Bijapur: Encyclopedia - Bijapur

Bijapur

Bijapur is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Bijapur City is the capital of the district and is located 530 km northwest of Bangalore.

Bijapur - History

The ancient name of Bijapur is Vijayapura (City of victory). It was established in the 10th-11th centuries by the Chalukyas of Kalyani. The city came under the influence of the Khilji Sultanate in Delhi by the late 13th century. In 1347, the area was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga.

In 1518, the Bahmani Sultanate split into five splinter states known as the Deccan sultanates, one of which was Bijapur, ruled by the kings of the Adil Shahi dynasty (1490-1686). The city of Bijapur owes much of its greatness to Yusuf Adil Shah, the founder of the independent state of Bijapur. The rule of this dynasty ended in 1686, when Bijapur was conquered by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. In 1724 the Nizam of Hyderabad established his independence in the Deccan, and included Bijapur within his dominions. In 1760, the Nizam suffered a defeat by the Marathas, and ceded the region of Bijapur to the Maratha Peshwa. After the 1818 defeat of the Peshwa by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Bijapur passed into the hands of the British East India Company, and was assigned to the princely state of Satara. In 1848 the territory of Satara, along with Bijapur, was annexed to Britain's Bombay Presidency when the last ruler died without a male heir.

Bijapur - Description

The city consists of three distinct portions: the citadel, the fort and the remains of the city. The citadel, built by Yusuf Adil Shah, a mile in circuit, is of great strength, well built of the most massive materials, and encompassed by a ditch 100 yards wide, formerly supplied with water, but now nearly filled up with rubbish, so that its original depth cannot be discovered. Within the citadel are the remains of Hindu temples, which prove that Bijapur was an important town in pre-Islam times. The fort, which was completed by Au Adil Shah in 1566, is surrounded by a wall 6 m. in circumference. This wall is from 30 to 50 ft. high, and is strengthened with ninety-six massive bastions of various designs. In addition there are ten others at the various gateways. The width is about 25 ft.; from bastion to bastion runs a battlemented curtained wall about 10 ft. high. The whole is surrounded by a deep moat 30 to 40 ft. broad. Inside these walls the Bijapur kings bade defiance to all comers. Outside the walls are the remains of a vast city, now for the most part in ruins, but the innumerable tombs, mosques, caravanserais and other edifices, which have resisted the havoc of time, afford abundant evidence of the ancient splendour of the place.

Bijapur - Attractions

Bijapur is rich in historical attractions, mainly related to Islamic architecture.

• Gol Gumbaz: This is the most famous monument in Bijapur. It is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah (ruled 1627-1657). It is the second largest dome ever built, next in size only to St Peter's Basilica in Rome. A particular attraction in this monument is the central chamber, where every sound is echoed seven times. Another attraction at the Gol Gumbaz is the Whispering Gallery, where even minute sounds can be heard clearly 37 metres away.

• Ibrahim Rauza: This is the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II (ruled 1580-1627), the fifth king of the dynasty and, like the Mughal emperor Akbar, known for religious tolerance. Built on a single rock bed, it is noted for the symmetry of its features. It is said that the design for the Ibrahim Rauza served as an inspiration for that of the famous Taj Mahal.

• Malik-e-Maidan (The Monarch of the Plains) the largest medieval cannon in the world. Being 4 m long, 1,5 m in diameter and weighing 55 tons, this gun was brought back from Ahmadnagar in the 17th century as a trophy of war by 400 oxen, 10 elephants and tens of men. It was placed on the Sherza Burj (Lion Gate) on a platform especially built for it. The cannon's nozzle is fashioned into the shape of a lion's head. It is said that after igniting the cannon, the gunner would remain underwater in a tank of water on the platform to avoid the deafening explosion. The cannon remains cool even in strong sunlight and if tapped, tinkles like a bell. In 1854 the cannon was auctioned for Rs. 150 but the sale was cancelled in the end.

