What Is Belagavi Border Dispute? A Battle Maharashtra And Karnataka Have Been Fighting For Decades

Maharashtra govt has constituted a 2-member committee comprising ministers Chandrakant Patil & Shambhuraje Desai for coordination of the legal and other matters related to the Belagavi border dispute.

Representational image of Belagavi railway station in Karnataka.

Source : indiarailinfo.com

Ahead of the Supreme Court's hearing of the over six-decade-old Belagavi border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka on Wednesday, the Maharashtra government Tuesday constituted a two-member committee comprising ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraje Desai for coordination of the legal and other related matters.

Belgaum, renamed as Belagavi, is currently a part of Karnataka, but Maharashtra also stakes claim to it. While the 19-member committee decided to request the top court to expedite the hearing, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also claimed recently that the state has formed a committee of senior advocates to fight the case in the apex court.

Origin Of The Belagavi Border Dispute

It all started when the states were divided based on linguistic lines under the State Reorganization Act in 1956. Belgaum was then part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, which covered Maharashtra, parts of Gujarat and North Karnataka. During the state reorganisation process, Belgaum and the surrounding villages were included in Mysore Princely state (now Karnataka) despite having a Marathi-speaking population in majority. This sowed seeds of the dispute.

According to the 1881 census, the region had predominantly Kannada-speaking people with the total population divided between around 64 per cent of Kannadigas and 26 per cent Marathis, said a News Nine report. But in the 1950s, the region was dominated by Marathi leaders, who rejected the census and demanded to integrate Belgaum and two other urban settlements into Maharashtra. 

Maharashtra then invoked 21 (2)(b) of the State Reorganisation Act and submitted a memorandum to the central government objecting to Marathi-speaking areas going to Karnataka. The state claimed over 7,000 square kilometers, including 814 villages and three towns — Belgaum, Nippani and Karwar.

Mahajan Committee Report

After 10 years of turmoil in the border region of Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Centre back in 1966 constituted the Mahajan Committee, which comprised representatives from both states. The committee report that came out in 1967 recommended 247 villages and Belgaum were to remain with Karnataka, while 264 villages will be part of Maharashtra. After several rounds of discussion, the report was tabled in Parliament in 1971. While Maharashtra rejected the report, Karnataka demanded its implementation with immediate effect or maintain status quo.

The Maharashtra Ekkikarana Samithi (MES) was formed with the sole motive to integrate Belgaum and other towns and its surrounding villages into Maharashtra, and the border region witnessed several violent protests between 1960s and 1980s . 

The case has been pending in the Supreme Court since 2004 after the Maharashtra government approached it, rejecting the Mahajan Committee report. The Karnataka government moved its plea after the apex court in 2014 ordered both Maharasthra and Karnataka to submit documentary evidence to back their stand. 

What's Happening Now

On Monday, November 21, the Maharashtra government announced their extension of social schemes such as benefits of the chief minister relief funds, health insurance and pension to the bereaved families of people who died fighting in the border dispute region. Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai claimed that panchayats in Jat taluka of Maharashtra's Sangli district had passed resolution to merge with Karnataka.

The CM said the BJP government in Karnataka is ready to give special grants to Kannada medium schools in Maharashtra. Besides this, he also announced that his government has decided to give pensions to Kannadigas in neighbouring states, who fought for the unification of the state.

On Wednesday, Maharashtra minister Shambhuraje Desai slammed Bommai, saying the latter has come up with old ridiculous demands related to the disputed region, and that these should not be taken seriously.