Krishna River. Raichur is known for its paddy fields and its

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, which is exported to different countries. It also has a good trading market in cotton industry. In 2006 the

Ministry of Panchayati Raj The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a branch of the Government of India. Ministry of Panchayati Raj looks into all matters relating to the Panchayati Raj and Panchayati Raj Institutions. It was created in May 2004. The ministry is headed by a ...

named Raichur one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640 districts). It is one of the five districts in Karnataka currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF) and that is going to local politicians home.

References

India Post pincode search

External links

Official website of Raichur district

Website of Raichur City Corporation

Raichur District Police Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raichur District Districts of Karnataka sv:Raichur