Close to the south of the arsenal between the north and the west gates of the Belgaum fort is Asad Khan’s fine mosque called the Masjid-i-Safa or the Pure Mosque.

The front measures 81′ 5″ in length and the mosque is 58′ 7″ deep. Over the mosque door, in very illegible Persian,the following inscription -” the time of Adil Aya’m son of Adil Khan, a man of a high rank, who bore the palm of excellence from all the world, of good counsel, the aim of merit, the defender of the, faith who utterly uprooted the unbelievers from the country of the Deccan, Asad’ Khan, built this house of God, by good fortune, and with much the grace of God he called it the Pure Mosque.

The mosque formed part of a group of buildings all the rest of which have been pulled down. Asad Khan’s palace or mahal, is said to have been to the south of the mosque. Opposite the palace were his kitchens, and to the right looking from the front of the mosque stood the Divankhana or hall of audience. The road to this group of buildings led under an arch on the- site of the present arsenal which was so high that an elephant with his rider could pass beneath it. The present arch which faces the main gate of the fort was straight opposite the arch which has been removed .

That arch was the place where the naubat or large kettle drum was beaten at stated hours and for salutes. In the mosque are preserved Asad Khan’s quilted jacket which was sabre-proof of his Kuran, and a pair of shoes, too heavy for an ordinary man to lift, with soles- of lead and uppers of iron, which were used by Asad Khan in gymnastic exercises.

On the south wall of the mosque is a very solid and heavy round platform (6′ 5″ long 5′ 1″ broad and 3′ 10″ high) on which Asad Khan is said to have often sprung dressed in full armour and wearing his lead-soled shoes. Another of his feats of strength, according to local story, was to lift the great iron stool before the mosque by the edge of the fountain. His sword was kept ,in the mosque till it was stolen by a soldier a year before the mutiny.

In 1857 when the mutiny broke out the authorities in Belgaum, on account of its nearness to the arsenal, ordered the mosque to be closed. Since then it has not been used for service.

In 1882 the closed doors of the mosque opened of themselves. People said it was Asad Khan and became much excited. The doors were closed, and, as Asad Khan made no further sign, the excitement passed off.

Source: As it appears in the Bombay Presidency Gazette

Major Images seen here have never been seen on the internet.

The Setting:

Meticulous planning and preparation went into the arrangement for various aspects of the Congress Session.

A huge area – stretching from Vaccine Depot to the Military Centre was cordoned off for the Congress and an enormous well dug. While the well was being dug a small boy named Harpanahalli fell in and died. Gangadharrao Deshpande who supervised all the work daily on horseback, dissuaded people from taking this as a bad omen and asked them to carry on with the work. Then the Army objected to the well on the grounds that the well would divert water from their Swimming pool (about half a mile away!) Gangadharrao assured them that the well would be filled in again after the Congress Session.

Congress Well: from where the water was supplied for the session

Finally the well named ‘Pampa Sarovar’ was ready. Built with rough granite, it had 10 arches for water to be drawn and sluiced to the end user points. The total cost of Pampa Sarovar came to Rs. 4,370 and 3 annas. The pipelines cost Rs. 9293 and 3 pies.

A flag railway station was constructed near the site of the Congress Session, which came to be called ‘Vijaya Nagara’, after the mighty empire of Hampi and the entrance gate, with an impressive height of 70 feet was designed as a ‘gopura’ from the same place.

Temporary station Vijaynagar (Tilakwadi)

Some seventeen thousand people from all corners of India – from Quetta in the West to Burma in the East, from Kashmir to Kerala descended upon this site and had to be fed and housed. It was graciously done, with volunteers catering to every comfort of all who attended.

Particularly impressive were the arrangements made by the Sanitation Committee to keep the site spotless. Brahmins rubbed shoulders with bhangis to clean the toilets with a smile.

Bathing arrangement at the session

For Gandhiji a small hut of bamboo and grass was built, by one Khemajirao Godse, at the cost of Rs. 350, which Gandhiji objected to, as being far too expensive for a simple man like him !

Gangadharrao Deshpande on Horse back along with Pundalikji Katakde(standing) inspecting the arrangements

Gandhiji arrived six days before the Congress Session to forge unity between the ‘Swaraj’ faction and the ‘no-change’ faction.

Entrance Tower

On the 26th of December 1924, delegates were stunned by the massive Shamiana put up for the Congress Session. Spacious as a circus tent, it was rented for Rs. 5000/- (it was even insured against fire for Rs. 500/-) Gandhiji objected to the amount spent on its decoration ! He requested that the delegation fees be reduced from Rs. 10 to Rs. 1, which was done. Even after all this, the Belgaum Session, made a profit for the Congress of Rs. 773, of which Rs. 745 were deposited in P.U.C.C. Bank, Rs. 25/- kept for contingencies with the Secretary and Rs. 1/- kept with the Treasurer, N. V. Herekar, for petty expenses !

Gandhiji receiving the charge as President from Mohamed Ali

Gandhiji with Gangadharrao Deshpande

The Session:

The Belgaum Session of the Indian National Congress saw the coming together of a cluster of personalities who helped steer the freedom struggle and have left a mark on our country. Besides Mahatma Gandhi, there were stalwarts like Motilal and Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpatrai and Rajagopalachari, Drs. Annie Besant and Sarojini Naidu, Chittaranjandas and Pandit Madan Mohan Malalviya, Saifuddin Kichalu and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Mohd. Ali & Maulana Shaukat Ali, Rajendra Prasad, Vallabhai Patel, Rangaswamy Iyengar and so many others.

