Rebort Bruce Foote was born in 1834. He joined Geological Survey of India in 1858 and carried out geological studies in the erstwhile Madras and Bombay presidencey. Immediately after retirement from the Survey in 1891, he became State geologist to the former princely state of Baroda. In 1894, he was invited to head the newly founded geological department of the former princely State of Mysore. He was elected Fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1867. He died on 29th December 1912 at Calcutta.
In order to promote and develop Higher Studies and Research in the less advanced areas coming under our University jurisdiction the University in spite of her financial constraints and with no support forth-coming from any corner, thoughtfully planned to set up a Post-Graduate Centre in Bijapur with initiative that forthcame from Dr. S. Ramegowda, the then Vice-Chancellor. The P. G. Centre was established in September 1993 that was to be developed from the scratch, with two courses in Tourism and Art History. It is steadily developing.. Now having its own land of about 100 hectres and buildings, a good library and running five courses: one more P. G. Diplomas in Food Processing besides the first two and two post Graduate courses in Public Administration and History Archaeology leading for M. A. Degree in them.
In starting the P. G. Centre at Bijapur, the University had some clear, particular and beneficial objectives most appropriate, relevant to the area besides the one mentioned above. Bijapur region (before its bifurcation into two districts: Bijapur and Bagalkot), during the Early and Late historical periods, was the powerful political centre of two celebrated dynasties: the Early Chalukyas (6th 8th cent) and the Adilshahis (15th early 18th cent.) resepctively with their capitals at Badami and Bijapur. The region is therefore, densely dotted with splendid and magnificent monuments of two distinct architectural and religious traditions: the Hindu and the Indo-Islamic particularly at the capitals and their neighbourhood. Since the beginning of the 19th cent they became well known over years all over the world. Tourists of all sorts, scholars particularly Art Historians are ever increasingly visiting these places enjoying and appreciating the magnificence and grandeur of the monuments, the geniusness and the un-surpassing achievements of the architects, sculptors and artists on the one hand and the generous outlook and liberal patronage of the rulers and the peoples, on the other.
Keeping in view these facts the University initiated two Post-Graduate courses; Art History and Toursim to start with. Soon it was felt necessary to promote serious systematic study and research in the History and Culture of the region in particular and of Karnataka and India in general for appreciating the cultural heritage of the region through the ages against the national perspectives.
In order to create an awareness about the cultural heritage and potentialites of the region among the scholars of the region and to encourage the talented and competent to take up higher research and study, the Post Graduate centre therefore has been steadily undertaking some appropriate academic programmes: Village to Village Survey of Archaeological and Historical Remains in the region: Organisation of Seminars and Conferences; Special lectures; Exhibitions and others. Every village in Bijapur taluka has been surveyed and the village wise reports are prepared. Two special lectures by eminent scholars were arranged and published: Cannons of Indian Art by Dr. S. B. Deo and Kitab E. Navras by Dr. Krishna Kolhar Kulkarni.
As known well, Bijapur region is rich in the material cultural remains of all kinds and ages datable right from the Prehistoric times. It was Robert Bruce Foote a British Geologist, in the course of exploring and mapping the geological formations of southern and western India, traced in 1876, at Khyad and Dhanak-Sirur located on the banks of the Malaprabha, prolific sites with abundant Prehistoric stone tools of the earliest cultural stage namely the Early Palaeolithic tools. Since then occasionally there were chance discoveries of the remains of ancient human settlements by Individuals and Research Organisations in the Krishna-Malaprabha valley, during 1940-1950s. Chapekar, R. V. Joshi, the Kannada Research Institute of the then Bombay Govt, later of the Karnatak University. Archaeological Survey of India, have been noticing Prehistoric sites; ancient human habitation sites as for instance at many localities: Sapta Sagara, Galgali, Hipparagi, Rolli, Herkal on the banks of the Krishna: Rock-engravings of probably the Mesolithic cultural stage at Kullolli;, Early Palaeolithic sites at Nandikeshvara and Pattadakal, Mesolithic site at Nimbal, etc. All these discoveries substantially indicate that Bijapur was one of the most favourite regions even from the Prehistoric times for human settlements and development of their cultures through the ages.
Since 1951, therefore, R. V. Joshi of the Deccan College Post-Graduate & Research Institute, the Archaeological Survey of India, Govt. of India as a part of its programme of Village to Village Survey of Antiquarian Remains; R. S. Pappu of the Deccan College, have, as a part of their Ph.D. Programmes systematically and methodically explored and traced numerous sites with man made material relics and human settlements in the Bhima- the Krishna-the Ghataprabha valleys and studied them. Good scientific monographs and brief reports about their findings are published as for instance The Pleistocene Studies of the Ghataprabha valley (R.S. Pappu); Indian Archaeology, A Review, Annual Reports of the Kannada Research Institute (1939-1952) of the respective years, and in their research papers. Sundara and Erwin Neumayer have particularly studied Early Iron Age sites with Megalithic monuments and Upper-Palaeolithic, Mesolithic rock paintings in the region. The former as Archaeological Survey of India Official, has also carried out Village to Village Survey in Indi, Sindgi and Muddebihal taluks in particular as Ph. D. scholar, surveyed the megalithic monuments in hundreds at Terdal -Halingali (first noticed by A. M. Annigeri of the Kannada Research Institute), Akkaragal near Pattadakal, Kyddigeri-Chilapur adjacent to Aihole and the painted rock shelters in Kutakankeri, Aihole The megalithic monuments in plan and constructional method and the rock paintings of Mesolithic cultural stage in concepts, the types animals depicted and style, are comparatively quite distinct. In 1990-01. S. V. Padigar of the Dept. of Ancient Indian History And Epigraphy of the University, explored every village in Hungund taluka, bringing to light monuments and sites of considerable significance and importance.
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