“If you throw a stone, it will fall on the house of a litterateur”. This is how Dharwad is known as. In fact, Dharwad is known as the cultural capital of North Karnataka. It also has the rare distinction of producing literary giants and noted Hindustani classical musicians of national and international repute.

The word ‘Dharwad’ means a place of rest in a long journey or a small habitation. For many centuries, this city was seen as a gateway between malenaadu (Western Ghats) and bayaluseeme (plains) and served as the resting place for travellers. According to one version, the place got its name from one of its rulers by name Dharav, who ruled Dharwad in the year 1403 when it was under the rule of the Vijayanagar Empire. There are some inscriptions that refer to Dharwad as Kampana Sthana. Inscriptions found near the Durga Devi temple in Narendra, a tiny village near Dharwad, and the local RLS High School, date back to 12th century and have references to Dharwad, proof enough that it is about 900 years old.

While the Chalukyas ruled Dharwad during the 12th century, in the 14th century it was first ruled by the Bahmani Sultanate, after which it was annexed to the newly established Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar. After the defeat of the king of Vijayanagar at Talikot in 1565, Dharwad was for a few years practically independent under its Hindu governor; but in 1573 the fort was captured by the Sultan of Bijapur, Adil Shah, and Dharwad was annexed to his dominions.

Adil Shah built a fort in an area later called Manna Kille, and later Nazratabad. With this fort, the strategic importance of Dharwad increased and it thus attracted the attention of subsequent conquerors, including Aurangazeb, Shivaji, Aurangazeb's son Mu Azam, Peshwa Balaji Rao, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and finally the British colonisers.

A seat of education

Dharwad has been a seat of education for many decades. The erstwhile British rulers started an English medium school in Dharwad way back in 1848 and in town municipality in 1856. Later in 1863, the Basel Mission started a school and in 1867 the British opened another school by name Varmal School, which later came to be known as the Training College.

Dharwad has two universities - the Karnatak University and the University of Agricultural Sciences, besides a number of educational institutions. The place also has many colleges of repute offering professional courses.

The merger
In 1883, the municipality area included Sidapur, Lakamanhalli, Haveri Pete, Bagtalan, Madhihal, Gulaganjikoppa, Malapura, Kamalapura, Narayanpura, Saptapura, Atti Kolla and Hosayellapur. The Dharwad Railway Station was set up by the then British Government in 1888. By 1901, the town had a population of 31,279 and was home to several cotton ginning factories, a cotton mill and two high schools, one maintained by the government and the other by the Basel German Mission.

After India's independence in 1947, the Bombay Presidency was reconstituted as the Bombay State. In 1956, the southern, Kannada- speaking districts of Bombay State, including Dharwad, were added to Mysore State, rechristened as Karnataka in 1972.

In 1961, the town merged with the adjacent town of Hubli to become a single municipality, Hubli-Dharwad, and is the second-largest conurbation in the State after Bangalore.

While Dharwad has been known for art, literature and cultural activities, Hubli has been a hub of commercial activities. According to history, this city was founded by one Basappa, a trader with a cluster of houses. The place was once known for its cotton mills and ginning factories as cotton was one of the major crops of the region. The presence of UAS, Dharwad, also helped in the introduction of new varieties of cotton crops. For many years, both Hubli and Davangere competed in cotton production. However, the cotton industry has now completely collapsed and Mahadev Textile Mills, one of the biggest mills of North Karnataka with around 2,000 employees, closed down five to six years ago, as also a number of ginning and pressing mills, which have now become a thing of the past.

Tanks and lakes

When Dharwad Municipality came into being in 1846, there were 614 wells, of which 126 had sweet water. The people of Haveri Pet, Kamalapura and Malapura depended on Halageri and Koppadakeri tanks for their drinking water needs as the water in the wells in their areas was salty and hence unfit for drinking.

Another well with an interesting story behind it is the Nucchambali Bhavi on Hosayellapura Road in the city. This well was constructed in 17th century on the banks of Hirekere when severe drought hit Dharwad. The digging of this well was taken up as part of drought relief measures and the workers were given jolada nucchina ambali instead of wages. Hence the well became popular as Nucchambali Bhavi.

Rao Bahadur Venkatrayara Bhavi (Judgi Bhavi), also situated on Hosayellapur Road, was constructed by Sri Rao Bahadur Venkatrayaru, a local judge, when drought gripped Dharwad between 1837 and 1840. He spent a huge amount for the construction of this well. After his death in 1846, his son Rao Saheb Tirumala Raya Inamdar completed the work. In recognition of this humanitarian work, the governor of erstwhile Mumbai honoured Sri Tirumala Rayaru. This well was open to the people of all castes, community and creed, and it did not go dry despite another bout of drought in 1874.

A few other wells in the place include Koppammana Bhavi, Rayara Bhavi, Udupirayara Bhavi, Srinivasa Rayara Bhavi and Railway Bhavi, most of which were constructed in late 18th century. Although many wells have vanished, there are still a few, but in urgent need of attention.

KVS

The Karnataka Vidyavardhaka Sangha, established in 1890, united the people of Dharwad, encouraging them to excel in the fields of art, music, drama, culture and freedom struggle. One of the major contributions of the Sangha has been its role in the unification of Kannada-speaking people and the formation of Karnataka.

However, it was during the early 20th century that Dharwad assumed importance as the centre of freedom struggle. The first political conference in Karnataka was held in Dharwad in 1920 and during the Non Cooperative Movement in 1921, the first ever police firing in the whole of India took place in Dharwad. The people of Dharwad participated actively in the Khilafat and Quit India movements too.A monument, right at the centre of the city, bears testimony to the active role the residents of Dharwad played in the freedom struggle.

That's Dharwad, the district with a rich historical background.

Important events in the history of Dharwad

Dharwad Facts and Data

Source: TIMES NEWS NETWORK