Subhash Chandra Bose arriving at the session

The chemistry between these leaders was intense; the atmosphere was electric, the enthusiasm was awesome.

Contd….
Matter by Nitin Khot

The region was greatly influenced by Balgangadhar Tilak who visited Belgaum in 1906. Several leaders emerged here, including Gangadhar Rao Deshpande, Annu Guruji, Jivanrao Yalgi, Ramchandra Wadavi and Baburao Thakur.

During the swadeshi movement of 1905-08, Govindrao Yalgi was responsible for starting secret revolutionary associations. Belgaum was made headquarters of the State unit of Tilak’s Home Rule League.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak who gave the ‘cutting edge’ to the Indian National Congress, visited Belgaum in 1906 and met many like-minded individuals here – like Gangadharrao Deshpande, Kaka Kalelkar, et al. Tilak decided to hold a Conference in Belgaum to focus on pivotal issues of ‘Swarajya’.

Some elements who were opposed to Tilak tried to persuade Mahatma Gandhi not to attend this Conference, to which he had been personally invited by Kaka Kalelkar.

Getting to know of this opposition Gangadharrao Deshpande wrote an anguished letter to Gandhiji.

Gandhiji’s terse reply was on a small postcard – “Nothing but death can prevent me from going to Belgaum to attend the Conference”.

This was to be Gandhiji’s first visit to Belgaum – arriving, as he usually did by Third Class Compartment of a train on the 29th of April 1916.

Gandhiji worked hard, behind the scenes, to heal the split that had developed in the freedom movement after the 1907 Surat Congress Session. One Group had favoured lawful agitation, the other group in Swadeshi, a boycott of foreign goods, Swarajya, and more direct action. Tilak proposed a resolution that united both factions. Gandhiji spoke in favour of Tilak (on the 1st of May 1916) and an open split was averted.

A day earlier Gandhiji had spoken in Raviwar Peth (our main market) against untouchability.

In the 38th Congress Session at Kakinada which Mohammed Ali presided over, Gangadharrao Deshpande was elected Secretary along with Jawaharlal Nehru and Saifuddin Kichalu. Deshpande immediately proposed that the next session be held in the Karnatak Province. Mohd. Ali accepted the suggestion.

When the Mysore Raja – Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar backed out of hosting the Congress, Sadashivrao Karnad of Mangalore and Shrinivas Koujalgi of Bijapur staked the claims of their cities to host the Congress Session.

However, the fleeter footwork of Gangadharrao Deshpande of Belgaum won the day, by bringing in some merchants from Shahapur in Belgaum who were prepared to underwrite the expenses of the Congress to a tune of Rs. 30,000. That clinched the venue of the 39th Session of the Congress. This move was enough to convince Gandhiji and the senior leaders that Belgaum was indeed a Little Town with a Large Heart.

Gandhiji Addressing Open Session at Belgaum 1924 session

For a small town of 36,000 to attempt to host an All India Congress Session was an audacious move – something like a small country wishing to host the Olympics today.

Gandhiji Evening walk in BGM in 1924

But the 39th Congress Session at Belgaum in 1924 proved to be one of the most momentous sessions.

By Nitin Khot

These oldie classics were found by Sahir Kittur, but we could not determine the year of the photos.
Photo 1 This one was easy St.Mary’s church Camp

Identify this Church 1

Photo 2

THE FORT CHURCH (this no more exists)

– called Christ Church was 112 ft long with a pleasing interior, built in 1833 and contained several monuments and memorial windows. The church front was in black marble. Its apse was designed by General Merriman R.E. to commemorate the services of Mr. Charles James Mason, of the Bombay Civil Service, who when Acting Political Agent, South Maratha Country, was murdered by the chief of Nargund in 1858. The Apse and Memorial window at the east of the church were erected by Mason’s friends in affectionate memory of his public worth. Of the 6 other tablets, 1 is to Lieutenant W.P.Shakespeare, A.P.Campbell & Ensign W.Caldwell who fell in Kolhapur and Savantvadi insurrection in 1844.

Identify this Church 2

These images were searched by Bramhanand Chipre from Ebay.

Belgaum fort 1945

The rampart from inside the fort

All images found on Ebay by Team AAB.

Kamal Basti in 1860

Safa masjid in Fort

These ares some images of the temples as seen in 1860. No one knows where are these located today and whether they have been demolished.

Team AAB did try to get info but hard luck no information was available regarding these temples whether they really existed in the Fort.

Photos found on Ebay.

All these photos have been taken in 1860 and team AAB found this on Ebay.

Northern entrance to the Palace....., fort, Belgaum (B.C. 15- Maratha Mandal guest house)

Brig Genl. Neyland's bungalow some where in camp

This is yet another exclusive content by AAB (thanks Sahir).

The plan layout of Belgaum fort. I don’t know whether the authorities here also have this one.

This was found in the book Military Reminiscences written by Col.James Welsh in the year 1830. Google had digitized this whole book and we are happy to share with you.

Many readers will think this blog is a history blog, but AAB promises to get All the important information about Belgaum, may it be part of history or present.

Google Book link

Thanks to Aziz for this classic photo.

Now can you tell what is this?

This is the Kote Kere, the lake. This photo must be taken in early 1940′s that what elder people told this blog.