Bagalkot is a town situated in the Bagalkot district in the state of Karnataka in India. It is in fact the district headquarters of the Bagalkot district. Bagalkot is located at 16.18° North and 75.7° East. It has a mean elevation of 533 metres (1748 feet). It lies on the bank of the river Ghataprabha. The Bagalkot district was carved from Bijapur ( Vijapur ) district. It has been found out from inscriptions that the previous name for this town was Bagadige. According to a particular legend, at some phase in ancient times Ravana the king of Lanka who ruled this part presented this town as a reward to the Vajantries or musicians. It is also said that one of the Bijapur kings has gifted the town to his daughter as bangle or ornament money. Accordingly the place acquired the name of Bagdikot, which was further corrupted to Bagilakote or Bagalkot. Earlier to this, vijayanagara kings ruled this fraction of the country. Between 1664 to 1755 this region was under the administration of the Savanur Nawab from whom the Peshwa, Balajirao, seized it. Around 1778, Haider Ali took possession of Bagalkot. But by the agreement of Srirangapattana in 1792 this part again went into the hands of the Marathas. In 1800, the provincial manager, Anandarao Bhikaji built a palace here. In 1810, Peshwa Bajirao II gave the area to Nilkantharao Sarsubedar who supported Bagalkot Fort with the help of a garrison till Gen. Munro occupied it in 1818. In 1865, the municipality came into being and civic facilities were made available to the inhabitants of Bagalkot. The major temples located here are of Shri Bhavani, Panduranga and Kotalesha, Raghavendraswamy Matha and of Motagi Basaveshwara. Virakta matha located in this town is a place of interest. The place has several mosques of which Panka Masjid is one of the finest ones made of stone. The Basaweshvara Vidyavardhaka Sangha founded here provides financial assistance to several colleges and education institutions and the demised S. C. Nandimath, noted scholar was closely connected with this organisation. At present the entire city of Bagalkot is divided into the three major parts of Bagalkot Navanagar, Bagalkot Old City and Vidyagiri.
As per the 2001 India census, Bagalkot has a population of 91,596. 52% of the population is males and 48% are females. The town has an average literacy rate of 70%, greater than the nationwide average of 59.5%. 57% of the males and 43% of females are literate. 12% of the population is children below six years of age.
