The dispute, which has been simmering for over past seven decades, has flared up again after a KSRTC bus conductor was assaulted by a group of individuals for not speaking Marathi. The incident sparked a violent response.
The border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra has erupted yet again after bus conductors of both states were assaulted by people from other states. The dispute flared up after a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) driver was beaten by a group for allegedly not speaking Marathi. In response, the pro-Kannada organisation, on Friday, stopped a Maharashtra state transport bus and assaulted the driver in Karnataka’s Chitradurga. They blackened the bus and put black colour on the driver’s face while hurling slogans.
Agitated by this, the Shiv Sena (UBT) workers blackened the Karnataka-numbered bus in Pune. While the actions were initiated against all the incidents in both states, the incident triggered a political response with both states halting interstate bus services. The triggering incident’s location Belagavi, formerly known as Belgaum, has led to the eruption of fault lines around Belagavi.
Formation of states post-independence and start of conflict
The dispute dates back to 1956 when the states were divided into linguistic lines under the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. Belgaum was transferred to Mysore state which was renamed as Karnataka in 1973.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra was formed in 1960 under the Bombay Reorganisation Act 1960 and since then it has been claiming that Belgaum, formerly known as Belgaum, and 865 other villages should be part of India. However, Karnataka has contested this claim. Maharashtra has been claiming to include the villages as its territory because of a significant Marathi-speaking population in these villages and places.
Mahajan Commission formation and its recommendations
To solve the territorial dispute, the Central government in 1966 formed a commission headed by CJI Mehr Chand Mahajan. The Mahajan Commission was formed at the insistence of Maharashtra. Contrary to their expectations, the Mahajan Commission rejected Maharashtra’s claim but recommended that 247 villages in Maharashtra be made part of Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the commission also recommended 264 villages and places to be handed over to Maharashtra. The most contested Belgaum was recommended to continue to be a part of Karnataka. Maharashtra rejected the commission recommendations outright saying that it failed to address its concern and alleged that it favoured Karnataka.
Maharashtra govt reaches Supreme Court
The dispute continued and in 2004, the Maharashtra government reached the Supreme Court and filed a petition. But the petition is still pending in the court. In 2010, Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in this case saying that the transfer of certain areas to Mysore was not wrong and the decision was not taken arbitrarily.
The affidavit emphasised that both govt and Parliament had taken all relevant factors into account in the State Reorganisation Act in 1956 and the Bombay Reorganisation Act of 1960
Karnataka consolidates control
Meanwhile, in 2012, the Karnataka government inaugurated Suvarna Vidhan Saudha in Belgaum and made it the state’s winter capital. Moreover, in 2014, the government changed the name of Belgaum to Balagavi.
Last political slugfest
In 2022, the dispute again flared up when the then CM Eknath Shinde announced to review of the status of the dispute and the eligibility of the Marathi-speaking population in disputed areas for freedom fighters’ pensions. He also announced free medical care under the Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Scheme.
Agitated by this, the then Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai announced grants for all Kannada-speaking schools in Maharashtra. In December 2022, the Maharashtra Assembly passed a unanimous resolution stating that the government would continue to pursue a legal course of action to claim the territories back.
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