Bijapur

Bijapur is located 140 km from Sangli, 212 km from Belagavi and 349 km from Pune. Bijapur has a semi-arid climate. It is located at 16.83°N 75.7°E / 16.83; 75.7.[7] It has an average elevation of 606 metres (1988 ft). The district has two types of soil. The first is "deep black soil" (or yeari bhoomi), which is good for the crops like jawar, wheat, pulses, sunflower, etc. The major portion of the district consists of this kind of soil which has a great moisture-holding capacity. The second type is "red soil‟ (or masari /maddi bhoomi), which is generally poor, good for irrigation and horticulture.

Krishna river is the most important river of the district. It flows about 125 miles in the district. A dam is built across the river at Almatti. Bhima river flows in northern part of district for about 20 miles. It overflows in the rainy season and spreads over a wider area, which is thereby rendered extremely fertile land. In central part of district Doni river flows.

The city consists of three distinct portions: the citadel, the fort and the remains of the city. The citadel, built by the Adilshahi Sultans, a mile in circuit, is of great strength, well built of the most massive materials, and encompassed by a ditch 100 yards (91 m) wide, formerly supplied with water. The fort, which was completed by the Adilshahi Sultans in 1566, is surrounded by a wall 6 m. in circumference. This wall is from 30 to 50 ft (15 m) 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 (7.6 m); from bastion to bastion runs a battlement curtained wall about 10 ft (3.0 m) high. The whole is surrounded by a deep moat 30 to 40 ft (12 m) 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, which have resisted the havoc of time, afford abundant evidence of the ancient splendor of the place. Badami, Aihole, and Pattadakal, near Bijapur, are noted for their historical temples in the Chalukya architectural style.

Bijapur is nearly 530 km (330 mi) from the state capital Bangalore. It lies between latitude 15.20 and 17.28 north and longitude 74.59 and 76.28 east. It is situated well in the interior of the Deccan Peninsula and is about 130 miles away from the west coast.

The district is bounded by Solapur district to the north and Sangli district to the north-west, Belgaum district on the west, Bagalkot district to the south, Gulbarga district to the east and Koppal district to the south-east.

• The place is an important tourist place in the country, the former capital of the Adilshahi dynasty, situated about 579 km (360 mi) to the north-west of Bangalore. The Gadag–Solapur railway line traverses via this place. The Kalyani Chalukya kings made it a sub-capital according to an inscription of 1073. It is believed that Jain Poet Nagachandra, 12th century, had his residence here. The place had old names like Vijayapura, Vidyapura and Mohamudpura. For nearly 200 years from 1489 to 1686, this was the seat of the Adilshahi dynasty.
• Among the other historical attractions at Bijapur, some notable ones are the Anand Mahal, Jod Gumbaz, Jumma Masjid, Saat Manzil, and Jal Manzil. also among old houses at Bijapur, the most famous is Elavia House (Nauzer Elavia) which is more than 100 years old.
• Bijapur City was also held by Aurangzeb, the Nizam, Savanur Nawab, Satara Chatrapati and finally the British. Foreign travellers like Duarte Barbosa, Varthema, Poser, Mandeslo and Travernier visited this place.
• The Ibrahim Rouza and the Gol Gumbaz are the most impressive monuments at Bijapur. A brief survey of spots of note in the city is given below.
• Ain-ul-mulk's tomb and mosque Lies on the eastern outskirts of the city and is the solid structure in square, surrounded by a fair proportioned dome. The tomb belongs to Ain-ul-mulk. Close by this the much adorned mosque and the building is plastered.
• Ali Adil Shah I's tomb lies in the south-west part of the city. Ali Adilshah's Tomb is a simple modest building containing an outer row of five arches surrounding a central chamber and is the earliest royal mausoleum in Bijapur.
• Ali Adil Sha II's tomb is located to the north-west of the citadel, and is housed in a big square roofless structure consisting of incomplete arches in dark basalt. This incomplete structure is 215 feet (66 m) square and on the raised platform stand the incomplete arches. In the centre on the elevated platform are the tombs.
• Ali Shahi Pir's mosque and tomb is a square massive structure, its mihrab is remarkable in some ways. The tomb of the saint is outside the north-east gate of the mosque.
• Khwaja Amin Dargah is considered as the most sacred in the city and is situated about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) to the west of Bijapur. The tomb of Khwaja Amin-ud-din is on the high ground and conspicuous landmark for considerable distance round about.
• Anand Mahal is to the west of Gagan Mahal and in the premises of the citadel stands this two-storeyed mansion. This was constructed by Ibrahim Adil Sha II in 1589, exclusively for music and dance. The roof was ornamented with stucco work. The Ananda Mahal presently is being used by the State for Government offices.
• Andu Masjid stands a little away from the citadel to the west of the Jumanal road. It is a two-storey structure; the upper floor is a prayer chamber while the ground is a hall. There is no pulpit in the mosque and probably it was restricted to the prayer of women. A Persian inscription here quotes that the mosque was constructed in 1608 by Itbar Khan, one of the nobles in the Court of Adil Shai II.
• Aras Mahal Is to the south-east of Adalat Mahal and was once a joy resort of Ali II. It is now the residence of the District Surgeon.
• Ark-Killa the citadel is at the centre of the city. It is also most important part of Bijapur. Yusuf Adilshah chose it as the site for his fort. The present citadel is nearly circular. Its defences are a strong wall with several bastions of considerable strength on the south and east.
• Asar Mahal on the crest of the eastern glacis of the citadel is the Asar Mahal. In about 1646 it was constructed by Muhammad Shah and was earlier called as Adalat Mahal. The walls and ceilings of the rooms bear paintings of landscapes and various designs. The room of the south side of the gilded hall is a gorgeously painted apartment. These paintings had been whitewashed by the orders of Aurangzeb and later restored. There is a big square tank outside in front of the building.
• Aurangzeb Idgah Is a large square enclosure built by Aurangzeb in 1682 after the occupation of the city as a gathering place for Muslims on important days.
• Bukhari Masjid is believed to have been constructed by Chandbibi for a moulvi of the Bukhari family. On the door of the Masjid there is a Persian Inscription.
• Chand Bavadi is a well constructed by Ali Adil Shah I in honour of his wife Chand Bibi in the year 1579. It is at the west corner of the town. The entrance is spanned by a single arch, approached by a descending flight of steps.
• Chota Asar is a small building, remarkable for the amount of rich ornamentation in stucco which covers the wall, ceiling and a portion of the façade.
• Chini Mahal or Faroukh Mahal is an edifice that consists of a big lofty durbar hall in the centre and series of rooms in the wings. Yusuf Adil Shah constructed it. For its sheer size and loftiness none of the hall in any other palace of Bijapur can be compared with it.

Tomb or Dargah of Sufi Saint Hazrat Murtuza Quadri located at western side Bijapur

Arrival of Sufis in the Bijapur region was started during the reign of Qutbuddin Aibak. During this period Deccan was under the control of native Hindu rulers and Palegars. Shaikh Haji Roomi was the first to arrive in Bijapur with his companions. Although his other comrades like Shaikh Salahuddin, Shaikh Saiful Mulk and Syed Haji Makki were settled in Pune, Haidra and Tikota respectively.

According to Tazkiraye Auliyae Dakkan i.e., Biographies of the saints of the Deccan, compiled by Abdul Jabbar Mulkapuri in 1912–1913,

Sufi Sarmast was one of the earliest sufi of this region. He came to the Deccan from Arabia in the 13th Century at a time when the Deccan was a land of unbelievers with no sign of Islam or correct faith anywhere. His companions, pupils (fakir), disciples (murid), and soldiers (ghazi), numbered over seven hundred. He settled in Sagar in Solapur district. There, a zealous and anti-Muslim raja named Kumaram (Kumara Rama) wished to expel Sufi Sarmast, and his companions having also prepared to a struggle, a bitter fight ensued. Heroes on both sides were slain. Finally the raja was killed by the hand of his daughter. Countless Hindus were killed, and at this time Lakhi Khan Afghan and Nimat Khan came from Delhi to assist him. Hindus were defeated and the Muslims were victorious. The rest of the Hindus, having accepted tributary status, made peace. Since by nature he was fundamentally not combative, Sufi Sarmast spread the religion of Mohammed and befriended the hearts of Hindus. Having seen his fine virtue s and uncommon justice, many Hindus of that time accepted Islam, finally he died in the year A.H.680 i.e., 1281 A.D.[10]