• Upri Buruj, Built around 1584 by Hyder Khan, is an 80 ft high tower standing to the north of Dakhani Idgah in Bijapur. This is a spherical structure with stone steps winding round the outside. Top of the tower offers a commanding view of the city. This is also known as "Hyder Burj", "Upli Burj".

• Chand Bawdi, Ali Adil Shah (1557-1580) built this tank near eastern boundary of Bijapur. When there was large influx of people into Bijapur after the fall of the Vijayanagar empire, and new settlements came up within the walled city raising the need for better infrastructure and providing water supply. This has a storage capacity of 20 million litres. Later it became a model for many other tanks constructed in the city. A grandeur complex came up around it, which was mainly used to house the maintenance staff though members of the royal family occasionally used it for recreation. He named this after his wife "Chand Bibi".

• Asar Mahal, The Asar Mahal was built by Mohammed Adil Shah in about 1646, which was used to serve as a Hall of Justice. The building was also used to house hairs from the Prophet's beard. The rooms on the upper storey are decorated with frescoes and the front is graced with a square tank. Here women are not allowed inside. Every year there is urs (festival) held at this place.

• Gagan Mahal, Which means Sky Palace, is built with a 21- meter façade and four wooden massive pillars, has a majestic central arch. Sikandar Adil Shah, in silver chains, surrendered to Aurangzeb in 1681 here.

• Among the other historical attractions at Bijapur, some notable ones are the Anand Mahal, Bara Kamaan, Jod Gumbaz, Jumma Mosque, Sat Manzil, and Jal Manzil.

Bijapur - Bijapur District

Bijapur - Introduction

Bijapur District has an area of 10541 sq. km, and a population of 1,808,863 (2001 census), an increase of 17.63% since the 1991 census. It is bounded on the east by Gulbarga district, on the southeast by Raichur district, on the south and southwest by Bagalkot district, and on the west by Belgaum district, and by the Maharashtra districts of Sangli on the northwest and Sholapur on the north. Chief crops include bajra, cotton, wheat, and groundnuts.

It is consisting of 5.49% of Karnataka state. It lies between 15 x 50 and 17 x 28 North Latitude and 74 x 54 and 76 x 28 East Longitude.

The administrative headquarters and chief town is Bijapur. It is divided into five taluks, Bijapur, Basavana-Bagewadi, Indi, Muddebihal and Sindgi.

Bijapur District, formerly called Kaladgi district, was established by the British after 1848, when the former princely state of Satara was annexed to the Bombay Presidency, and the district included present-day Bijapur and Bagalkot districts. Bijapur was made the administrative headquarters of the district in 1885, when the headquarters were moved from Bagalkot. After India's Independence in 1947, the district became part of Bombay state, and was reassigned to Mysore state, later Karnataka, in 1956. The former southern taluks of the district were separated in 1997 to form Bagalkot District.

Badami, Aihole, and Pattadakal, near Bijapur, are noted for their historical temples in the Chalukyan architectural style.

Bijapur - Bordering Districts

Thd district is completely land locked and is bounded by Solapur to the north and Sangli on the north-west (both of Maharastra state), by the district of Belgaum on the west, Bagalkote on the south, Gulburga on the East and by Raichur on the south–east. Thus, it is a land–locked district on the northern boundary of Karnataka.

Bijapur - Demography

The district’s population (18.10 lakhs) constitutes 3.42% of the total population of the state. The population growth during 1981-91 was less than state average of 2.10% per annum. About 80% (14.48 lakh) of the population live in rural area as against the state average of 69% Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes account for 20.1% (3.1 lakh) of the population. The density of population at 172 per Sq K.M. far less than the state average of 44.6 Workers as a percentage to total population are 39.81% which is comparable to the state figure of 44.1% The literacy rate at 56% stood marginally above the state figure of 55.The literacy rate among male is 57.95% whereas among female it is only 39.14%.

