Belgaum (Kannada

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous

Belagavi division Belagavi division, formerly Belgaum division, is one of the four divisions of Indian state of Karnataka. The division comprises the districts of Bagalkot, Belgavi, Bijapur, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri and Uttara Kannada. It covers a geographical ar ...

and

Belagavi district Belagavi district, formerly also known as Belgaum district, is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The district is known as the sugar bowl of Karnataka with hectares being used for commercial production. It has overtaken Mandya distri ...

. The

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

has proposed making Belgaum the second capital of Karnataka alongside

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, hence a second state administrative building

Suvarna Vidhana Soudha The Suvarna Vidhana Soudha () is the legislature building of the State of Karnataka in Belagavi in the Belagavi district of Karnataka. It was inaugurated on 11 October 2012 by President Pranab Mukherjee. The building The Suvarna Vidhana Soud ...

was inaugurated on 11 October 2012. Belgaum has been selected in first phase out of 20 cities, as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a

smart city A smart city is an urban area that uses digital technology to collect data and operate services. Data is collected from citizens, devices, buildings, or cameras. Applications include traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities ...

under India's flagship

Smart Cities Mission Smart Cities Mission was an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop smart cities across the country, making them citizen-friendly and sustainable. The Union Ministry of Urban Development ...

History

Belgaum was founded in late 12th century AD by the

Ratta dynasty Ratta was a minor dynasty who ruled over the Belagavi region of the Karnataka as a branch of Rashtrakutas. Savadatti (Saundatti), historically known as ''Sugandavarti'' was the capital of Ratta dynasty during 875-1250 CE period. Later their c ...

, who shifted from nearby

Saundatti Savadatti is one of the oldest towns in Belagavi district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a celebrated Hindu pilgrimage centre located 78 kilometres from Belagavi and 41 kilometres from Dharwad. Savadatti is also the name of t ...

. A Ratta official named Bichiraja built

Kamal Basadi Kamal Basadi is a Jain temple located inside Belgaum Fort in city of Belgaum, Karnataka. History The Kamal Basadi was built by Birchiraja, also called Jaya Raya, an officer in the court of Kartavirya IV of Ratta dynasty in CE under the gu ...

, a Jain temple, dedicated to

Neminatha Neminātha (Devanagari: नेमिनाथ) (Sanskrit: नेमिनाथः), also known as Nemi and Ariṣṭanemi (Devanagari: अरिष्टनेमि), is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jainism in the present age (). Nemina ...

in 1204, which came to be called Kamalabasti. Pillars found inside Belgaum fort have

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

inscriptions in Nagari scripts, one from 1199 by Ratta King Kartaveerya IV. The city's original name was Venugram, a Sanskrit word which means "village of bamboo". Alternatively, it is referred to as Venugram in early Indian texts, which means "city of bamboo". Belgaum became a part of the

Yadava dynasty The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a realm stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of th ...

kingdom (

Seuna The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a realm stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of the ...

) in early 13th century. An inscription from 1261 of King Krishna belonging to the Yadava dynasty attests to this. The region was invaded by

Khalji dynasty The Khalji or Khilji dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate for three decades between 1290 and 1320. It was the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate which covered large swaths of the Indian subcontinent.

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

in 14th century. Shortly thereafter, the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

was founded, and Belgaum came under the rule of Vijayanagara. In 1474, the

Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...

conquered Belgaum with an army led by

Mahmud Gawan Mahmud Gawan (1411 – 5 April 1481) was a Persian statesman who served as the chief minister, or Peshwa of the Bahmani Sultanate in the Deccan plateau in India from 1458 and ''de facto'' ruler as prime minister from 1466 until his death in 1481. ...

The Belgaum fort was strengthened by the Adil Shah dynasty Sultans and they built the Safa Mosque. A Persian inscription states that the mosque was built by Asad Khan, a Bijapur commander. In 1518, the Bahamani sultanate splintered into five small states and Belgaum became part of the

Bijapur Sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...

. The Adilshahis extended their control to the port of Goa, but retreated after the arrival and wars with the Portuguese. In 1686, the Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

overthrew the Bijapur sultanate and Belgaum passed nominally to the Mughals, who called it "Azamnagar". However, the Mughal empire control collapsed after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. The

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

confederacy took control of the area during the rule of the

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

s. In 1776, the region was overrun by

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

and

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

after Hyder Ali's coup in the

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...

