The Karnataka Cabinet has decided to rename the Mumbai-Karnataka region as ‘Kittur Karnataka’, the region comprises seven districts- Uttara Kannada, Belegavi, Dharwad, Vijayapura, Bagalkote, Gadag, and Haveri. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Maduswamy said, ‘It was decided to rechristen as we didn’t want to refer to the region as Bombay-Karnataka or Mumbai-Karnataka’. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced the decision after hoisting the national and Kannada flag at Kanteerava stadium during the Karnataka Rajyotsava in Bengaluru. The Hyderabad-Karnataka region has already been renamed as ‘Kalyana Karnataka’.  

There have been constant quarrels that arose due to border disputes, although they have been settled stills quarrels are taking place. According to the Chief Minister, there have been repeated claims made by Maharashtra politicians on these districts, further turned into frequent demands to merge the Belagavi district and a few border regions of Karnataka with Maharashtra. The claims have been put forward owing to the presence of a large number of Marathi-speaking population.

Belgaum or Belagavi consists large Marathi-speaking population but is a part of Karnataka. Taking this view into account, the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s claim on these areas and taking the matter to the Supreme Court have created controversy, on the other hand, Karnataka has declared Belagavi its second capital. The name ‘Kittu’ has been chosen by the authorities based on the historical taluk in Belagavi district ruled by Rani Chennamma who fought against British rulers.

The matter of renaming the region has been a long-standing demand of pro-Kannada organizations and it was still held in the erstwhile Bombay presidency before independence. The Chief Minister argued that the change should have happened in 1956 under the State Reorganisation Act. He stressed that the government is making significant efforts to improve the standard of living of people, regional disparity, and initiate development programs. He also told that the funds have already been allocated to Kalyana Karnataka development works and for Kittur Karnataka, plans will be made for the development of the same.

Belagavi is located in the northern part of Karnataka and shares a border with Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district. At the time of the British Raj, Belgaum was the part of Bombay Presidency. In 1956, the State Reorganisation Act had declared Belgaum and ten talukas of Bombay State a part of then Mysore State. The Maharashtra government raised an objection claiming that the number of Marathi-speaking population was much higher than the Kannada-speaking population. Maharashtra submitted a Memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs demanding to include a 7,000 square kilometer area consisting of 814 villages, urban settlements of Belagavi, Karwar, and Nippani. Karnataka, on the other hand, demanded to include Kolhapur, Sholapur, and Sangli districts from Maharashtra and Kasargod from Kerala. There have been efforts be made to resolve the issue. In 1960, a four-member committee was set up with two people from each side to study the facts and submit a report. During the discussion, Maharashtra consented to transfer 260 Kannada-speaking villages in return for 814 villages and three urban settlements, however, no final decision could be made. For a long time, several talks took place between the states but no amicable output came out.