Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, India.

History

Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (

Ceded Districts Ceded Districts is the name of an area in the Deccan, India that was 'ceded' to the British East India Company by the Nizam in 1800. The name was in use during the whole period of the British Raj, even though the denomination had no official ...

) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956. The Ballari city municipal council was upgraded to a city corporation in 2004. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

approved a proposal to rename the city in October 2014 and Bellary was renamed to "Ballari" on 1 November 2014.

Geography

Bellari is located at . The city stands in the midst of a wide, level plain of black cotton soil.

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

rocks and hills form a prominent feature of Bellari. The city is spread mainly around two hills of granite composition, the ''Bellary Hill'' and the ''Kumbara Gudda''. ''Bellary Hill'' has a circumference of nearly and a height of . The length of this rock from north-east to south-west is about . To the east and south lies an irregular heap of boulders, to the west there is an unbroken monolith, and the north is walled by bare, rugged ridges. ''Kumbara Gudda'' looks like the profile of a human face from the south-east. It is also known as ''Face Hill''.

Climate

Demographics

According to the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, the urban population of Bellary was 410,445; of whom 206,149 were male and 204,296 female. 280,610 of the population were literate and 52,413 of the population were under 7 years of age. The population in 2001 was recorded as 316,766.

Languages

Both

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 ...

(36.25%) and

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 S ...

(28.06%) are the predominant languages, Kannada is the official language,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Marwari (3.01%),

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

(1.82%),

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

(1.74%),

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 ...

(1.23%),

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

(1.08%) and Others (1.03%) are also spoken in minority.

Economy

Industries

Textiles and garments

* Cotton processing :With cotton being one of the major agricultural crops around Bellary historically, the city has had a thriving cotton processing industry in the form of

ginning A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

, spinning and

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

plants. The earliest steam cotton-spinning mill was established in 1894, which by 1901 had 17,800 spindles, and employed 520 hands. :The city continues to thrive in this sector with one spinning mill and numerous cotton ginning and pressing mills,

hand loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but ...

s and power looms. * Garment manufacture :Bellari has a historic garment industry dating back to the First World War period, when the Marathi speaking "Darji" (tailor) community with its native skills in tailoring migrated from the current Maharashtra region to stitch uniforms for the soldiers of the colonial British Indian Army stationed at Bellary. After the war, the community switched to making uniforms for school children, and gradually the uniforms made here became popular all over the country. :Currently, Bellari is well known for its branded and unbranded denim garments, with brands like ''Point Blank'', ''Walker'', ''Dragonfly'' and ''Podium'' being successfully marketed nationally and internationally. There are about 260 denim garment units in Bellary with nearly 3000 families working in these units.

Notable people

''See '' *

Basavarajeshwari Basavarajeshwari Jahagirdar was an Indian politician and 3 time Member of Parliament (MP), represented the Bellary Lok Sabha constituency in Lok Sabha, lower house of the Indian Parliament. She also served as Minister of State for Women and Ch ...

– Politician and Industrialist *

Ravi Belagere Ravi Belagere (15 March 1958 – 13 November 2020) was an Indian writer and journalist based in Bangalore, Karnataka. He was the editor of the Kannada-language tabloid ''Hai Bangalore'' and fortnightly magazine '' O Manase''. He founded Bhavana ...

– Actor, writer, novelist, journalist, publisher of the ''Hai Bengaluru'' Tabloid *

Naveen Chandra Naveen Chandra is an Indian actor who predominantly acts in Telugu films. He starred in the Telugu romance film ''Andala Rakshasi'' (2012) and won critical acclaim for his performance, before playing leading roles in Tamil films. Early life ...

– Actor in Telugu film industry * H.

Linga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional ...

Reddy Reddy (also transliterated as ''Raddi'', ''Reddi'', ''Reddiar'', ''Reddappa'', ''Reddy'') is a caste that originated in India, predominantly settled in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are classified as a forward caste. The origin of the ...

