Dharwad is an administrative district of 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 ...

in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.The administrative headquarters of the district is the city of

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

, also known as Dharwar. Dharwad is located 425 km northwest of

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

and 421 km southeast of Pune, on the main highway between

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, the National Highway 4 (NH4). Before 1997 the district had an area of 13738 km². In 1997, the new districts of

Gadag Gadag-Betageri is a city municipal council in Gadag district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gadag District. The original city of Gadag and its sister city Betageri (or ''Betgeri'') have a combined cit ...

and

Haveri Haveri is a city in Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Haveri district. Haveri is famous for its cardamom garlands and Byadagi red chillies. Around 25 km away, there is a place called Bada, which is the birthplace o ...

were carved out of Dharwad's former territory, and a portion of Dharwad district was combined with lands formerly part of three other districts to create the new district of Davanagere. Dharwada-district-en

History

Historical studies show that people from early Paleolithic age inhabited Dharwad district. The district was ruled by various dynasties from the 5th century onwards, Important among them are Badami and Kalyan Chalukyas, Rastrakutas, Vijayanagar, Adilshahi, Mysore kingdom and Peshawas of Pune. Due to the rule of Peshwas, influence of Marathi is seen in the early decades of the 19th century. During the British rule, Dharwad became the divisional headquarter of educational administration and Kannada the vernacular language of the people gained prominence After India's independence in 1947, the Bombay Presidency was reconstituted as India's Bombay State. In 1956 the southern,

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 ...

-speaking districts of Bombay State, including Dharwad, were added to

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 of ...

and renamed Karnataka in 1972. Dharwad is home to the Karnataka University and the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) as well as numerous other colleges. In 1962 the erstwhile towns of Dharwad and Hubli were amalgamated to constitute the

Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (abbreviated as HDMC) is the Municipal Corporation responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the twin cities of Hubli and Dharwad, located in North Western part of Karnataka state in Indi ...

Geographical features

Dharwad district is situated in the Western sector of the northern half of Karnataka State. The District encompasses an area of 4263 km² lying between the latitudinal parallels of 15°02' and 15°51' North and longitudes of 73°43' and 75°35' East. The district is bounded on the north by the district of Belgaum, on the east by the district of Gadag, on the south by the district of Haveri and on the west by the district of Uttara Kannada. All these districts, which surround Dharwad district, belong to the state of Karnataka. Sub Divisions of District (Taluka's) *

* Hubli urban * Hubli rural * Kundgol * Navalgund * Kalghatgi * Alnavar *

Annigeri Annigeri is a taluk of Dharwad district in the state of Karnataka, India, located 20 km west of Gadag en route to Hubli and 35 km from Hubli. Introduction Annigeri ()is the place of birth of the famous Kannada poet Adikavi Pampa ...

The District lies approximately 800 m above the sea level, which is why it enjoys a moderate and healthy climate. The District may be divided into 3 natural regions, the Malnad, the Semi-Malnad and the Maidan. These regions on an average receive moderate to heavy rainfall and have dense vegetation. Kalghatagi and Alnavar area in Dharwad taluka in particular receive more rainfall than other talukas of the District. On the agricultural front, the presence of black soil helps in raising crops like Cotton, Wheat, Ragi, Jowar and Oil seeds and that of red soil is more suitable for paddy.

Important industrial centres

Hubballi is an important industrial center, with more than 1,000 small and medium scale industries established. They include machine tool industries,Cotton Industries, electrical industries, steel furniture industries, food processing, rubber, leather and leather tanning industries. Prominent establishments in Dharwad district: * Tata Motors Ltd. * Tata Marcopolo Motors Ltd. * Telco Construction Equipment Company Limited (Telcon). * Kirloskar Electrical Co. Ltd. * Microfinish Group of Companies. * Bhoruka Textile Mill. * New Government Electric Factory Limited (NGEF). * Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). * Universal group of companies. * BDK Group of Industries. * Murudeshwar Ceramics Ltd. * Kamat Group of Hotels. * JBM Industries. * DRT Holidays India. * Vijayanand Roadlines Ltd. (VRL) * Vibhava Industries (Monkey 555)

Transportation

Road

NWKRTC (North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation) is a state run corporation headquartered at Hubballi. There is a good transportation between Hubli, Dharwad, Kalghatgi, Navalgund and Kundgol as NWKRTC and Bendre Nagara Sarige (a consortium of private bus-owners) compete to cater to the large number of commuters between these places daily. Bus services from the twin-cities exist to every part of Karnataka and neighbouring states and other destinations. There are many private bus operators who render travel services between Hubli and

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, Goa and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

Railway

Hubli is the Headquarter of South Western Railways Zone of Indian Railways. There is modest intra-district Railway connectivity. Hubli being an important railway junction has daily trains to

Miraj Miraj (Pronunciation: iɾəd͡z ) is a city in Sangli District and also in Maharashtra, India, that was founded in the early 10th century. It was an important jagir of the Adil Shahi court of Bijapur. Shivaji Maharaj stayed in Miraj for ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, Ahmedabad,

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises N ...

and weekly services to

, Howrah and

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Air

Hubli Airport Hubli Airport is a domestic airport serving the twin cities of Hubli and Dharwad in the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated on Gokul Road, 8 kilometres from Hubli and from Dharwad. It is connected with 10 destinations throughout the cou ...