. The Peshwa regained Belgaum, after Tipu Sultan was defeated by the British forces. In 1818, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

annexed Belgaum and the region in the control of the Peshwa. Kitturu Chennamma (1778–1829) was the queen of the princely state of Kittur in

and in 1824 she led an unsuccessful armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of lapse. Belgaum was chosen as the venue of the 39th session of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

in December 1924 under the presidency of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. The city served as a major military installation for the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, primarily due to its proximity to

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, which was then a Portuguese territory. Once the British left India, the Indian government continued and still continues to have armed forces installations in Belgaum. In 1961, the Indian government, under Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

, used military forces from Belgaum to end Portuguese rule of

. When India became independent in 1947, Belgaum and its district were part of

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

. In 1956, the Indian states were reorganised along linguistic lines by the

States Reorganisation Act The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's States and union territories of India, states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries ...

and Belgaum including 10 taluks of Bombay State were transferred to Mysore State, which was renamed

in 1973. In 2006, the

announced that Belgaum would be made the state's second capital, and that the city would be a permanent venue for the annual 15-day winter session of the state legislature.

City names

On 1 November 2014, the city's name was changed from Belgaum to Belagavi by the Karnataka government, with approval of the

central government of India The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

along with 12 other cities. Belgaum is known as Belgaon (IPA: eːɭɡaːʋ in Maharashtra and amongst

Marathi people The Marathi people (; Marathi language, Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They ...

Geography

Topography

Belgaum is located at . It has an average elevation of . The city is in the northwestern parts of

and lies at the border of two states,

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and

on the western ghats ( from the Goa state border). It is one of the oldest towns in the state, lying from

, from

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, from

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, and from

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

. The district comprises 1278 villages with an area of and a population of around 4.8 million according to the census of 2011. Belgaum district is the biggest district of Karnataka. Situated near the foothills of the Sahyadri mountain range ( Western Ghats) at an altitude of about , from the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

with the Markandeya river flowing nearby, Belgaum exhibits swift and kaleidoscopic changes in topography, vegetation and climate.

Climate

Belgaum has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Aw''). It is known for its pleasant year-round climate. Belgaum is at its coldest in winter (lowest temperature in Karnataka is usually recorded in Belgaum) and it experiences almost continuous monsoon rains from June through September. Belgaum sometimes receives hail storms during April.

Demographics

Population

According to the 1881 census, 64.39% of the population of Belgaum district were

speakers and 26.04% spoke

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

. As per the 2011 India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, the population of Belgaum city is 490,045. Males constitute 246,537 of the population and females 243,508. Belgaum has an average literacy rate of 88.92%: 93.78% for males and 85.84% for females. 10.71% of the population is under 6 years of age. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 7.84% and 3.26% of the population respectively.

Languages

(37.46%) and

(32.91%) are the predominant languages.

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

is spoken by 19.82%, while

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

(2.64%),

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

(2.42%) and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

(1.92%) are also spoken.

Government and politics

Administration

Belgaum is located in the Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency.

Assembly session

In 2006, the Government of Karnataka decided to hold one week sessions of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly every year during the winter season at the

administrative building, constructed and inaugurated in Belgaum in 2012. Suvarna Soudha

Belgaum border dispute

The Belgaum border dispute is a dispute involving the Indian states of

and

. Belgaum, currently a part of Karnataka and earlier the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, is claimed by Maharashtra on linguistic grounds. In 1956, the States Reorganization Act incorporated the Belgaum district including the 10 taluks in the Mysore state, which became Karnataka in 1973. Though according to the 1881 census, 64.39% of the population of Belgaum were

speakers and 26.04% spoke

. In 1948, the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, a Belgaum based regional organisation fighting for the merger, was formed. On 17 January 1956, Marathi activists against the inclusion were shot by the police forces of Mysore state. Since then, 17 January is observed as the 'martyr's day' by Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti. On 11 November 2005, Karnataka Rakshna Vedike (KRV) activists daubed Belgaum Mayor Vijay More's face with black paint (and later surrendered to the police) in the wake of Belgaum City Corporation (BCC) passing a resolution to include the district of Belgaum into

