Bagepalli
Encyclopedia
Bagepalli Kannada:ಬಾಗೆಪಲ್ಲಿ is a panchayat town in Chikballapur district in the state of Karnataka
, India
. Bagepalli is situated 100 km north of Bangalore
on the Bangalore-Hyderabad National Highway. The region is just below the southern border of the Rayalaseema
in Andhra Pradesh
, South India
. It is semi-arid and drought prone with 560 mm of erratic and spatial rainfall.
Though located in Kolar
district
of Karnataka
state, and in spite of being so close to a fast growing metropolis Bangalore
city, the region skirts the southern border of the Rayalaseema
and shares a similar language, culture, economy and social structure, as southern Andhra Pradesh
.
Bagepalli is the site of an upcoming 18,400 INR Crore "Space City" that is being funded by the Abu Dhabi Royal Family's Marib Holdings. The project will include an entertainment theme park modeled on Disneyland, several five and six star hotels, and a business and residential township spread over 1500 acres (6.1 km²) of land. The project is expected to provide employment to 20,000 people, and will be pollution-free.
The region is a semi arid drought prone one with low, erratic and spatial rainfall. The dust brown rocky terrain is severely undulating, with small hill ranges and outcrops that stud the topography. There is no mineral wealth and only a very thin and fragile soil cover.
An adverse land:person ratio creates a strong thirst for cultivable land since less than one-half of the total land is fit for cultivation
, with the remaining taken over by the hills and rocky fields. Hardly 5% of the cropped lands are irrigated by an age old network of rain-fed tanks (small lakes), each irrigating 2 to 10 hectares of wet land. The low water table is tapped through bore-wells drilled to more than 100 meters depth. Even these dry up in the summer months, from April to September every year, when temperatures rise to a dry heat of 38 °C.
The average rainfall is 560 mm a year and this is, moreover, erratic and spatial. As a result there is only 1 rain-fed crop a year, whose stand is from late June till December. Groundnuts are grown on these dry lands, inter-cropped with red gram, cowpea
, field beans, green gram, jowar, maize
and castor
on the field bunds. Irrigated groundnut
, mulberry
, onions and sunflower
are the common bore-well irrigated crops. Ragi
(golden millet) and a coarse variety of paddy are cultivated under irrigation tanks. Every fifth or sixth year is a drought, followed by near famine conditions.
Seasonal migration by agricultural labourers is an annual occurrence during the summer months. They come back every June/July to scratch a subsistence cultivation from small patches of scattered holdings, far away from the villages and hugging the hillsides, averaging 2.6 acres (10,521.8 m²) per Coolie
family.
, Bagepalli had a population of 1,69,689. Males constitute 50.7% of the population and females 49.3%. Bagepalli has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 56% of the males and 44% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
historical place'Gummanayakana Palya 20 miles from bagepalli
The palayapat of Gummanayakana Palya (also referred to as Gummanayakapalaiyam), to the northeast of Chikballapur, comprised the whole of the Bagepalli taluk in the far east of Mysore State and portions of the neighboring Hindupur and Kandukur taluks in the Presidency of Madras. It was founded in the second half of the 13th century by Khadripathi Nayak (ob. 1272), a scion of a royal family in Cuddappah, who gradually established his ascendancy over the zamindars and the people of Patapalya. He built a new capital in Devarajapalli and extended his rule over a wide area. Chinama Nayak, his son (r. 1272-1296), named his principality after Gumma Reddy, one of the zamindars who had turned over his estates to Khadripathi Nayak. He is also credited with having established an administrative system. Gumma Nayak, the third ruler, (r. 1296-1314) had to submit to Anegundi and agree to pay tribute and provide military service. The sixth ruler, Kadarappa Nayak (r. 1363-1388) helped the empire of Vijayanagar establish its control over the local polegars; for two centuries thereafter the polegars of Gummanayakana Palya were counted among the most loyal and distinguished chiefs under the kings of Vijayanagar.
The battle of Talikota (1565) occurred during the rule of Viradasappa Nayak (r. 1548-1584), the 19th polegar. While other Vijayanagar feudatories took advantage of this signal defeat to break free, "the poligar of Gummanayakana Palya, true to his traditional loyalty, remained firm under the banner of the fallen House of Vijayanagar." During the succession wars of the early 1630s, Polegar Vasanta Nayaka refused to acknowledge Emperor Venkata Deva Raya III. Immadi Kempe Gauda of Bangalore, the emperor champion, laid waste the polegar's lands and forced him to submit. But after some time, even tribute stopped being collected by the increasingly ineffective rulers of Vijayanagar, and Gummanayakana Palya came under Moghul rule during the reign of Bangara Thimma Nayak (r. 1680-1728). His successor Kadarappa Nayak III (r. 1728-1740) had to switch allegiance to the Marathas and pay heavy tribute to the Peshwa. Narasimha Nayak V (r. 1740-1760) was forced to cede part of his territories to Murarirao Ghorpade of Gooty (q.v.) and was later brought under tribute to Hyder Ali of Mysore, who nevertheless befriended him against his own subordinates. Tippu Sultan, however, embarked on a systematic policy of extermination of the polegars. Several small principalities were annexed and, despite Polegar Narasimha Nayak VI's (r. 1765-1802) "protestations of loyalty for generations to the Sultan of Mysore," his palayapat was invaded, the polegar and his family fleeing the country ahead of Tippu's troops. Narasimha was briefly restored during the Third Mysore War, but when peace was concluded in 1793, he was again dispossessed by the vengeful Tippu. During the Fourth Mysore War (1799), Narasimha Nayak VI, with a large army of his own, joined the British in their final assault on Sringapatam. Promises made by the English commander to restore his palayapat after final victory over Tippu were not honored by Dewan Purneya of the restored Wadiyars of Mysore. Narasimha was forced to go into exile once more "where he, the last Poligar to rule the ancient Palayapat [of] Gummanayakana Palya, died of grief."
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Bagepalli is situated 100 km north of Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
on the Bangalore-Hyderabad National Highway. The region is just below the southern border of the Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema is a geographic region in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It includes the districts of Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool. These Telugu speaking districts were part of Madras Presidency until 1953 when Telugu speaking districts of Madras presidency were carved out to form...
in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, South India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is semi-arid and drought prone with 560 mm of erratic and spatial rainfall.
Though located in Kolar
Kolar
Kolara is a city in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar District. It is known for being one of the gold mining sites in India....
district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
state, and in spite of being so close to a fast growing metropolis Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
city, the region skirts the southern border of the Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema is a geographic region in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It includes the districts of Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool. These Telugu speaking districts were part of Madras Presidency until 1953 when Telugu speaking districts of Madras presidency were carved out to form...
and shares a similar language, culture, economy and social structure, as southern Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
.
Bagepalli is the site of an upcoming 18,400 INR Crore "Space City" that is being funded by the Abu Dhabi Royal Family's Marib Holdings. The project will include an entertainment theme park modeled on Disneyland, several five and six star hotels, and a business and residential township spread over 1500 acres (6.1 km²) of land. The project is expected to provide employment to 20,000 people, and will be pollution-free.
Geography
Bagepalli is located at 13.78°N 77.79°E. It has an average elevation of 707 metres (2319 ft).The region is a semi arid drought prone one with low, erratic and spatial rainfall. The dust brown rocky terrain is severely undulating, with small hill ranges and outcrops that stud the topography. There is no mineral wealth and only a very thin and fragile soil cover.
An adverse land:person ratio creates a strong thirst for cultivable land since less than one-half of the total land is fit for cultivation
Tillage
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking...
, with the remaining taken over by the hills and rocky fields. Hardly 5% of the cropped lands are irrigated by an age old network of rain-fed tanks (small lakes), each irrigating 2 to 10 hectares of wet land. The low water table is tapped through bore-wells drilled to more than 100 meters depth. Even these dry up in the summer months, from April to September every year, when temperatures rise to a dry heat of 38 °C.
The average rainfall is 560 mm a year and this is, moreover, erratic and spatial. As a result there is only 1 rain-fed crop a year, whose stand is from late June till December. Groundnuts are grown on these dry lands, inter-cropped with red gram, cowpea
Cowpea
The Cowpea is one of several species of the widely cultivated genus Vigna. Four cultivated subspecies are recognised:*Vigna unguiculata subsp. cylindrica Catjang...
, field beans, green gram, jowar, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and castor
Castor oil plant
The castor oil plant, Ricinus communis, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It belongs to a monotypic genus, Ricinus, and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of castor and its relation to other species are currently being studied.Its seed is the castor bean which,...
on the field bunds. Irrigated groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
, mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
, onions and sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
are the common bore-well irrigated crops. Ragi
Finger millet
Eleusine coracana, commonly Finger millet , also known as African millet or Ragi is an annual plant widely grown as a cereal in the arid areas of Africa and Asia. E...
(golden millet) and a coarse variety of paddy are cultivated under irrigation tanks. Every fifth or sixth year is a drought, followed by near famine conditions.
Seasonal migration by agricultural labourers is an annual occurrence during the summer months. They come back every June/July to scratch a subsistence cultivation from small patches of scattered holdings, far away from the villages and hugging the hillsides, averaging 2.6 acres (10,521.8 m²) per Coolie
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
family.
Demographics
As of 2001 India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Bagepalli had a population of 1,69,689. Males constitute 50.7% of the population and females 49.3%. Bagepalli has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 56% of the males and 44% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Links
historical place'Gummanayakana Palya 20 miles from bagepalli
The palayapat of Gummanayakana Palya (also referred to as Gummanayakapalaiyam), to the northeast of Chikballapur, comprised the whole of the Bagepalli taluk in the far east of Mysore State and portions of the neighboring Hindupur and Kandukur taluks in the Presidency of Madras. It was founded in the second half of the 13th century by Khadripathi Nayak (ob. 1272), a scion of a royal family in Cuddappah, who gradually established his ascendancy over the zamindars and the people of Patapalya. He built a new capital in Devarajapalli and extended his rule over a wide area. Chinama Nayak, his son (r. 1272-1296), named his principality after Gumma Reddy, one of the zamindars who had turned over his estates to Khadripathi Nayak. He is also credited with having established an administrative system. Gumma Nayak, the third ruler, (r. 1296-1314) had to submit to Anegundi and agree to pay tribute and provide military service. The sixth ruler, Kadarappa Nayak (r. 1363-1388) helped the empire of Vijayanagar establish its control over the local polegars; for two centuries thereafter the polegars of Gummanayakana Palya were counted among the most loyal and distinguished chiefs under the kings of Vijayanagar.
The battle of Talikota (1565) occurred during the rule of Viradasappa Nayak (r. 1548-1584), the 19th polegar. While other Vijayanagar feudatories took advantage of this signal defeat to break free, "the poligar of Gummanayakana Palya, true to his traditional loyalty, remained firm under the banner of the fallen House of Vijayanagar." During the succession wars of the early 1630s, Polegar Vasanta Nayaka refused to acknowledge Emperor Venkata Deva Raya III. Immadi Kempe Gauda of Bangalore, the emperor champion, laid waste the polegar's lands and forced him to submit. But after some time, even tribute stopped being collected by the increasingly ineffective rulers of Vijayanagar, and Gummanayakana Palya came under Moghul rule during the reign of Bangara Thimma Nayak (r. 1680-1728). His successor Kadarappa Nayak III (r. 1728-1740) had to switch allegiance to the Marathas and pay heavy tribute to the Peshwa. Narasimha Nayak V (r. 1740-1760) was forced to cede part of his territories to Murarirao Ghorpade of Gooty (q.v.) and was later brought under tribute to Hyder Ali of Mysore, who nevertheless befriended him against his own subordinates. Tippu Sultan, however, embarked on a systematic policy of extermination of the polegars. Several small principalities were annexed and, despite Polegar Narasimha Nayak VI's (r. 1765-1802) "protestations of loyalty for generations to the Sultan of Mysore," his palayapat was invaded, the polegar and his family fleeing the country ahead of Tippu's troops. Narasimha was briefly restored during the Third Mysore War, but when peace was concluded in 1793, he was again dispossessed by the vengeful Tippu. During the Fourth Mysore War (1799), Narasimha Nayak VI, with a large army of his own, joined the British in their final assault on Sringapatam. Promises made by the English commander to restore his palayapat after final victory over Tippu were not honored by Dewan Purneya of the restored Wadiyars of Mysore. Narasimha was forced to go into exile once more "where he, the last Poligar to rule the ancient Palayapat [of] Gummanayakana Palya, died of grief."