North Maharashtra or Uttar Maharashtra is a geographical region in the

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

state of India. It comprises the

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nash ...

Dhule Dhule is a city located in the Dhule District in the northwestern part of Maharashtra state, India known as West Khandesh. Situated on the banks of Panzara River, Dhule is the regional headquarters of MIDC, RTO, and MTDC. The city is mainly kn ...

Nandurbar Nandurbar is a city and a municipal council in Nandurbar district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Nandurbar municipal corporation is the first municipal corporation. Nandurbar is an administrative district in the northwest corner of ( ...

, and

Jalgaon Jalgaon () is a city in Maharashtra, India. The city is located in North Maharashtra, and serves as the administrative headquarters of its namesake district, the Jalgaon district. Jalgaon is colloquially known as the “''Banana City of Ind ...

districts. It borders the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

to the northwest, Paschim Maharashtra to the south,

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

to the west, and

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a proposed state of central India, comprising the state's Amravati and Nagpur divisions. Amravati Division's former name is Be ...

and

Marathwada Marathwada () is a proposed state and geographical region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra. I ...

regions of Maharashtra to the east.

History

Chalukya kings ruled the southern part of region during ancient times. The 160 sq. meters fort in

Parola Parola is an urban area in the municipality of Hattula in Finland. It is located 110 kilometres north of Helsinki. Cities nearby include Hämeenlinna, Tampere, Lahti and Forssa Forssa is a town and municipality of Finland. It is locat ...

is believed that once belong to the father of

Queen of Jhansi Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...

. On 13 March 1795, Marathas defeated

Nizam of Ahmadnagar The Ahmadnagar Sultanate was a late medieval Indian Muslim kingdom located in the northwestern Deccan, between the sultanates of Gujarat and Bijapur. Malik Ahmed, the Bahmani governor of Junnar after defeating the Bahmani army led by general ...

and Dhule District became part of Maratha Kingdom. In 1956, Dhule became part of new established Bombay state and in 1960, after formation of Maharashtra, it became a part of Maharashtra.

Geography

In the summer season, the temperature in the region climbs to over 44 °C.

Rivers

This region has

Godavari River The Godavari (IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwa ...

at Nashik, Tapi, and Panjhara rivers in Dhule, and Narmada River in Nandurbar District.

Dams

Jalgaon District has

Hatnur Dam Hatnur dam is an earth fill dam in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, India. The dam is named after a nearby Hatnur village, which is present by side of the dam. Construction This Dam was constructed by the Government of India in 1982. Specific ...

on Tapti River. It also has Garbardi Dam near

Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

hill station, and Waghur Dam near

Jamner Jamner is a town and taluka in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra state in India. It is part of the Khandesh region. Politics Former Water resources minister of Maharashtra Girish Mahajan Girish Dattatray Mahajan is a politician from Jal ...

. Nashik District has Gangapur and Nandur-Madheshwar dams on the Godavari River.

Crops

* Jalgaon district: Jowar, Cotton, Lentils, Chickpeas, and Wheat * Nashik district: Rice, Jowar, Groundnuts, Onions, Wheat, Sugarcane, and Grapes *Dhule district: Cotton, Jowar, Groundnuts, Lentils, Wheat, and Chickpeas * Nandurbar district: Rice, Jowar, Groundnuts, Maize, Chickpeas, and other various lentils are some crops that farmers usually grow here.

Economy

The economy of the region relies on agriculture and common variety of crops include

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

lentils The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest produ ...

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

, peas, and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. Jalgaon District is informally called as "Banana Capital of India". The district is the largest producer of bananas in Maharashtra and grows the world's seventh largest banana crop. Nashik District is also a leader in grapes production; only Niphad and Dindori talukas are ahead of Nashik in grapes growing in this part of North Maharashtra.

Educational facilities

North Maharashtra University Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University is a university situated in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. Formerly North Maharashtra University was established on 15 August 1990 after separating it from the parent University of Pune. In 200 ...

serves the Dhule, Nandurbar, and Jalgaon districts, Its headquarters is located in

Culture

Marathi poet

Bahinabai Chaudhari Bahinabai Chaudhari (24 August 1880 – 3 December 1951) was a Marathi language poet from Jalgaon district of Bombay State, India. She became a noted poet posthumously. Early life Bahinabai was born in a Mahajan family at Asode in Khandesh reg ...

was born in Bhadli village near

Bhusawal Bhusawal is the largest municipal council (established in 1882) in the Jalgaon district of the Indian state of Maharashtra, situated along the banks of the river Tapi. The city emerged as a major railway junction during the British Raj, and s ...

in Jalgaon District. Poet Balkavi Thombre and Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, writers of many acclaimed poetry works by scholars of Marathi literature, were both from the region. Thombre was born in Jalgaon District and was considered a child prodigy. Shirwadkar also was a prominent novelist, his play ''

Natsamrat ''Natsamrāt'' (roughly translated as: ''The King of Theater'' or ''The Emperor of Actors'') is a 2016 Indian Marathi-language drama film starring Nana Patekar in the leading role. Based on a play by the same written by playwright Kusumagra ...

'' is considered as epic work of literature in the Maharashtra state. Although

Khandesh Khandesh is a geographic region in Central India, which includes parts of the northwestern portion of Maharashtra as well as Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh. The use of Khandeshi Language (a.k.a. the Ahirani Language) is prevalent in t ...

in northern Maharashtra is now part of

, its culture is similar to that of North Indian culture.

References

{{reflist Regions of Maharashtra