Background:

=> The Belagavi/Belgaum region at the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

=> It comprises both Kannada and Marathi speakers.

=> In the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, which divided states on linguistic and administrative lines, made Belgaum a part of the then Mysore State (which was renamed Karnataka in 1973).

=> The area has been under dispute since then.

=> The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, formed in 1948, has been fighting for a merger of 800-odd villages of Belagavi in Karnataka with Maharashtra.

=> In 2014, the Karnataka government renamed Belgaum as Belagavi.

Historical significance of Belgaum:

=> The INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS(INC) held its thirty-ninth session at Belgaum(now Belagavi) on the 26th & 27th Dec. 1924.

=> Gandhiji was the president of the Congress only on one occasion and the session was held in Belgaum.

=> The Mahajan Commission was constituted in 1966 to resolve dispute regarding Belgaum district between Maharashtra and Karnataka.

=> The Commission in its report in August 1967 recommended that Belgaum remain with Karnataka.