Belgaum, officially renamed Belagavi, is a city in the northwestern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It serves as the headquarters of Belagavi district and is one of the larger urban centres in the state. Situated in the foothills of the Western Ghats, the city lies close to the borders of Maharashtra and Goa, which has historically made it a crossroads of language, culture, and trade in the Deccan region.
| Name | Belgaum (Belagavi) |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Belagavi |
| Region | North Karnataka / Kittur Karnataka |
| Languages | Kannada, Marathi, Urdu, Konkani |
| Civic body | Belagavi City Corporation |
| Status | Second seat of the Karnataka state legislature |
Belgaum is located on the Deccan plateau at an elevation of roughly 750 metres above sea level, which gives it a relatively mild climate compared to much of interior Karnataka. The city sits near the Markandeya river basin and is surrounded by hills and forested tracts associated with the northern Western Ghats. Its position on the Pune–Bengaluru axis along National Highway 48 makes it an important transit hub between the Mumbai–Pune corridor and southern India.
Belgaum has a long history of fortification and political contest. The Belgaum Fort, central to the old city, is traditionally attributed to the Rattas of Saundatti in the late 12th century. The region subsequently came under the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Vijayanagara Empire, the Bahmani and Bijapur Sultanates, the Marathas, and finally the British, who incorporated it into the Bombay Presidency.
During the colonial period, Belgaum became a notable military cantonment. It also has a place in the Indian freedom movement: the 1924 session of the Indian National Congress was held at Belgaum and was the only Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.
After the reorganisation of Indian states, Belgaum was transferred from the Bombay State to the new Mysore State (later Karnataka) under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The decision has been the subject of a long-running boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra, owing to the substantial Marathi-speaking population in and around the city. The matter has been examined by the Mahajan Commission and remains pending before the Supreme Court of India.
In 2006, the Government of Karnataka inaugurated the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, a legislative complex modelled on Bengaluru's Vidhana Soudha, where sessions of the state legislature are periodically held. The city's official name was changed from Belgaum to Belagavi in 2014 as part of a wider renaming of Karnataka cities.
Belgaum has a diversified industrial base. It is known for foundry and casting industries, hydraulic equipment, automotive components, and aerospace component manufacturing, with units supplying both Indian and international firms. Agriculture in the surrounding district focuses on sugarcane, with associated sugar mills and jaggery production, along with cotton, tobacco, and horticultural crops. The city is also a centre for trade in agricultural produce from the Krishna and Ghataprabha basins.
Belgaum is an established education centre in north Karnataka. Notable institutions include: