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3.2.2 Dharwad under the British rule
AD to 1686 AD when Adil Shah I captured the city. He built a fort here named Manna Killa4 , remnants of which can still be seen in the city (Savant,1991).
Being in a strategic location, the city has witnessed multiple sieges and conquests over the years. In 1686, the Mughals led by Aurangzeb’s son took over Hubballi and Dharwad. It came under the Peshwa rule in 1753 AD when the fort was surrendered to Nana Saheb by the Mughal commandant Prithwiraj. Hyder Ali of Mysore occupied the city in 1764 AD and Tipu Sultan captured the city in 1784 AD. It was later recaptured by the Marathas in 1790 AD who ruled the city till 1818 AD (Savant,1991). In this period, Peshwas created Petha (market) areas near the fort and the neighbouring areas – Kasabapeth (Hosayellapur), Mangalvarpeth, Ravivarpeth, Haveripeth and other areas came up as thriving markets during this time (Gazeteer Department, 2002).
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The Peshwas were later defeated by British and Dharwad and its neighboring region5 were subsumed into Bombay presidency6. The British received a lot of resistance from the local rulers7 , and as a counter measure the British started establishing educational and medical institutions in the city. The extent of the town in 1849 was limited to the fort and the various institutions that were established at the time. Settlements such as Hosayellapur, Saidapur, Haveripeth and (shown in Figure 2) were revenue villages outside the town extent.
3.2.2 Dharwad under the British rule
Dharwad became a Municipality on 15th August 1855 under the Government of India Act 1850. At the time, the city was limited to the fort and the institutional areas established by the British. The municipality in 1856 was about 5.12 sq. km in area with a population of 10,000 (Census of India, 1951).
In 1883, the extent of the Dharwad City Municipality included the neighbouring village settlements of Saidapur, Lakamanhalli, Haveripeth,Hosayellapur and others8 . Over time the markets in the area flourished as cotton and chilly 9 became widely cultivated in the district’s hinterland. Hubli (Rayara Hubli or Old Hubli) emerged as a major industrial centre that transported the produce through land routes to major ports. The American Civil War (1862-66) expedited the cotton boom in the area10 and various ginning units11 were set up here. This necessitated the improvement of transport through both road and rail 12 . As a result, Hubli and Gadag were developed as railway junctions, and the Administrative Office of the Railways was setup at Dharwad in 1888. Economic, commercial, educational and cultural activities grew in the Dharwad town (Gazeteer Department, 2002; Census of India, 1951). By 1901, the town was home to several cotton gins, a cotton mill, and two high schools, one maintained by the government and the other by the Basel German Mission. Between 1901 and 1951, Dharwad Municipality expanded to include the old fort area, Kasbapeth, extensions near the railways and the suburban areas.
4The fort near the city centre 5 Areas that fall under Bijapur, Belgaum and Solapur districts. These together with Dharward formed the District or Zilla in 1830 6 Bombay and not Madras Presidency as all these areas were previously administered by Maratha rulers 7 Baba Saheb of Nargund, Bhimarao of Mundarg1 and Kenchangauda of Shirhatti 8Bagtalan, Madihal, Galaganjikop, Malapur, Kamalapur, Narayanpur, Saptapur, Atti kolla 9Introduced by the Portugese 10 cotton that was exported from the America to England stopped 11 In Dharwad district itself, four steam operated ginning units were setup 12Boom helped the completion of the railway line (1887) reaching Pune (and Bombay) and Dharwad -Vasco (Goa) line was also completed in 1889.
