Hubballi–Dharwad

Hubballi–Dharwad, the twin cities of north Karnataka, have a shared history built from trade, education and transport.

Dharwad is the older of the two. It developed as a resting and market town between the Deccan plateau and the Konkan coast, under dynasties like the Chalukyas, Bahmani Sultans, Vijayanagara rulers, Adil Shahis of Bijapur and the Marathas. Under the British Bombay Presidency, Dharwad became an important administrative and educational centre, known for its colleges, Kannada literary culture and quiet, leafy neighbourhoods. It earned a reputation as a “university town” and a cradle of modern Kannada literature and music.

Hubballi (Hubli), by contrast, rose mainly as a commercial and railway hub. Located on key routes linking Bengaluru, Pune, Goa and Hyderabad, it grew into a major centre for cotton, groundnut, chilli and later industrial goods. The railway junction and markets turned it into the business heart of the region, with busy bazaars, warehouses and trading houses.

In 1962, the two towns were officially combined into the Hubballi–Dharwad Municipal Corporation, recognising their functional unity—Hubballi as the bustling commercial city, Dharwad as the academic and administrative counterpart. Since then, they have expanded as a key industrial, educational and transport node of Karnataka, while still retaining their distinct characters within one urban agglomeration.