, a neighbouring state. Upon his return to Belgaum, Vijay More was served with several show-cause notices by the Government of Karnataka and later dissolved the council. Following this incident, in the following year's election, Prashanta Budavi, wife of KRV (Karnataka Rakshana Vedike) City President Shantinath Budavi was appointed as mayor of the Belgaum City Corporation. Maharashtra has asked to bring 865 disputed villages including Belgaum under centre's rule until

Supreme court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

's final verdict. N.D. Patil, head of legal-committee appointed by Maharashtra government said that Karnataka is intensifying the problem. He added that Marathi people of border region are not able to live with honour and dignity under Karnataka's rule pointing out to the 'unconstitutional' dissolution of Belgaum city corporation and manhandling of Belgaum mayor by Kannada activists at

. Even though case is pending in supreme court, in 2019, Deputy CM of Maharashtra

Ajit Pawar Ajit Anantrao Pawar (Marathi pronunciation: �d͡ʒit̪ pəʋaːɾ born 22 July 1959) is an Indian politician serving as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra along with Eknath Shinde under Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024. He is t ...

called for the incorporation of Belgaum along with Karwar and Nipani area in

citing it was of dream of

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...

founder

Bal Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian cartoonist and politician who founded the original Shiv Sena, a far-right, a pro- Marathi and a Hindu nationalist party active mainly in ...

, a statement reiterated by CM

Uddhav Thackeray Uddhav Bal Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022 and the Leader of the House, Maharashtra Legislative Ass ...

in January 2021. Thackeray went on to term the region as 'Karnataka-occupied areas'. The case regarding the dispute is pending before the Supreme Court for many years.

Economy

The city's humble industrial growth begin when an entrepreneur named Babu Rao Pusalkar set up a small unit in city over a century ago and that transformed Belgaum city into foundry and hydraulics base. Belgaum is an important source of vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, fish, mining production, and wood (due to heavy rainfall, rivers and the abundance of water). Trading in

North Karnataka North Karnataka (kannada: ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ''Transliteration: Uttara Karnataka'') is a geographical region in Deccan plateau from elevation that constitutes the region of the Karnataka state in India and the region consi ...

is mainly with

and

along with major cities like

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

and

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

. Rich deposits of

Bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

are found in

Belgaum district Belagavi district, formerly also known as Belgaum district, is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The district is known as the sugar bowl of Karnataka with hectares being used for commercial production. It has overtaken Mandya distri ...

and have led to the creation of the Indian

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

-producing company

Hindalco Industries Hindalco Industries Limited an Indian aluminium and copper manufacturing company, is a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group. Its headquarters are at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The company is listed in the Forbes Global 2000 (2023) at 661st r ...

of the

Aditya Birla Group Aditya Birla Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. The group's business interests include metals, cement, fashion and retail, financial services, renewables, fibre, textiles, chemicals, real estate, trading, ...

Uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

deposits have been found at Deshnur, a small village near

Bailhongal Bailhongal or Bailahongala is a town, Taluk and one of the three Subdivisional headquarters in Belagavi district of Karnataka state in southern India. The taluk headquarters is about 44 km from the district headquarters. There are importan ...

town. The Belgaum District Report provides detailed information about the local agricultural economy. The report describes the work of the pastoralists who herd large numbers of sheep and goats (approx 1.4m in 2003) - some settled in communities and others operating nomadically. They are supported by the

Workers Development Union Workers Development Union (''Shramik Abhivrudhi Sangh'') also known as Jana Jagran is the social action wing and a non government organization of the Goa Jesuits, with activities concentrated in Belgaum and other districts of north Karnataka and i ...

(known as ''Shramik Abhivrudhi Sangh'' or ''Jana Jagran'') an NGO that provides a shepherd training program in sheep care, modern medicines and modern breeding practices. A

Special Economic Zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

(India's first Private

Aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

SEZ) is being set up along the Pune-Bangalore National Highway (NH-4) to cater to the

precision engineering Precision engineering is a subdiscipline of electrical engineering, software engineering, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and optical engineering concerned with designing machines, fixtures, and other structures that have except ...

requirements of the global aerospace, automotive and industrial verticals.

Defence training centres

Belgaum's salubrious climate, proximity to the coast and strategic position near Portuguese

commended it to the British as a suitable location for an army training centre and

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...

, which it continues to be today for the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

, along with an air force station of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. The British had a sizeable

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

post here, having realised the military importance of its geographical location. Development of a rail network for movement of resources and later troops was one of the means employed by both the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and the British to exert control over India. Belgaum houses the

Maratha Light Infantry The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army. Recruitment The class composition o ...

