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"Bhatkal" also called "Al Nawayah " in historical texts is a port town in the Uttara Kannada District of the Indian state of Karnataka. The town of Bhatkal lies on National Highway 66 (India), which runs between Mumbai and Kanyakumari, and has one of the major railway stations along the Konkan Railway line, which runs between Mumbai and Mangaluru. This place is sometimes referred to as "Mini Dubai".
In its early days, Bhatkal was majorly inhabited by the followers of Jain and Hindu religions, but gradually people from other religions and cultures bean to settle here. Bhatkal was named from after Jain Grammarian, Bhattakalanka, who hailed from Hadwalli village, presently a town on the state highway toward Jog Falls. With Sharavathi river flowing a few miles to its north, the town is located along the shores of the Arabian Sea, Bhatkal . Despite its strategic location, Bhatkal was the main factor behind the erratic history of the countryside in the area. Bhatkal witnessed the rise and fall of several dynasties and rulers. It was a part of the Hoysala Empire, from 1291 to 1343, before falling into the hands of the Vijayanagara Empire. After the disintegration of the latter, the much-coveted town of Bhatkal was brought under the control of the Saluva dynasty (Jain) rulers based in Hadwalli.
Numerous temples and bases were constructed during the reign of the Saluvas. Vestiges of this period can be found in Mudbhatkal, where a few temples are still standing as a testament to the magnificence of that era. The Nawayath arrived on the West Coast of India from countries like Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, etc. as traders of spices, leather, jewelry, and Arabian horse. They chose to settle down here and married into another trading community of India, the Jains, who had been converted to Islam more than 1,000 years ago. This led to the emergence of a new community. The people belonging to this community was characterized by the unique facial features that are typical of the Arabs and the fair skin tone of the Jains.
Chola emperors under Aditya I, his son, Parantaka I, and Sundara Chola, also known as Parantaka Chola II, initially invaded and conquered territories in Kannada country, between Gangavadi on the Mysuru plateau and Bhatkal on the Sahyadri Coast, between 880 CE and 975 CE. They later built the Solesvara Temple to commemorate their victory over the region.
The Portuguese also marked their presence in Bhatkal in the beginning of the 16th century. Krishnadevaraya, emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, allowed them to build a fort in the town in 1510. From the Keladi rulers, Bhatkal was passed on to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Hyder Ali made Bhatkal the main base on the Canara Coast for his newly built Naval Force. Tipu Sultan made Bhatkal one of his important ports, and built a Mosque and a street named after him. One of the wives of Tipu Sultan was from Bhatkal. Bhatkal later came into the hands of the British Empire in India in 1799 after the death of Tipu Sultan, who fought to the death in a battle against the British.
Bhatkal is well connected to other cities and states in India by roads and railways. The National Highway 66 (India) crosses the town, which has a major impact on its development. Under the Konkan Railway, many trains run day and night to and from the town. The railway station has two platforms . The nearest airports to Bhatkal are Mangalore International Airport and Dabolim Airport. The town has one large, one medium, and one small fishing ports within its administrative limits.
As per the 2011 India census, Bhatkal Taluk had a population of approximately 1,61,576 out of which, 49.98% were males and the remaining 50.02% were females. Bhatkal has an average literacy rate of 74.04%, with 78.72% and 69.36% of make and female literacy, respectively. Around 11% of the town's total population is under the age of 6 years. Scheduled Castes constitute 8.87% and Scheduled Tribes constitute 5.67% of the total population.
The local economy chiefly depends on tourism and fishing. Bhatkal also has imported goods markets, including the Dubai Market and the Mirchi Gully. More than 70℅ of Nawayath youths are employed
have a business in the Middle East, Europe, and America,
living in various metropolitan and large cities in India.
Bhatkal is a State Assembly constituency in the Uttara Kannada district and the Coastal Karnataka region of Karnataka. It is a part of the Uttara Kannada Parliamentary constituency. Sunil B. Naik of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is the incumbent MLA from the Bhatkal Constituency.