Marathwada () is a geographical region of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. It was formed during the Nizam's rule and was part of the then

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

. The region coincides with the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra. It borders the states of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

, and it lies to the west of the

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...

and east of Uttar Maharashtra regions of Maharashtra. The largest city of Marathwada is

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

. Its people speak

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

and

Deccani Urdu Deccani ( ''dakanī'' or ''dakhanī''; also known as Deccani Urdu, Deccani Hindi, and Deccani Hindustani) is an Indo-Aryan language variety based on a form of Hindustani spoken in the Deccan region of south-central India and is the native lan ...

(

Hyderabadi Urdu Hyderabadi Urdu () is a variety of Dakhini Urdu, spoken in areas of the former Hyderabad State, corresponding to the Indian state of Telangana, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka. It is nati ...

). Marathwada is known for its struggle for merger in the Maharashtra state, which is commemorated on 17 September as

Marathwada Liberation Day Marathwada Liberation Day, also known as Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din, is celebrated in Maharashtra on 17 September annually. It marks the anniversary of Annexation of Hyderabad, Marathwada's integration with India when the Indian military, libe ...

Etymology

The term ''Marathwada'' means ''the house of Marathi speaking people'', that is land occupied by the Marathi-speaking population of the former

Hyderabad state Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

during the period of

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

's rule. The term can be traced to 18th century state records of the

Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...

Demographics

Marathwada has total area of 64590 km² and had a population of 18,731,872 at the 2011 census of India.

Languages

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, the territory making up Marathwada had a variety of languages. 77.98% of the population spoke

, 9.56%

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, 6.49%

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and 3.20%

Lambadi Lambadi, Lambani, Lamani or Banjari is a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Banjara people across India. The language does not have a native script. Regional dialects are divided between the Banjara of Maharashtra (written in Devanaga ...

as their first language.

Religion

Hinduism is the majority religion in Marathwada, with Islam and Buddhism being significant minorities. Sikhism has a significant presence in Nanded, meanwhile Jains are present in urban areas of Marathwada such as Aurangabad, Jalna and Osmanabad. At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 76.67% of the population of Marathwada followed

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, 15.12%

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, 7.17%

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 0.22%

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and the remaining 0.82% of the population followed other religions or stated no religion.

Under Nizams rule

The region of Hingoli and Aurangabad were a major hub for the military stations and depot during the time of

as well as during the British rule. Also

took special work to build Dams, modify and renovate the existing underwater system, particularly in Aurangabad. Major works were undertaken to build railways (

Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway (NGSR) was a railway company operating in India from 1883 to 1950. The company began with a line built privately by the HEH, the Nizam, which was owned and operated by the company under a guarantee from the Hy ...

) connecting the city of Hyderabad to Bombay (now Mumbai) via Aurangabad. Handlooms and paper factories were established in Kaghzipura near Aurangabad. Religious sites were developed in

Khuldabad Khuldabad, also called Rauza, is a city (municipal council) and a Taluka of Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is known as the Valley of Saints, or the Abode of Eternity, because in the 14th century, several Sufi saints ...

. Temporary guest houses were built for Sikh devotees in Nanded which lies in ruins due to neglect by the government authorities. Also roads connecting to Ahmedabad were initiated.

Cities and districts

Major cities of Marathwada region

All the cities below have population of more than 100,000 with Aurangabad having 1.1 million inhabitants per the 2011 census. *

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the List of cities in Maharashtra, tenth largest city in the state and the List of cities in India by population, seventy-ninth most populated city in India. It is the second largest city in ...

Latur Latur (ISO: ''Lātūra''; formerly Ratnapur) is a city located in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra state of India country. Before 1982 Latur was a part of the Osmanabad district (now Dharashiv). The city is a tourist hub surrounded by many ...

Parbhani Parbhani (, ) is a city in Maharashtra state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Parbhani District. Parbhani is one of the largest cities in Marathwada region. Parbhani is around away from regional headquarters of Aurangabad w ...