Regimental Centre (MLIRC). It also houses the Commando Training Wing which is a part of the Junior Leaders Wing (formerly known as Infantry School, Belgaum). This establishment is affiliated to The Infantry School,

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old -Agra Mumbai Road. It is the birthplace of Babasaheb B. R. Ambedkar . ...

. Herein, Infantry Officers and Soldiers are trained in endurance, escape and evasion, guerrilla and commando warfare techniques and to live off the land. The

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

course at Belgaum is mandatory for all Infantry Officers. Officers of Other branches of the military and even some foreign officers undertake the course, upon being nominated to do so. In between the Military Hospital and the Junior Leaders Wing lies the

Belgaum Military School Rashtriya Military School, Belgaum is one of five military schools in India. Entrance tests for the military schools are held every year in December. About 70,000 to 80,000 students attend this test and around 350 students are selected. The sch ...

, established in 1945 spread over an area of . The School provides quality education to sons of wards of Servicemen and Ex Servicemen of the Armed Forces. Several of them go on to join the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

. The

Indo-Tibetan Border Police The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a Central Armed Police Forces, central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding Border guard, India’s border with ...

, ITBP, is building a full-fledged recreation and training centre in Belgaum at Halbhavi. Belgaum provides an excellent climate for recreation and

ITBP The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding India’s border with Tibet . It was formed in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Hi ...

will have large family bases in Belgaum for its soldiers after high altitude stressful duty. The

Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The CRPF assists states and Union Territories in maintaining law and order and internal security. It is composed of the Cent ...

Institute of elite central paramilitary forces is setting up a national-level training institution (for jungle warfare) at Khanapur in Belgaum. The establishment, called the CoBRA School of Jungle Warfare is already operational.

Culture/Cityscape

Cuisine

The cuisine of Belgaum is derived from the food cultures of three regions

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

and

. Typical breakfast items include poori-bhaji, idli-dosa, uppit (upma), sheera, sabudana khichadi and sabuvada. Chapatis, rice, Jolada Rotti (bhakari/jowar rotti), thalipeeth, jhunka and vegetables are eaten for lunch. Non-vegetarian preparations such as various seafoods are cooked in Goan, Maharashtrian, and North Karnataka style. Belgaum is noted for a specific kind of

biryani Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating in South Asia, made with rice, meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef) or seafood (prawns or fish), and spices. To cater to vegetarians, the meat or seafood can be substituted with vegetables or pane ...

, the ''Belgaum Biryani'', which uses ''Belgaum Basmati Rice'' for its preparation. Belgaum is known for ''kunda'', a milk-based sweet. Another sweet, called ''maande'' in Marathi and ''mandige'' in Kannada, is a prerequisite for weddings.

Transportation

Road

Belgaum is connected by road via national highways 4 (connecting

(now part of the Golden Quadrilateral),

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

) and 4A (connecting

and

). North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) run buses to all corners of Karnataka and to neighbouring states. There are many prominent private bus companies providing services to all major destinations in Karnataka and surrounding states. KSRTC services almost all villages in Karnataka. 92% villages are served by KSRTC (6,743 out of 7,298 Villages) and 44% in other areas. KSRTC operates 6463 schedules in a day covering an effective distance of 2374,000 km with a total fleet of 7599 buses. It transports, on an average, 2457,000 passengers per day. The North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation was established on 1 November 1997, under provision of the Road Transport Corporation Act 1950, on the auspicious day of

Rajyotsava upon bifurcation from

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned public road transport corporation company in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is wholly owned by the Government of Karnataka. It serves routes to 31 districts and as wel ...

to provide adequate, efficient, economic and properly coordinated transport services to the commuters of North Western part of

. The Corporation jurisdiction covers the districts of Belgaum,

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the northwestern 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 merged ...

Karwar Karwar is a coastal City and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali River (Karnataka), Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Ka ...

Bagalkot Bagalkote, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India, which is also the headquarters of Bagalkot district. It is situated on branch of River Ghataprabha, The population of the urban agglomeration was 111,933"District Census Handbook – Guntu ...

Gadag Gadaga-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 ...

