Raichur district | |
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.svg) Location in Karnataka | |
 Raichur district | |
| Coordinates:16°13′N77°21′E / 16.21°N 77.35°E /16.21; 77.35 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Karnataka |
| Division | Gulbarga |
| Headquarters | Raichur |
| Talukas | Raichur,Sindhanur,Lingsugur,Manvi,Devadurga,Sirwar,Maski |
| Government | |
| • District collector | Nitish K (IAS) |
| Area † | |
• Total | 8,386 km2 (3,238 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 400.0 m (1,312.3 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 1,928,812 |
| • Density | 230.0/km2 (595.7/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Kannada |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 584101,584102,584103 |
| Telephone code | 08532 |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-KA-RA |
| Vehicle registration | KA-36 |
| Sex ratio | 0.983♂/♀ |
| Literacy | 48.8% |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Raichur Lok Sabha constituency |
| Precipitation | 680.6 millimetres (26.80 in) |
| Website | raichur |
Raichur district is an administrativedistrict in theIndian state ofKarnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded byYadgir district in the north,Bijapur andBagalkot district in the northwest,Koppal district in the west,Bellary district in the south,Jogulamba Gadwal district ofTelangana andKurnool district ofAndhra Pradesh in the east.
The district is bounded by theKrishna River on the north and theTungabhadra River on the south. The wedge of land between the rivers is known as theRaichuru Doab, after the city of Raichur.Bijapur andYadgir districts lie to the north across the Krishna River.Bagalkot andKoppal districts lie to the west. Across the Tungabhadra liesBellary District of Karnataka to the southwest andMahabubnagar ofTelangana to the southeast.Kurnool District ofAndhra Pradesh state lies to the east, and includes the lower portion of the Raichur Doab.
The recorded history of the district is traced to as far back as the third century B.C. The fact that three minor rock edicts of Ashoka are found in this district one at Maski in the Lingasugur taluk and the other two near Koppal, prove that this area was included in the dominions of the greatMauryan kingAshoka (273 - 236 B.C.). At that time, this region was under the governance of the Viceroy orMahamatra of Ashoka. Early in the Christian era, the district appears to have been a part of the kingdom of theSatavahanas. TheVakatakas, who reigned during the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D., seem to have held sway over Raichur for sometime, after which it appears to have been included in theKadamba dominions. The next dynasty of importance, which ruled over this region, was that of theChalukyas of Badami. According to an inscription from Aihole,Pulakeshin II having defeated thePallavas, occupied this area and made it a province in his empire under the governance of his son Adityavarma. Later the whole of the present Raichur district was included in the dominions of theRashtrakutas, who rose to power in the eighth century, as could be gathered from the inscriptions of that period found in this district. According to an inscription from Manvi taluk, one Jagattunga, a subordinate ruler under the Rashtrakuta king Krishna-II, was ruling the province of Adedore Eradusavirapranta, i.e., the area constituting the present Raichur district. Nripatunga, a Rashtrakuta king, has described Koppal in his Kannada work, Kavirajamarga, as the great Kopananagara.
Numerous inscriptions of theWestern Chalukyas, found in the various parts of the district, testify to the fact that this region was under their sway for a considerable length of time between the 10th and 12th centuries A.D. It is learnt from an inscription found at Naoli in Lingsugur taluk that during the reign of Chalukya Vikramaditya-V, the Adedore-pranta, i.e., the Raichur region, was being ruled by his younger brother Jagadekamalla-I. Another inscription from Maski describes the place as a capital and makes a reference to the reign of Jayasimha. There were, however, frequent wars between theChola kings of the south and the Chalukyan kings of Kalyani (aka Western Chalukyas) for supremacy over the Raichur region and the territory had passed into the hands of the Cholas for a brief period. TheHaihayas andSindas also seem to have ruled some parts of this region for sometime. Later, after the fall of the Chalukyas, Raichur passed into the hands of theKalachuris of Kalyani and laterSevna Yadava kings. Then came theKakatiyas in the 13th century. From an inscription on the fort-wall of Raichur, referred to earlier, it is learn that the original fort was built by one Gona Ganna Reddy, a general of the Kakatiya queen Rudramma Devi ofWarangal, in 1294 A.D., at the instance of the latter.[1] Raichur was sacked byMalik Kafur, was commander ofSultanate of Delhi in 1312.