After this period arrival of Sufis in Bijapur and suburbs was started. Ainuddin Gahjul Ilm Dehelvi narrates that Ibrahim Sangane was one of the early Sufis of Bijapur parish. Sufis of Bijapur can be divided into three categories according to period of their arrival viz., Sufis before Bahmani and / or Adil Shahi Dynasty, Sufis during Adil Shahi Dynasty and Sufis after the fall of Adil Shahi Dynasty. And further it can be classified as Sufis as warriors, Sufis as social reformers, Sufis as scholars, poets and writers.

Ibrahim Zubairi writes in his book Rouzatul Auliyae Beejapore (compiled during 1895) which describes that more than 30 tombs or Dargahs are there in Bijapur with more than 300 Khankahs i.e., Islamic Missionary Schools with notable number of disciples of different lineage like Hasani Sadat, Husaini Sadat, Razavi Sadat, Kazmi Sadat, Shaikh Siddiquis, Farooquis, Usmanis, Alvis, Abbasees and other and spiritual chains like Quadari, Chishti, Suharwardi, Naqshbandi, Shuttari, Haidari etc.

Bijapur City had a population of 326,360 population as per census 2011. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Bijapur has an effective literacy rate of 83.43%, higher than the national average of 74%; with male literacy of 88.92% and female literacy of 77.86%. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. Kannada is the major language spoken here.[1]

At the time of the 2011 census, 51.43% of the population spoke Kannada, 34.35% Urdu, 5.38% Marathi, 3.85% Lambadi, 2.01% Hindi and 1.17% Telugu as their first language.[13]

Bijapur is emerging as a hub for professional education. Previously (i.e. before the 1980s) there were very few professional educational institutions. Along with the professional colleges there are many colleges which provide under-graduate and post-graduate degrees in the faculty of applied science, pure science, social-sciences and humanities. College of Agriculture, Bijapur, Hittinalli Farm affiliated university of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad is one of the leading educational and research institutes in the field of agriculture, which is offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various disciplines of agriculture.

Engineering colleges are affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University viz, B.L.D.E.A's V.P. Dr. P.G. Halakatti College of Engineering and Technology and SECAB College of Engineering and Technology

Al Ameen Medical college is affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences.[15] BLDEA's B.M.Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre is a deemed university recognised by UGC. Other professional colleges run by BLDE Association are BLDEA's college of pharmacy and college of Nursing sciences affiliated to RGUHS.

Many of colleges except professional are affiliated to Rani Chennamma University Belgaum viz, B.L.D.E.A'S A.S.PATIL COLLEGE OF COMMERCE(Autonomous)MBA Programme, Bijapur. Rani Chennamma University has a Post-Graduation Centre at Bijapur also.

First women's university in the state of Karnataka is located at Bijapur. Various post-graduate courses like MBA, MCA are conducted here. Bijapur also has BLDE (Deemed to be University, a deemed University of health sciences recognised by UGC.[16] Additionally Bijapur has the first Sainik School in the state, the second being in Kodagu. This is a very reputed residential school preparing cadets for the Defence forces and grooming students very well in many fields. And there many private computer training institutes providing computer education.

The Bijapur district is known for its mosques, structural monuments, art and architectural heritages, archaeological sites and cave temples. With the objective to spread education in this area, Karnatak University opened its Post-Graduate Centre in 1993.

• List of films shot in Bijapur
• List of rulers of Bijapur
• Bhāskara II
• Lakkundi
• Arakeri, Bijapur
• Sabala Organization
• List of people from Bijapur

Wikiquote has quotations related to Bijapur.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bijapur.

• Bijapur at Curlie
• Paintings of the Bijapur as illustrations to The Zenana., a poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon:

  Bejapore, by Samuel Prout, engraved by J Teavons.

  Taj Bowlee, Bejapore, by Samuel Prout, engraved by J Redaway.

  Mosque of Mustapha Khan, Beejapore, by William Purser, engraved by Edward Francis Finden.

  Tomb of Ibrahim Padshah, Bejapore, by Thomas Allom, engraved by Thomas Higham.