.
Regional Setting
Nanded city with a jurisdiction of about 51.76 km, is the headquarters of
Nanded District in the Marathwada Region of Maharashtra state. It is the
second largest urban center in the Marathwada region (population of 4,30,733 as
per 2001 Census), after Aurangabad.
The district of Nanded lies in the border of Maharashtra and shares boundaries
with Yavatmal District in the north, Parbhani, Latur and Osmanabad Districts in
the west, Bidar District of Karnataka in the south and Nizamabad & Adilabad
Districts of Andhra Pradesh in the east. With population of 28,68,158
(2001 Census) is among the most backward districts of the state of Maharashtra.
It ranks 29th in terms of literacy rate (68.5 percent) in the state
of Maharashtra and has a workforce participation rate of about 42.8
percent. About 80 percent of the workforce is engaged in agriculture and
allied activities, 4 percent in cottage and household industries and about 5.15
percent in trade and commerce.
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1
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Total Number of Households
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523,539
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2
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Total Population
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28,68,158
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|
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Male
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14.76 lakh
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Female
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13.91 lakh
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3
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%age of Urban Population to Total Population
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28.29 %
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4
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Population density
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272
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5
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Literacy Rate
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68.52%
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|
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Male Literacy
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81.14%
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Female Literacy
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55.12 %
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Location & Regional Linkages
Nanded city is located at 18°30' North latitude and 77°10' East longitude at
about 489 meters above mean sea level. It is about 260 km each from
Aurangabad and Hyderabad and about 300 km from Nagpur.
Nanded is regionally linked by road to other urban areas by Major State Highway
(MSH) 6 to Degloor in the south east towards Hyderabad, MSH 2 to Bhokar in the
north east and Latur in the south east, MSH 3 to Hadgaon in the north, MSH 6 to
Madgaon in the north west, SH 44 to Purna in the west, and SH 223 to Kandhar
& SH 224 to Osmannagar in the south.
In terms of railway connectivity, Nanded is part of the South-Central Railway
Division of the Indian Railway. It lies on the Mumbai-Secunderabad
railway line. It is serviced by direct rail connectivity to Mumbai,
Secunderabad and Amritsar (via Delhi).
Nanded city has an airstrip, developed and maintained by Maharashtra Industrial
Development Corporation (MIDC) that is capable of handling only small private
aircrafts. While there is no commercial air traffic, it is currently used for
landing of private aircrafts and senior Government dignitaries visiting Nanded.
Government of Maharashtra through MIDC is presently upgrading the existing
infrastructure to facilitate regular commercial flights between Nanded and
other important cities. The closest regular airports are at Aurangabad
and Hyderabad
.
Climate and Rainfall
The climate of the city is generally dry except during southwest monsoon season
that sets in the first week of June and lasts about 2.5 to 3 months. The
average annual rainfall in the city is about 901 mm and temperature range is
between 46°centigrade (maximum) to 18°centigrade (minimum).
The city has fertile black cotton soil as in the rest of the Godavari
valley. The natural topography of the city converges towards the river on
either side
Nanded city has a long history of over 7 centuries. There has been no
specific exploration to establish the prehistoric accounts of Nanded, it finds
mention in accounts of the Vedic period in various literary sources.
As no exploration or excavation of any site in Nanded district has yet been
undertaken, it is not possible to give an account of the prehistoric period of
the region. Accounts of the Vedic period are however available in literary
sources. It is known through these sources that when the Aryans penetrated into
Deccan, the whole region was covered by a thick jungle, which extended
southward from Central India. As early as the Rig Veda, India’s seven divine
mother-rivers, are mentioned: the Sindhu (Indus), the Saraswati, and the
‘Five-Rivers’ of the Punjab. Later on, as the Aryans moved farther south,
the Ganges is mentioned among the great rivers. By the time of the Puranas, the
seven sacred rivers are no longer concentrated in the northwest, but extend
throughout India: the ancient Sindhu and Saraswati, the Ganges and the Yamuna
in the north, the Narmada and the Godavari in Central India, and the Kaveri
farther south. Sometimes the seven are called the Seven Ganges. The elevated
sites on the banks of the rivers were chosen for settlement. The Kashi Khanda
tells us, that the sage Agastya wandered the lovely banks of the Godavari
River. Agastya was the first Aryan who crossed the Vindhya and fixed his
residence on the bank of the Godavari. He was followed by several other sages
who established their hermitages in different regions of the south. The cluster
of hermitages on the bank of the Godavari was called jana-sthana to distinguish
it from the surrounding forest country. The sages were constantly harassed by
the original inhabitants of the region who are called Raksasas in the Ramayana.