Udgir Udgir is a city and Municipal Council in latur District in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is also the headquarters for Udgir Taluka One of the ten talukas in Udgir, and one of the largest cities in Aurangabad division of the Indian state ...

* Jalna *

Beed Beed (Marathi pronunciation: iːɖ is a city and headquarters of eponymous Beed district of Maharashtra state in India. History Beed is a historical city of possibly medieval origin. Its early history is obscure. Historians speculate, base ...

Osmanabad Osmanabad, officially known as Dharashiv, is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. The city is the administrative headquarter of Osmanabad district. It is the ...

* Parli *

Ambajogai Ambajogai is a city and tehsil in Beed district of Maharashtra State in India. Regarded as the cultural capital of Marathwada, the town features attractions like the Shivleni Caves and monuments honoring Marathi poet Mukundraj, the author of " ...

* Majalgaon

Districts

Hingoli Hingoli is a city and a municipal council in Hingoli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra Description Hingoli is a city and a municipal council in Hingoli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Hingoli is located at . Demographic ...

* Jalna *

There are

Municipal Corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

s at , Nanded-Waghala Municipal Corporation, Latur Municipal Corporation,

Parbhani Municipal Corporation The Parbhani Municipal Corporation is D grade Municipal Corporation of Maharashtra, the governing body of the city of Parbhani, situated beside the Collector Office, and District Court. The municipal corporation consists of democratically elect ...

and Jalna Municipal Corporation. Aurangabad Municipal corporation

Tourism

The state government recognises Aurangabad as the "Tourism Capital of Maharashtra". There are various tourist attractions in Aurangabad. Other places visited by tourists are:

Education

Marathwada has four government medical colleges, situated at Aurangabad, Latur, Nanded and Ambajogai. The region also has good government engineering colleges such as

Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad (GECA) is an autonomous engineering Institute in Maharashtra state of India. It is affiliated with the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and was established in 1960. The construction of ...

and

Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology (SGGSIE&T) is an institute of Engineering and technology in Nanded, Maharashtra, India. The institute was accorded full autonomous status in June 2004 It offers training in ten ...

, Nanded. It also has three major universities, being Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University at Aurangabad, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University at

, and Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University at Nanded. The foundation of agricultural research in Marathwada region of

was laid by the 7th

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 – 24 February 1967) was the last Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad State, the largest state in the erstwhile Indian Empire. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and rule ...

'' with the commencement of the Main Experimental Farm in 1918 in

. During the

's rule agricultural education was available only at Hyderabad; crop research centers for sorghum, cotton and fruits existed in Parbhani. After

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

, this facility was developed further by the Indian government which was renamed as Marathwada Agriculture University on 18 May 1972. The

Institute of Chemical Technology An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

(formerly known as UDCT) has a satellite campus located in Jalna which was established in 2018.

Droughts and suicide of farmers

Marathwada is affected by frequent anomalies in rainfall during Monsoon season, which accounts for almost 80 per cent of the annual rainfall. The average annual rainfall over the division is 882 mm. Almost three-fourths of the Marathwada division is covered by farmlands. Hence, drought continues to have a considerable impact on the life of farmers. In some Marathwada districts recurring droughts have forced people to drink fluoride-contaminated groundwater from borewells which has inflicted debilitating fluorosis on many. The region also sees high instances of farmer suicides. According to government records, 422 farmers in Marathwada committed suicide in 2014. This was because of their inability to bear crop losses and a financial quandary made acute by

water scarcity Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...

and an agrarian crisis. 2014 was the third consecutive year of low rainfall, and when rainfall did occur it was sometimes untimely and damaged crops. Of the 422 suicides, 252 cases were due to an inability to repay agricultural loans. There have been more than 117 farmer suicides in the first two months of 2017. According to a study by IIT Bombay, the severe or extreme droughts have frequently occurred in major portions of Marathwada, in the last few decades.

References

Notes Citations