Raichur

History

Ancient History

The recorded history of the district is traced as far back as the third century B.C.E. Three minor rock edicts of Ashoka are found in the district, one at Maski in the Lingasugur taluk and the other two near Koppal, which proves that this area was part of the dominions of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. At that time, this region was under the governance of a Viceroy or Mahamatra of Ashoka. Thereafter, the district appears to have been a part of the kingdom of the Satavahanas. The Vakatakas, who reigned during the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, seems to have held sway over Raichur for some time, after which it appears to have been included in the Kadamba dominions. The next dynasty of importance, which ruled over this region, was that of the Chalukyas of Badami. According to an inscription from Aihole, Pulakeshin II having defeated the Pallavas, 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 the Rashtrakutas, 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, 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. Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I, a Rashtrakuta king, has described Koppal in his Kannada work, Kavirajamarga, as the great Kopananagara.

Raichur has a rich history, having been a part of various empires, such as the Bahmanis Sultanate, Vijayanagara, the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur and nizam of hyderabad. The city is famous for its imposing Raichur Fort.{{cite web |access-date=17 October 2006 |archive-date=21 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021214138/http://www.meraraichur.com/ |url-status=dead

Raichur is very rich from the epigraphical point of view. It has already yielded hundreds of inscriptions, ranging from the Mauryan period up to the end of the Muslim period. The inscriptions are in a variety of languages such as Sanskrit, Prakrit, Kannada, Telugu, Arabic, and Persian and belonging to almost all the dynasties that ruled over the Deccan. The most important places from this point of view are Maski, Koppal, Kuknur, Hatti Gold Mines, Mudgal, Lingsugur and Raichur.

Recent History

The District of Raichur was a part of the Hyderabad State until the re-organisation of State on 1 November 1956.

Geography

Raichur is located at on the Deccan Plateau. It has an average elevation of 407 metres (1335 ft)

The summers are hot in this region with temperatures going beyond 40 °C. It receives rainfall during the months between May and August. Overall, the region is warm and humid during most part of the year.

Raichur District comprises 7 administrative sub-divisions, called "Taluks":

• Raichur District
• Sirwar Taluk
• Sindhanur Taluk
• Manvi Taluk
• Devadurga Taluk
• Maski Taluk
• Lingasugur Taluk

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian census, Hinduism is majority religion in Raichur with 67.61% followers. Islam is second most popular religion in Raichur with approximately 29.87% following it. In Raichur, Christianity is followed by 1.18%, Jainism by 0.94%, Sikhism by 0.08% and Buddhism by 0.08%. Around 0.00% stated 'Other Religion', approximately 0.29% stated 'No Particular Religion'.

Languages

Transport

Road

Raichur is well-connected by roads, prominently with the National Highway 167. With Panji-Hyderabad Highway and Surat–Chennai Expressway in development, the city could experience industrial growth.

Rail

Raichur Junction is an important railway junction for Mumbai–Chennai line. The city has railway connectivity with major cities of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Tatanagar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad, Mysore, Jaipur, Varanasi, Vijayawada, Mahbubnagar, Tirupati, Dwarka, Tirchy, Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Jamu Tawi, Ludhiana, Ambala, Jalandhar, etc. The station is located primarily on the Solapur-Guntakal section as well as the later opened Mahabubnagar-Munirabad railway line.

Airport

The Raichur Airport has long been proposed to be built on an unpaved airstrip north of the city, post an emergency landing for Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, in 1957.

Education

• Indian Institute of Information Technology, Raichur
• Raichur University, Raichur
• University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur

Climate

| Jan record high C = 38.4 | Feb record high C = 40.5 | Mar record high C = 44.6 | Apr record high C = 44.0 | May record high C = 45.6 | Jun record high C = 44.0 | Jul record high C = 39.4 | Aug record high C = 37.0 | Sep record high C = 38.4 | Oct record high C = 37.6 | Nov record high C = 38.1 | Dec record high C = 38.4 | year record high C = | Jan record low C = 7.1 | Feb record low C = 11.0 | Mar record low C = 13.0 | Apr record low C = 16.1 | May record low C = 15.4 | Jun record low C = 16.1 | Jul record low C = 17.0 | Aug record low C = 16.3 | Sep record low C = 16.4 | Oct record low C = 13.5 | Nov record low C = 8.5 | Dec record low C = 7.3 | year record low C = 7.1 | access-date = April 8, 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200205040301/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/1981-2010%20CLIM%20NORMALS%20%28STATWISE%29.pdf | archive-date = 5 February 2020 | access-date = 19 April 2020}} | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200205042509/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/EXTREMES%20OF%20TEMPERATURE%20and%20RAINFALL%20upto%202012.pdf | archive-date = 5 February 2020 | access-date = 19 April 2020}}

References

References

1. "50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (July 2012 to June 2013)".
2. "Raichur District".
3. "Stone inscriptions". museums.ap.nic.in/.
4. (23 May 2006). "The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India". University of California Press.
5. "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Raichur, India".
6. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India.
7. "Table C-01 Population By Religious Community - Karnataka". Census of India.
8. https://raichur.nic.in/en/public-utility/indian-institute-of-information-technology-iiit-raichur/
9. https://raichur.nic.in/en/public-utility/raichur-university/
10. https://raichur.nic.in/en/public-utility/setu-charitable-trust/