The dispute over Belgaum/ Belagavi
Origin of the dispute:
- The erstwhile Bombay Presidency, a multilingual province, included the present-day Karnataka districts of Bijapur, Belgaum, Dharwar and Uttara-Kannada (previously North Kanara).
- The Belagavi/Belgaum region at the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka comprises both Kannada and Marathi speakers.
- In 1948, the Belgaum municipality requested that the district, having a predominantly Marathi-speaking population, be incorporated into the proposed Maharashtra state.
- However, the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, which divided states on linguistic and administrative lines, made Belgaum a part of the then Mysore State (which was renamed Karnataka in 1973).
- The area has been under dispute since then.
- The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, formed in 1948, has been fighting for a merger of 800-odd villages in Karnataka with Maharashtra.
Mahajan Commission:
- The Maharashtra government contested the inclusion of Belgaum in Mysore state and lodged a protest with the Centre in 1957.
- This led to the formation of the Mahajan Commission under former Chief Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan in 1966.
- The Commission, which submitted its report in 1967, recommended that 264 villages be transferred to Maharashtra and that Belgaum and 247 villages remain with Karnataka.
- Note: The Commission also additionally stated that Sholapur in Maharashtra and Kasaragode, which is in Kerala, be given to Karnataka.
- Note: The Commission also additionally stated that Sholapur in Maharashtra and Kasaragode, which is in Kerala, be given to Karnataka.
- The report was rejected by Maharashtra and the State demanded another review on the issue.
Case to Supreme Court:
- In 2007, the Maharashtra government moved the Supreme Court. Maharashtra asked that 814 villages in Belgaum, Karwar, Bidar and Gulbarga districts in Karnataka be moved under their jurisdiction since it had a majority of Marathi speaking people.
Belgaum renamed as Belagavi:
- To reiterate its claim over Belgaum, the Karnataka government in 2012 inaugurated a new Assembly building, called the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, and made it the designated location for the winter session of the legislative assembly.
- In 2014, the Karnataka government renamed Belgaum as Belagavi.
