Overview
Dharwad district is an administrative district in the northern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Its headquarters is the city of Dharwad, which together with the adjoining commercial city of Hubli forms the twin-city municipal corporation of Hubballi-Dharwad, the second-largest urban agglomeration in Karnataka after Bengaluru. The district lies on the transitional belt between the coastal Malnad region and the dry plains of north Karnataka, and is historically and culturally associated with Hindustani classical music, literature in Kannada, and higher education.
Key facts
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Karnataka |
| Region | Bombay-Karnataka / North Karnataka |
| Division | Belagavi division |
| Headquarters | Dharwad |
| Largest city | Hubballi (Hubli) |
| Official language | Kannada |
| Created in present form | 1997 (after bifurcation of the older Dharwad district) |
Geography
Dharwad district occupies a position on the eastern edge of the Western Ghats foothills, with elevations generally ranging between 600 and 800 metres above sea level. The terrain is undulating, with red and black cotton soils that support both rainfed and irrigated agriculture. The district is drained chiefly by tributaries of the Tungabhadra and the Malaprabha river systems. It shares borders with Belagavi, Gadag, Haveri, and Uttara Kannada districts.
Administration
The district is administered by a Deputy Commissioner and falls under the Belagavi revenue division. It is divided into several taluks, including Dharwad, Hubballi (Hubli), Kalghatgi, Kundgol, Navalgund, Annigeri, and Alnavar. Local urban administration is dominated by the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), one of the oldest municipal corporations in Karnataka.
History
The Dharwad region has been part of successive south Indian polities, including the Chalukyas of Badami and Kalyani, the Rashtrakutas, the Hoysalas, the Vijayanagara Empire, the Bahmani and Bijapur Sultanates, the Marathas, and briefly the kingdom of Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. After the fall of Tipu in 1799, the area passed to the British and was incorporated into the Bombay Presidency as part of its Southern Division.
Under British administration, Dharwad was the headquarters of a large Dharwar District which extended over much of present-day north Karnataka. After Indian independence and the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1956, the district was transferred from Bombay State to the newly enlarged Mysore State (renamed Karnataka in 1973). In 1997, the older Dharwad district was reorganised, with Gadag and Haveri being carved out as separate districts, leaving Dharwad in its present, smaller form.
Economy
The economy combines agriculture, trade, and industry. Major crops include cotton, groundnut, jowar, maize, paddy, chillies, and pulses; the area around Dharwad is also known for its mango varieties, especially the Alphonso-related "Dharwad" cultivars, and for the famous Dharwad pedha, a milk-based sweet with a registered Geographical Indication. Hubballi is a major rail junction and trading centre for cotton, oilseeds, and steel, and hosts the headquarters of the South Western Railway zone of Indian Railways. Industrial estates around Hubballi-Dharwad host engineering, machine-tool, food-processing, and electronics units, including a Tata-led aerospace manufacturing facility.
Education and culture
Dharwad is regarded as one