(IATA: HBX, ICAO: VOHB) serves the Dharwad district and one of the major operational airports serving northern Karnataka. Currently SpiceJet Airlines have started its operation from Hubli To

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. J ...

and

IndiGo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

Airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...

have started its operation from Hubli to Ahmedabad,

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, Goa, Alliance Air operates one flight everyday to the state capital

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...

has started its operation from Hubli to

and

on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. and

Star Air (India) Ghodawat Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. doing business as Star Air, is an Indian commuter airline based at Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore, Karnataka. It started operations in January 2019, offering flights within Karnataka state as well ...

will start its operation Hubli To

( Hindon),

, and

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is re ...

on 15 September The airport is currently being upgraded to an international airport.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Dharwad 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 using a ...

of 1,847,023, roughly equal to the nation of

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

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 B ...

. This gives it a ranking of 256th 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 15.13%. Dharwad 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 d ...

of 967

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 80.3%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 9.63% and 4.74% of the population respectively. At the time of the 2011 census, 70.08% of the population spoke

, 18.40%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Marathi, 2.36% Telugu, 1.46% Gujarati and 1.24%

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.

Culture

According to the modern scholar Hampa Nagarajaiah ("Hampana"), ancient Kannada poet Pampa who is also called ''Ādikavi'' ("First Poet") was born in

, a town in Dharwad district. The Dharwad district has contributed to some of the greatest exponents of Hindustani music including Sawai Gandharva,

Mallikarjun Mansur Pandit Mallikarjun Bheemaraayappa Mansur (Kannada: ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ಮನ್ಸೂರ), (31 December 1910 – 12 September 1992) was an Indian classical singer from Karnataka, an excellent vocalist in the khyal style in th ...

, Bhimsen Joshi, Basavaraj Rajaguru, Kumar Gandharva and

Gangubai Hangal Gangubai Hangal (5 March 1913 – 21 July 2009) was an Indian singer of the ''khayal'' genre of Hindustani classical music from Karnataka, who was known for her deep and powerful voice. Hangal belonged to the Kirana gharana. Early life G ...

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

winners D. R. Bendre,

V. K. Gokak Vinayaka Krishna Gokak (9 August 1909 – 28 April 1992), abbreviated in Kannada as Vi. Kru. Gokak, was an Indian historian and writer in the Kannada language and a scholar of English and Kannada literatures. He was the fifth writer to be hono ...

and

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

trace their origins to Dharwad. Kannada writers and critics Kirtinath Kurtakoti and C. P. Siddhashrama are from Dharwad. Noted Marathi writer

G. A. Kulkarni G. A. Kulkarni (Gurunath Abaji Kulkarni), or known simply as "GA" (10 July 1923 – 11 December 1987; Marathi: जी. ए. कुलकर्णी, "जीए"), was a legendary Sahitya Akademi Award winner Marathi writer of short stories. G ...

also lived most of his life. Actresses Shanta Hublikar and

Leena Chandavarkar Leena Chandavarkar (born 29 August 1950) is an Indian former actress who appeared in Bollywood movies as a leading actress and now appears in reality shows. She was an actress during the late 60s and early 70s. She played leading heroine opposi ...

were born here. Dattatreya temple

Nandan Nilekani Nandan Mohanrao Nilekani (born 2 June 1955) is an Indian entrepreneur. He co-founded Infosys and is the non-executive chairman of Infosys replacing R Seshasayee and Ravi Venkatesan, who were the co-chairs of the board, on 24 August 2017. After t ...

, the Co-Chairman of Infosys moved in with his uncle's family in Dharwad for his education and was a student of St Joseph's High School. Sucheta Dalal, the Mumbai-based financial journalist, who exposed the Harshad Mehta scandal studied in Dharwad. Lucy d'Abreu (oldest Briton ever) was also born in Dharwad. Dharwad is also the birthplace of Palwankar Baloo, the first member of the Dalit community to distinguish himself at

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

, and later to become a political activist for Dalit rights. Sunil Joshi, the Indian bowler, also hails from Dharwad.