- Politician and Advocate, Former Ex-MLA of

Kurugodu Kurugodu is a town in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 913400 Kurugodu, Bellary, Karnataka It is headquarters of Kurugodu taluk in Bellary district of Karnataka. The Sri Dodda Basaveshwara Temple (Big Basava) is located her ...

Manjula Chellur Manjula Chellur (born 5 December 1955) is a former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. She was the first woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, was the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court and the first female judge of the Karnataka High ...

−1st Woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court * Nagarur Gopinath – One of the pioneers of

cardiothoracic surgery Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs ( lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal str ...

in India, credited with the first successful performance of

open heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to c ...

in India in 1962. Recipient of

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

(1974) and Dr. B. C. Roy Award (1978) * Jayanthi – cinema actress, born in Bellary * K. C. Kondaiah – Politician and industrialist * Arcot Ranganatha Mudaliar – Former Deputy Collector of Bellary, politician and

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

. He served as the Minister of Public Health and Excise for the Madras Presidency from 1926 to 1928. *

A. Sabhapathy Mudaliar Rai Bahadur A. Sabhapathy Mudaliar (1838 – 29 October 1903) was a Philanthropist and politician from Bellary, India. The Women & Children's Hospital or The District Hospital in Bellary was initially named after him, following his donation of ...

– Philanthropist; The Women & Children's Hospital or The District Hospital was initially named after him, following his donation of land and building to the hospital. *

Bellary Raghava Bellary Raghava (Telugu: బళ్ళారి రాఘవ; born ''Tadipatri Raghavacharyulu''; 2 August 1880 – 16 April 1946) was an Indian playwright and actor, known for his works predominantly in Telugu theatre and cinema.M.L. Narasimha ...

(1880–1946) – Noted

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. The ''Raghava Kala Mandir''

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

in Bellary is named after him * Suparna Rajaram – Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Stony Brook University *

Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu (1853 – 30 November 1912) was a Telugu dramatist and playwright from Bellary. He was known as "Andhra Nataka Pithamaha" and wrote more than 30 original plays. Early life He was born in Dharmavaram town ...

(1853–1912) – Noted dramatist *

Bhargavi Rao Bhargavi Prabhanjan Rao (14 August 1944 – 23 May 2008), a Sahitya Akademi awardee, was an eminent translator in Telugu Literature. She was actively involved in translating various works of author and playwright Girish Karnad. Her most famous wo ...

– a Kannada-Telugu translator, winner of the prestigious ''Kendra Sahitya Academy award'' *

Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao ( Telugu: కోలాచలం శ్రీనివాసరావు) (13 March 1854 – 23 June 1919) was a dramatist from Bellary, India. A pleader and a non-professional theatre practitioner from Bellary, Srinivas ...

(1854–1919) – Noted dramatist * Gali Janardhan Reddy – Former minister and district in charge. He is one of the richest politicians in India * B Sriramulu - Present Minister of Health and Family Welfare of Karnataka *

Tekur Subramanyam Tekur Subramanyam () was an Indian Freedom fighter#Freedom fighter, Freedom Fighter and politician from Bellary, India. For his involvement in the Indian independence movement, Independence Movement, he was jailed several times by the British Raj ...

– Indian

Freedom Fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

, First post-

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

MP of Bellary, elected thrice in a row since 1952, political secretary to Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

Ibrahim B. Syed Ibrahim Bijli Syed (born March 16, 1939) is an American Radiological Scientist/Medical Physicist/ Health Physicist and the immediate past president of Islamic Research Foundation International. He was born in Bellary, Karnataka, the son of Mumta ...

– Indo-American

Radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...

Allum Veerabhadrappa Allam Veerabhadrappa is a leader of the Indian National Congress in Karnataka. He is a former president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. On 10 June 2016, he was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Council. He secured 33 votes of In ...

- former minister, Government of Karnataka

References

Maps

General

External links

Official website of Bellary City Corporation
{{Authority control 1808 establishments in British India Cities in Karnataka