Yavatmal district

Yavatmal (also Yeotmal) is a district of the Indian state

of Maharashtra. It is located in the region of Vidarbha, in the east-central part of the state. The district is 18.60% urban

as of 2001.
 
Its headquarters are in Yavatmal town.
 
 * 1 History
 * 2 Geography

 * 3 Demographics
 * 4 Economy
 
History
It is believed that Yavatmal, along

with the rest of the erstwhile Berar province, was part of the legendary kingdom of Vidarbha mentioned in the Mahabharata.

Berar also formed part of the Mauryan Empire during the reign of Asoka (272 to 231 BCE). Berar later came under the rule of

the Satavahana dynasty (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE), the Vakataka dynasty (3rd to 6th centuries), the Chalukya dynasty

(6th to 8th centuries), the Rashtrakuta dynasty (8th to 10th centuries), the Chalukyas again (10th to 12th centuries), and

finally the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri (late 12th to early 14th centuries. A period of Muslim rule began when Ala ud din

Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, conquered the region in the early 14th century. The region was part of the Bahmani Sultanate, which

broke away from the Delhi Sultanate in the mid-14th century. The Bahmani Sultanate broke up into smaller sultanates at the

end of the 15th century, and in 1572 Berar became part of the Nizam Shahi sultanate, based at Ahmednagar. The Nizam Shahis

ceded Berar to the Mughal Empire in 1595. As Mughal rule started to unravel at the start of the 18th century, Asaf Jah I,

Nizam of Hyderabad seized the southern provinces of the empire (including Berar) in 1724, forming an independent

state.
 
In 1853, the district together with the rest of Berar came under the administration of the British East

India Company. Berar was divided into East and West Berar with Yavatmal district being included in East Berar. In 1864,

Yavatmal along with some other talukas was formed into the district initially called Southeast Berar and later renamed Wani.

In 1903, Berar was leased by the Nizam of Hyderabad to the British Government of

India.
 
Geography
Yavatmal is located at 20.4° N 78.13° E.[1] It has an average elevation

of 445 metres (1459 feet).
 
Yavatmal district is bounded on the north by Amravati District, to the northeast by

Wardha District, to the east by Chandrapur District, to the south by Andhra Pradesh state and Nanded District, to the

southwest by Hingoli District, and to the west by Washim District.
 
Cotton and wheat are the predominant crops

grown in the district.
 
Yavatmal District forms the southeast corner of Amravati Division, which corresponds to

the former British Raj province of Berar.
 
Yavatmal district comprises of sixteen tehsils namely Arni, Umarkhed,

Kalamb, Pandharkaoda, Ghatanji, Zari Jamani, Darwha, Digras, Ner, Pusad, Babhulgaon, Mahagaon, Maregaon, Yavatmal, Ralegaon

and Wani
 
The chief rivers flowing through the district are the Wardha and the Penganga. The Wardha is the only

river flowing through the district which is partly navigable. The Bembla and the Nirguda are the main perennial tributaries

of the Wardha which flow through the district.
 
Demographics
Marathi is the major language.

Other languages spoken are Banjari, Kolami. The dialect used here is known as the Berar dialect. About 61% of the people are

Hindu and 35% Muslim. In 1991, there were 2,568 Jains and 209 Christians.
 
As of 2001 India census, GRIndia

Yavatmal had a population of 122,906. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Yavatmal has an average

literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 74%. In

Yavatmal, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
 
Economy
Jowar and

cotton are the main produce of the district. Cotton and teakwood are the chief exports of the district.

Other items exported include lime, wooden furniture and oranges.
 
Education
There are

government medical and engineering colleges and other educational institutes. Yavatmal has number of educational facilities

which include Engineering, Medical, physical education institutes. The student population is increasing in the city which

come from all over the country now.