Haveri Haveri or Hāvēri is a city and headquarters of Haveri district of Karnataka State in India. Haveri is famous for its cardamom garlands, Byadagi red chillies and Hukkeri Math. Around 25 km away, there is a place called Bada, which is the b ...

. NWKRTC operates its services to all villages, which have motorable roads in its jurisdiction, and also covers intra- and inter- state transport operations. The Government of

operates KADAMBA bus service from Goa to Belgaum city and some other parts of the Belgaum District. The Government of

also operates

MSRTC The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation abbreviated as (MSRTC, or simply ST), is the state-run bus service of Maharashtra, India, which serves routes to towns and cities within Maharashtra as well as to its adjoining states. It also of ...

buses from various parts of Maharashtra to Belgaum City and some other parts of the Belgaum District.

Air

The city is served by

Belgaum Airport Belgaum Airport , also known as Belagavi Airport, is a domestic airport serving Belgaum, Karnataka. The current integrated terminal building was inaugurated by the then Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju on 14 September 2017. Ne ...

at Sambra, which is the oldest airport in

and lies from the city on State Highway 20. Belgaum airport is included in UDAN 3 scheme. Alliance Air,

Spice Jet SpiceJet is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. , it is the fourth largest airline in India by number of domestic passengers carried, with a market share of 4% and connects 73 destinations, including 60 Indi ...

, Star Air,

IndiGo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

and

TruJet TruJet was an Indian regional airline based at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. The airline commenced operations in July 2015 and ceased all operations in February 2022. At its peak, the airline had seven aircraft, and was Indi ...

have flights to

Kadapa Kadapa is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. It is located south of the Penna River. The city is surrounded on three sides by ...

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

, Ahmedabad, Indore,

, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Nashik and Chennai. Flight connectivity to Jodhpur will be soon started by Star Air in the future days.

Rail

Belgaum railway station is on the Indian Railways grid, being part of the South Western railways, and is well connected by rail to major destinations.

Education

VTU

Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), named after Bharat Ratna Sir M Visweshwariah, is located in Machhe in Belgaum. It has more than 208 affiliated colleges. Over 67,000 students graduate from VTU every year.

Rani Channamma University

Rani Channamma University, Belgaum, Rani Channamma University was established in 2010 by upgrading the post-graduate centre of Karnatak University, Dharwad. Before the Rani Channamma University came into being in 2010, Karnatak University KRCPG Centre of Karnatak University,

was functioning at Belgaum. The Karnatak University PG Centre was established at Belgaum in the year 1982, to provide an opportunity to develop access to the students for higher education hailing from North Karnataka Region. In 1994 the PG centre was shifted to the present campus of 172 acres of land at Bhutramanahatti adjacent to the Pune-Bangalore National Highway – 4 National Highway 4 (India, old numbering), NH 4, about 18 km from Belgaum. Karnatak University PG Centre has been declared as Rani Channamma University in the month of July 2010 with the jurisdiction of Belgaum, Bijapur district, Karnataka, Vijaypur, and

districts.

Media

Newspapers include ''Vijaya Karnataka'', ''Vijayavani, Vijay Vani'', ''Kannada Prabha'', ''Samyukta Karnataka'', ''Prajavani'', and ''Kannadamma'' in

; ''The Times of India'' and ''Deccan Herald'' in English, and ''Tarun Bharat'', ''Sakaal'', ''Pudhari'' in

Notable people

* M. V. Chandgadkar, cricket administrator and board secretary * Phadeppa Dareppa Chaugule, India's first Olympic marathon runner * Raosaheb Gogte, industrialist of the Gogte Group. Namesake of the Gogte Institute of Technology, Gogte College of Commerce and Science, and the Gogte Circle in Belgaum. * Atul Kulkarni, actor * Raai Laxmi, actor * Ronit More, Indian Cricket Player * Bandu Patil, Indian hockey player * Nima Poovaya-Smith, museum curator, art historian and writer * Alice Maude Sorabji Pennell, Doctor and writer * Charan Raj, actor * Pavani Reddy, actor * Cornelia Sorabji, lawyer and writer. Notably the first woman to practice law in India and Britain. * Shri Thanedar, American politician

References

External links

*
Government website for Belgaum district

Directorate of Industries & Commerce
{{Authority control Belgaum, Cities in Karnataka Forts in Karnataka Tourism in Karnataka Former capital cities in India Cities and towns in Belagavi district Smart cities in India