Bijapur - Topography

Geographically, the district lies in the tract of the Deccan Plateaus. The lands of the district can be broadly divided into three zones: the northern belt consisting of the northern parts of Bijapur Taluks of Indi and Sindagi; the central belt consisting of Bijapur city; the southern belt consisting of the rich alluvial plains of the Krishna Rivers parted from the central belt by a stretch of barren Trap. The northern belt is a succession of low rolling uplands without much vegetation, gently rounded and falling into intermediate narrow valleys. The upland soil being shallow, the villagers are generally confined to the banks of the streams and are far away from one another. The Don Volley has plains and consists of rich tracts of deep black soil stretching from west to east. Across the Krishna River is a rich plain crossed from west to east by two lines of sandstone hills. Further south towards Badami and South-West to east by two lines of sandstone hills. Further south towards Badami and South West of Hunagund, the hills increase the number and the black soil gives way to the red.

Bijapur - Rainfall

There are 34 rain gauge stations in Bijapur District. The average annual rainfall for the district is 552.8 mm with 37.2 rainy days. The monsoon generally breaks in the district during June and lasts till October. The highest mean monthly rainfall is 149.2 mm in the month of September and lowest is 3.4 mm in February. The annual rainfall variation in the district is marginal from place to place.

Bijapur - Ground Water Condition in the district

Bijapur District can be categorized as a low to moderately yielding area (1000lph to 8000lph) 72.2% of district falling in this category. From considerable part of the district (9%) poor yielding (less than 1000 lph sources) or non –feasible areas have been reported. The talukas having largest poor yielding area, are Muddebihal (19%) followed by Indi (15%), Bijapur and sindagi (13% each), Basavan Bagewadi (4%) . Low yielding areas ( 1000lph to 4000lph source) in the district constitute about 40% of the district, with the largest being Basavan Bagewadi (54%) and smallest in Indi taluka Moderate yields (4000lph to 8000lph source ) are reported from 36% of the district, highest being in Bijapur with 70% of the area, and lowest being in Sindagi with 19% of the taluka. High yielding areas (more than 8000lph sources) over 15% of the district. The smallest area under this category are in Sindagi Taluka (2% each) and largest is in muddebihal (29% each) where very lengthy contact zones occurs between traps and other formations

Bijapur - Water Quality

On the basis of projections from this information, the main parameters affecting water quality in Bijapur can be expected to be Brackishness (Salinity) and Hardness. Salinity affects the district in high to low groundwater problem areas and occurs in areas all along the major and minor river courses and steam courses.

Bijapur - Agriculture in the district

Of the total geographical area of 10.53 lakh ha . 7.76 lakh ha. Is available for cultivation which is 74% of the total area, while area under forest account for only 0.19% of the total area. Only 17.3% of the net cultivable area is irrigated and balance 82.7% of the area has to depend on monsoon.

The cropping pattern in the district reveals that food crops like jowar, maize, bajra and wheat among cereals, red gram, Bengal gram and green gram among pulses are major crops cultivated in the district. The major oilseed crops are sunflower, groundnut and safflower. Horticulture crops like grapes, pomegranate, ber, guave sapota, lime are also grown. Recent trend shows that there is a low shift towards fruit crops like Pomegranate and grapes of the total area of 8.61 lakh ha. Covered during 2002-03 cereals occupy about 55.2% by oilseeds 24.5% pulse 15.6% and other commercial crops like cotton and sugarcane about 4.8% There is slight shift towards commercial crops like cotton and sugarcane over last 2 years.

The land holding pattern in the district indicates that small and marginal farmers account for 4% of total land holdings and 0.6% of the total land, semi-medium for 27.5% with 10.1% of total land while 68% of the holdings are above 2ha. Accounting 89.3% of land.

Bijapur - Political Senario

The bijapur district is represented by seven member in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly (Lower House) and in the (Upper House) Karntaka Legislative Concil five members. A Single member represents the whole district in the lower house of Parliament LokSabha.

The assembly constituencies under the Bijapur district are

• Muddebihal
• Howina Hipparagi
• Bijapur (Bijapur Urban)
• Basavana Bagewadi
• Tikota (Bijapur Rural)
• Indi
• Ballolli
• Sindagi

See also

List of rulers of Bijapur

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Bijapur", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki