Vijayanagara district is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in the

southern Indian South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, located in the

Kalyana-Karnataka Kalyana-Karnataka, also known as Hyderabad-Karnataka, is a region located in the northern part of the Indian state of Karnataka, which was part of Hyderabad State ruled by the Nizams and the Madras presidency of British India. The region compr ...

region. Vijayanagara was officially carved out of

Ballari Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Steel, JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of ...

on 17 November 2021 to become the 31st district of the state with

Hospet Hospet (officially Hosapete) is the largest and fastest-growing industrial city and district headquarters of the Vijayanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Hospet is known as "the steel city of Karnataka". It is located on the bank ...

as the district headquarters. It is home to

Hampi Hampi or Hampe (), also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the town of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire; it is menti ...

, the former capital of the famous

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

and a

UNESCO World Heritage site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, and several historical places are located in the district.

History

During late-mediaeval India, the region comprising present-day Vijayanagara district was the seat of the

. During

British Rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, it was part of

Madras presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. After

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

, during the organisation of Indian states in the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

, with the formation

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

in 1953, the Vijayanagara region was part of

Bellary district Ballari, formerly Bellary (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka until the Vi ...

of the newly formed Mysore state. In 2020, six

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

were planned to be split up from Bellary and form out of them a new district. During the 2020 premiership of

B. S. Yediyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he has served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, chief minister of ...

, the

government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

approved the plan and notified the formation of Vijayanagara district on 18 November 2020, thus making it the 31st district of Karnataka in 2021. At present, Vijayanagara district is part of the Kalyana Karnataka region.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the area that is now Vijayangara district has a population of 1,353,628, of which 359,694 (26.57%) live in urban areas. Vijayanagara district has a sex ratio of 976 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 322,603 (23.83%) and 235,724 (17.41%) of the population respectively. At the time of the 2011 census, 78.09% of the population spoke

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

, 9.37%

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, 5.82%

Lambadi Lambadi, Lambani, Lamani or Banjari is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Banjara people across India. The language does not have a native script. Regional dialects are divided between the Banjara of Maharashtra (written in Devanaga ...

, 3.97%

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

and 1.07%

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

as their first language.

Government and politics

Administration

Vijayanagara district comprises six

, two

subdivisions Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...

, and 18 village clusters.

is the administrative headquarters of the district. Anand Singh, MLA from Vijayanagara, was appointed as the district's minister in charge for the state government. He is the MLA from Hospet. Krishna Nayaka is the current MLA of

Hoovina Hadagali Hoovina Hadagali or Huvina Hadagali is a town and a taluk in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the HuvinaHadagali Taluk. Historical names of Huvina Hadagali *Puvina-Posavadangile : An inscr ...

; P. T. Parameshwar Naik, a former minister and MLA from Hoovina Hadagali and M. P. Prakash, former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Parliament and assembly seats

In the

national legislature This is a list of legislatures by country. A "legislature" is the generic name for the national parliaments and congresses that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives and that have the power to legislate. All entities included in ...

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

, Vijayanagara district is part of Bellary Constituency (reserved for scheduled tribes), except for

Harapanahalli Harapanahalli is a small city, taluk and sub-divisional headquarter in Vijayanagara District in the Indian state of Karnataka. In 1947, the 30th Kannada Sahithya Sammelana was organised in Harapanahalli under the presidency of C.K.Venkatarama ...

, which is part of Davanagere Constituency. In

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

, Vijayanagara district has five assembly seats:

;

Hagaribommanahalli Hagaribommanahalli is a town and a taluk in Vijayanagara District in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Hagaribommanahalli Taluk. Demographics India census, Hagari Bommanahalli had a population of 240 ...

(scheduled castes);

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.Vijayanagara

;
Kudligi Kudligi is a panchayat town in Vijayanagara district in the India state of Karnataka. Kudligi is famous for its local Tamarind. Once upon a time Kudligi was called as "The Land of rich spices" for foreign tourists who came to Hampi. Now it is ...
(scheduled tribes); and
Hoovina Hadagali Hoovina Hadagali or Huvina Hadagali is a town and a taluk in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the HuvinaHadagali Taluk. Historical names of Huvina Hadagali *Puvina-Posavadangile : An inscr ...
(scheduled castes).

Tourism
*
Tungabhadra Dam The Tungabhadra Dam, also known as Pampa Sagar, is a water reservoir constructed across the Tungabhadra River in the Hosapete-Koppal confluence in Karnataka, India. It is a multipurpose dam serving irrigation, electricity generation, flood contr ...
, in
Hospet Hospet (officially Hosapete) is the largest and fastest-growing industrial city and district headquarters of the Vijayanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Hospet is known as "the steel city of Karnataka". It is located on the bank ...
, over
Tungabhadra River The Tungabhadra River () starts and flows through the state of Karnataka, India, for most of its course, then through Andhra Pradesh where it ultimately joins the Krishna River near Murvakonda. The Tungabhadra derives its name from two strea ...
*
Hampi Hampi or Hampe (), also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the town of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire; it is menti ...
: known for the ruins of
Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.Vijayanagara
. A world heritage site, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people from across the world every year, is situated in this district. It is home to several ruined structures. *
Mylara Mylara Lingeshwara Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to a form of the Hindu god Shiva in Mylara, in the southwest of Hoovina Hadagali taluk, Vijayanagara district, Karnataka, India, 2 km from the Tungabhadra river. References