Dances

*Dollu Kunitha It is a popular drum dance. The large drums are decorated with coloured cloth, and are slung around the necks of men. The dances are at times accompanied with songs relating to religious praise or wars. * Veeragase Veeragase is popular folk dance. It is a symbolic presentation of the heroism and valour of God Veerabahadhra. Its exponents are called Lingadevaru and they perform the dance with religious fervour at festival time especially during the months of Shravana and Kartika. * Nandikolu kunitha This art form is the domain of male devotees of Lord Siva. The Nandi pole is about 18 cubits in length, each cubit representing a 'dharma'. The length of the pole is fitted with brass pots and plates, and ornate silver or brass umbrella at the top with a silk tassel, which is the flag. The performer on a sling balances the pole; this requires skill as well as strength. The sight of the devotee's inspired dance, to the background beat and the resulting symphony of sounds, from the pots and plates on the pole, is truly breathtaking. * Jodu halige Halige meaning two percussion instruments used by two artists to produce rhythmic notes of astounding energy and power. Their movements along the stage expressive of their physical energy harmonizes with the notes produced by the instrument. The Haligi (wood) circular in shape is made of buffalo hide. A short stick is used on it. The notes combined with the bodily movement pervade the stage and overflow to the audience. * Lambani nruthya Lambani women dressed colourfully and move circularly with clapping and singing. This dance is out of the common. In dress, mode of living and dwelling, they dance on important festivities in a free manner. * Veerabhadra kunitha The dance form depicts the story of Veerabhadra, the legendary minor god created by Lord Siva to teach a lesson to his father-in-law Daksha. Veerabhadra to go to the place of the yaga and destroy the ceremony.

Tourism

Places of interest in Dharwad district comprise many tourist attractions including temples and historical monuments.

* Aminbhavi, about 6 km from

, is the location of ''24

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...

Basadi'', Hire Matha and a cave temple. Hire Matha has paintings on a wooden plank. The plank is brought in from Kittur. Unkal Chandramouleshwara 1

Hubballi * Chandramouleshwara Temple at Unkal is of the

Western Chalukya 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 ...

period Chandramouleshwara

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

temple and ''Unkal lake''. * Unkal Lake is used as a perfect picnic and has a garden, recreational facilities for children, and boating. The lake is 3 km away from Hubli. unkal1

* Bhavanishankar Temple This Chalukyan temple with the image of Sri Narayana is flanked by the ten incarnations of God. * Asar It was built by Mohammed Ali Shah in about 1646 to serve as a hall of justice. The building was also used to house two hairs from the Prophet's beard. Women are not allowed inside. * Nrupatunga Hill is a hillock located on the North-Eastern fringe of Hubballi. The top of the hillock has views of Hubli city. The span of the view extends from Amargol in the North to the

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

in the West all the way to the Southern parts of Hubli. Sidharoodha Math Old-Hubli 2

* Siddharoodha Math is a religious institution, a centre of Advaita philosophy as preached by Swami Siddharoodha, is located on the outskirts of Hubli. * Glass House As the name suggests, this is a palace of glass, inaugurated by the former Indian Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi. * Banashankari Temple Amargol is known for the ''Shankarlinga and Banashankari Temple''. It is in between Hubli and

, and near to Navanagar. *

has many historical temples including Kalyani Chalukya period ''Amriteshwara temple''. It is about 30 km from Hubli, between Hubli and

Sri Jagadguru Ajaatha Nagalinga Swamy Mutta-Navalagunda * Kundgol is about 15 km from Hubli-Dharwad. It is home to the ''Shambhulinga temple''. It is known for its place in the history of

Hindustani Music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

in Karnataka. Birthplace of Sawai Gandharva.

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinctio ...

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and

learnt Hindustani music here and Sawai Gandharva was their Guru. * Kalghatgi: ** Tamboor about 8 km from Kalghatgi. It home to the ''Basavanna temple'' and '' Devikoppa Forest''. ** Shri Basaveshwar Temple is located in Bhogenagarakoppa at a distance of approximately 14 km from Kalghatagi. ** Mahalakshmi temple ** Shantinatha Basadi Jain temple

People, language, customs

is most spoken language in this district. The Kannada spoken here is known as Dharwad Kannada. This slightly varies from Kannada spoken in southern Karnataka. Men in rural areas wear headgear called a turban or Pheta. Also many wear white cap on their head.

Agriculture and commerce

Jowar, maize, wheat, cotton, onions and rice are grown. The district also grows mangoes, papaya, and bananas as horticultural produce. There are many subsidiary agricultural industries such as the production of

puffed rice Puffed rice and popped rice (or pop rice) are types of puffed grain made from rice commonly eaten in the traditional cuisines of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. It has also been produced commercially in the West since 1904 and is popu ...

, beaten rice, and edible oils.

Notable people

* G. S. Amur *

K. S. Amur Krishna Shyamacharya Amur (born 1931) was a professor emeritus of mathematics in differential geometry was head of the department of mathematics, Karnatak University Karnatak University is a public state university in Dharwad district ...

* D. R. Bendre * Kumar Gandharva * Sawai Gandharva *

* Shanta Hublikar *

Suresh Heblikar Suresh Heblikar ( kn, ಸುರೇಶ ಹೆಬ್ಳೀಕರ) is a Kannada filmmaker, director and actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional med ...

* R. C. Hiremath * Bhimsen Joshi *

* Sarojini Mahishi *

* Sudha Murthy *

Venkanna H. Naik Barrister Venkanna H. Nayak (1879–1929) from Gonehalli village, into a Nadavaru family. was a Commissioner of Bijapur District, India, and a Deputy Commissioner of Dharwar District. He instigated several new plans to help sects of Bijapu ...

* D. C. Pavate * Basavaraj Rajguru * C. P. Siddhashrama

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dharwad District Districts of Karnataka Belgaum division