Raichur district was passed toVijayanagara Empire in 1323 after the demise of theKakatiyas due to invasions of theSultanate of Delhi. It was captured by theBahmani Sultanate in 1363. It was passed to theBijapur Sultanate in 1489 after the fragmentation of the Bahmanids. Vijayanagara recaptured it after theBattle of Raichur in 1520, but Bijapur recaptured it in 1565 after Vijayanagara's defeat at hands ofDeccan Sultanates during theBattle of Talikota.Aurangzeb, emperor ofMughal Empire, captured the district in 1686. Finally, Raichur became part of theNizam of Hyderabad between 1724 and 1948 except when it was underBritish Empire rule between 1853 and 1860 as part ofMadras Presidency. During Nizam rule it was part ofGulbarga Division.
AfterOperation Polo, Hyderabad State was integrated into the Indian Union on 17 September 1948. Between 1948 and 1956, it was part ofHyderabad State. During the division of the state on a linguistic basis, it became part ofMysore State and later was renamed at Karnataka.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 446,375 | — |
| 1911 | 479,298 | +0.71% |
| 1921 | 433,341 | −1.00% |
| 1931 | 453,788 | +0.46% |
| 1941 | 500,719 | +0.99% |
| 1951 | 531,540 | +0.60% |
| 1961 | 634,097 | +1.78% |
| 1971 | 803,812 | +2.40% |
| 1981 | 1,035,600 | +2.57% |
| 1991 | 1,351,809 | +2.70% |
| 2001 | 1,669,762 | +2.13% |
| 2011 | 1,928,812 | +1.45% |
| source:[2] | ||
| Hinduism | 84.72% | |||
| Islam | 14.10% | |||
| Christianity | 0.54% | |||
| Others | 0.64% | |||
According to the2011 census Raichur district has apopulation of 1,928,812,[4] roughly equal to the nation ofLesotho[5] or the US state ofWest Virginia.[6] This gives it a ranking of 246th in India (out of a total of640).[4] The district has a population density of 228 inhabitants per square kilometre (590/sq mi) .[4] Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.27%.[4] Raichur has asex ratio of 992females for every 1000 males,[4] and aliteracy rate of 60.46%. 25.42% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 20.79% and 19.03% of the population respectively.[4]
According to the 2011 census, 86.87% of the population spokeKannada, 8.11%Telugu, 1.79%Lambadi and 1.75%Hindi as their first language.[7]
Raichuru District has seven taluks:
The capital of the district is the city ofRaichur, which is 409 km from the state capital,Bangalore.
Among the historical attractions in the district is theRaichur Fort, built in 1294. Also notable is the nearby town ofAnegundi, which has a number of monuments from theVijayanagara empire, including the Ranganatha temple, Pampa Lake andKamal Mahal,
MahaLaxmi Temple is located in a nearby village, Kallur, at a distance of 20 km from Raichur.
TheRaichur Thermal Power Station at Shaktinagar and Yaramaras Thermal Power Station at Yaramaras, generate electricity forKarnataka.
Raichur District is one of few places in India withgold resources.Hatti Gold Mines are situated in Raichur District, around 90 km away from Raichur city. All the five talukas mentioned above are well irrigated, with water from the Tungabhadra Dam on the Tungabhadra River, and the Narayanpura Dam on the Krishna River.[8] Raichur is known for its paddy fields and itsrice, which is exported to different countries.[9] It also has a good trading market in cotton industry.[10]
Raichur is one of the highest paddy growing districts in the State. It has also earned the tag of Rice Bowl of Karnataka[11]
In 2006 theMinistry of Panchayati Raj named Raichur one of the country's 250most backward districts (out of a total of640 districts).[12] It is one of the five districts in Karnataka currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF) and that is going to local politicians home.[12]
Lesotho 1,924,886
West Virginia 1,852,994
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