It is said that during the Puranic days, Pandavas traveled through Nanded
district. Nandas ruled over Nanded through generations. Nanded was also ruled
by the Satavahanas, the Chalukyas, the Kakatiyas followed by the Yadavas who
were the last of the Hindu dynasties to have ruled over this part.
.
Medieval Period
During the very first invasion by the Mohammedan this territory subjugated to
them and after a few years it became a part of the fief of Malik Kafur, the
general of Alauddin Khilji. The Yadava rule was finally extinguished in 1318
A.D, after which the region began to be ruled by the governors appointed by the
emperors of Delhi. The district of Nanded thus for the first time passed under
Mohammedan rule. Later on the area came under the Bahamanis. The famous prime
minister of the Bahamanis Mahmud Gavan resided at Nanded and the Vazirabad part
of the city was established by him. With the disintegration of the Bahamani
Empire, Baridsahi, Nizamsahi, Imadsahi and Adilsahi ruled over parts of this
territory until it finally passed on to the Mughals. Many of the battles
between the Mughals and Malik Ambar were fought on this soil as is clearly
brought, out by Takamil-e-Akabar Nama. The Sahajahan Nama mentions Nanded as
the capital of the district of Telangana. During Aurangzeb’s time Nanded was
one of the sarkars of the subha of Bidar. In 1708, Bhadur Shah, son of
Aurangzeb accompanied by Guru Govind Singh the tenth spiritual leader of the
Sikhs came to Nanded. It was Guru Gobind Singh that preached amongst the Sikhs
that there need not be any spiritual leader for them and they should adopt the
holy Granth Saheb as their leader. A monument has been constructed at the place
where he breathed his last. A Gurudwara has also been constructed there –
Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Gurudwara (Sachkhand Gurudwara).
The district became the part of the Hyderabad kingdom in 1725 when the Nizam
permanently opted for the Deccan and continued to be so till 1947.
Modern Period
With India getting freedom and the consequent police action against the
Hyderabad State, the district forming part of the Marathwada region of the
Hyderabad State became part of the bilingual Bombay State and consequent upon
the creation of Maharashtra state, the district of Nanded became part of it.
The ancient city of Nanded developed on the north bank of the famed Godavari
River revered as the Ganga of Central India. Literary sources establish that
Godavari River had religious significance since the ancient times and sages
settled on its banks. When the Aryans moved into Deccan, the whole region
extending southward from Central India was covered by thick jungle. The
elevated sites on the bank of the river were chosen for the settlements. It is
probable that they would have settled in cluster of hermitages on the bank of
the Godavari (the site of the present city) marking the humble beginnings of
Nanded. The modest hermitages of the sages would have formed the landmarks around
which the settlement subsequently developed. The geographic limitation of the
Godavari forced the settlement to expand outwards moving away from its banks.
The movement paths of the inhabitants over a period of time evolved into
streets, lanes and by lanes. The settlement grew in an organic manner in
accordance with the topography of the area.
The copper plate found at Vasim, (known as Vatsagulma in ancient times)
indicates that Nanded was formerly known as Nandi-tat. The inscription clearly
mentions
The myths associated with the name of the city also point towards its
ancient roots. It is believed that the city derived its name from Nandi-tat,
the place on the banks of Godavari where Nandi, the Vahan of Shiva is said to
have performed penance. Some believe that Nine Rishis known as Nand performed
penance on the banks of the river and hence the name Nandi-tat. The present
name is a distortion of the original name.
The mention of the ancient city of Nanded is found in the
Lilacaritra, a treatise written about 700 years ago by Mhaimbhatta. It gives
the description of the idol of Narsimha in the town, which is still present in
the Historic area. This evidence establishes that the town is at least 700
years old. However detailed studies need to be undertaken to corroborate the
above observations and ascertain the historical growth and evolution of the
city.
