Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga,
The city is ranked among top 10 Indian cities with the cleanest air and best AQI in 2024.
Etymology
The name Gulbarga means '(City of) Flower Gardens' ultimately from the Persian words gul 'flower' and bāgh 'garden'.
Gulbarga was renamed as Kalaburagi in 2014 which stands for 'Rocky Land' in Kannada.
History
The history of Kalaburagi dates to the sixth century. The
Rashtrakutas gained control over the region, but the
Chalukyas regained their domain within a short period and reigned supreme for over 200 years. The Kalyani Kalachuris who succeeded them ruled until the 12th century. Around the end of the 12th century, the
Yadavas of
Devagiri and the
Hoysala Empire of Dwarasamadra destroyed the supremacy of the
Chalukyas and Kalachuris of Kalyani. Around the same period, the
Kakatiya kings of
Warangal came into prominence and the present Kalaburagi and
Raichur District districts formed part of their domain. The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1308 and the entire
Deccan, including the district of Kalaburagi, passed under the control of the
Delhi Sultanate.
The revolt of the officers appointed from Delhi resulted in the founding of the Bahmani Sultanate in 1347 by Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, who chose Gulbarga (Hasanabad) to be the capital.
With the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangzeb in the 17th century, Gulbarga passed under the Mughal Empire. In the early part of the 18th century, with the decline of the Mughal Empire, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I, one of Aurangzeb's generals, formed the kingdom of Hyderabad State, in which a major part of the Gulbarga area was also included. In 1948, Hyderabad State became a part of the Indian Union, and in 1956, excluding two talukas which were annexed to Andhra Pradesh, tbe Gulbarga district became part of the new Mysore State through the States Reorganisation Act
Geography
The entire district is on the Deccan Plateau, and the elevation ranges from 300 to 750 m above MSL. Two main rivers, the
Krishna River and
Bhima River, flow through the district. The predominant soil type is
Vertisol. The district has many tanks, which irrigate the land along with the river. The Upper Krishna Project is a major irrigation venture in the district of Kalaburagi. The main crops are groundnuts, rice, and pulses. Kalaburagi is the largest producer of
toor dal, or
, in Karnataka. Kalaburagi is an industrially backward district but is showing signs of growth in the cement, textile, leather and chemical industries. Kalaburagi has a university with Medical and Engineering Colleges. Central University of Karnataka (CuK) is located in Kadaganchi, Åland Taluk of Kalaburagi.
[//http://www.cuk.ac.in//] The geographical area of the city is 64 square kilometres.
Climate
Kalaburagi has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) bordering on a tropical wet and dry climate (Aw). The climate of the district is generally dry, with temperatures ranging from 8 °C to 45 °C and an annual rainfall of about 750 mm. The year in Kalaburagi is divided into three main seasons. The summer lasts from late February to May. It is followed by the southwest monsoon, which lasts from late June to late October. This is then followed by dry winter weather from late November until February.
Gulburga has been ranked 33rd best "National Clean Air City" under (Category 2 3-10L Population cities) in India.
Demographics
As of the 2011 Indian census,
Kalaburagi city has a population of 533,587. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Kalaburagi has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 70%, while that of females is 30%. In Kalaburagi, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
At the time of the 2011 census, 55.04% of the population spoke Kannada, 35.78% Urdu, 3.56% Marathi language, 2.37% Hindi, 1.20% Telugu language and 1.14% Lambadi as their first language.
Government and politics
Kalaburagi has been home to two ex-chief ministers of Karnataka, namely
Veerendra Patil (1968–1971, 1988–1992) and
Dharam Singh (2004–2006); both belonged to the Indian National Congress party.
Kalaburagi comes under Kalaburagi Lok Sabha constituency. Radhakrishna Doddamani from Indian National Congress (INC) is the Member of Parliament (MP) since 2024. Mallikarjun Kharge (born 21 July 1942) is an Indian politician, who is the current president of the Indian National Congress, and Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Karnataka since 16 February 2021. He was also Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha from 16 February 2021 to 1 October 2022. He was the Former Minister of Railways and Minister of Labour and Employment in the Government of India. Kharge was a Member of Parliament for Gulbarga, Karnataka from 2009 to 2019.
Kalaburagi city has two Vidhan Sabha constituencies: Kalaburagi Uttar (North) and Kalaburagi Dakshin (South). Both are part of the Kalaburagi Lok Sabha constituency. The MLA for Kalaburagi Uttar is Kaneez Fatima from Indian National Congress, while the MLA for Kalaburagi Dakshin is from Indian National congress (2023).
Culture/Cityscape
Art and architecture
The largest collection of Islamic art is seen at the domed ceiling and walls are adorned with paintings containing calligraphy designs and floral, flower and plants and geometric patterns inside the 14th-century tomb of Sufi saint Syed Shah Qhabulullah Husayni with natural colours. By religious restrictions, the artist was prohibited from depicting living beings in the interior of tomb, and his imagination was therefore employed either in inventing new designs for religious texts or in adding further delicacy and subtleness to the geometric and floral devices by making the drawings more and more intricate. A small tomb beside the said Sufi's has an excellent work of painted flower plants on the ceiling. Another vacant Shore Gumbad outside the city has delicate designs on its domed ceiling is superb.
The walls and ceiling of the tomb of Sultan Firuz Shah Bahmani can be appreciated which, although monotone, represents faithfully the creepers and floral patterns, the numerous geometric devices and calligraphic styles. The most notable building, however, of this period is the Jama Masjid of Kalaburagi fort, built by a Persian architect named Rafi in 1367 during the reign of Bahmani King Mohammed Shah I.
The glory of the towns in north Karnataka waned with the decline of the Bahmani dynasty, although Barid Shahi and Adil Shahi Kings kept up its beauty during their chequered rule. It suffers from pollution through nickel and lead.
Royal patronage played an important role in the making of Islamic art, as it has in the arts of other cultures. From the 14th century onwards, especially in eastern lands, the books of art provide the best documentation of courtly patronage.
Transport
By Air
Kalaburagi has its own airport named Kalaburagi airport which was inaugurated by
Karnataka CM Yediyurappa on 22 November 2019 and started on the same day.
It is connected with Bangalore and
Tirupati Airport by Star Air and Alliance Air.
Kalaburagi airport has second longest runway in Karnataka after the Kempegowda International Airport of Bangalore.
By Rail
Kalaburagi has a railway station named Kalaburagi Junction which comes under the Solapur division of
Indian Railways. There are two railway lines that pass through Kalaburagi namely, Mumbai–Chennai line (Solapur–Guntakal section) and Kalaburagi - Bidar line.
Kalaburagi is directly linked through daily trains with Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Itarsi Junction, Mysore, Hassan, Hubli, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Kochi, Kanyakumari etc.
Kalaburagi is planned to be a part of proposed high-speed rail corridor running from Mumbai to Hyderabad.
By Road
Kalaburagi is the headquarter of the
NEKRTC also called as
Kalyana Karnataka RTC bus transport which was founded and started on 15 August 2000 and serves the North-Eastern Districts of
Karnataka.
It also has Nrupatunga city bus service which serves Kalaburagi urban and
Sedam and is operated by NEKRTC itself.
Education
The Central University of Karnataka is located in Kalaburagi. The Gulbarga University, Sharnbasva University, and Khaja Bandanawaz University, are the other universities in the city. It also has an ESIC Medical College.
Further reading
Muslim Monuments of Gulbarga (A Cultural Study) by Dr. Md, Salahuddin Munshi - is about Gulbarga heritage, and the kingdoms in this era and their significance, for the development as the capital city of the kingdom.
