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Beed (Marathi pronunciation: iːɖ is a city and headquarters of eponymous Beed district of
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 ...
state in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.


History

Beed is a historical city of possibly medieval origin. Its early history is obscure. Historians speculate, based on archaeological remains, that the city might have been founded by the Yadava rulers (1173–1317) of Devagiri ( Daulatabad). Beed was later governed by the Nizams during the period of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
. Operation Polo, the code name of the Hyderabad "Police Action", was a military operation in September 1948 in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the State of Hyderabad and overthrew its Nizam, annexing the state into
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Beed remained in annexed Hyderabad state until 1956 when it was included in Bombay Presidency. On 1 May 1960
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 ...
state was created on a linguistic basis, and Marathi- & Muslim-dominated Beed district became part of Maharashtra.


Foundation and name

The early history of Beed is unknown and there are contradictions in the historical accounts concerning its foundation and early history. According to legend, Beed was an inhabited place in the period of
Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...
and Kurus as ''Durgavati''. Its name was subsequently changed to ''Balni''. Champavati, who was sister of
Vikramaditya Vikramaditya (Sanskrit: विक्रमादित्य IAST: ') was a legendary king as mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi, Vetala Panchavimshati'' and ''Singhasan ...
, after captured and renamed it as ''Champavatinagar''. After that the city fell to
Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...
, Rashtrkuta and
Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...
dynasties before falling to
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
rule. However, some scholars say that it was possibly founded by the Yadava rulers of Devagiri ( Daulatabad). ''Tārīkh-e-Bīr'' (history of Beed) mentions that
Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...
named it ''Bir'' (
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
بئر meaning 'well') after building a fort and several wells in and around the city. Ground water was abundant in the city and when wells were built, water was found just several feet down. Until recent times, wells were abundant in the city. They became less important due to a modern system of water supply, hence subsequently most of them were filled. It is unclear as to how the present name Beed came into use. There are at least two different traditions. The first tradition says that since the district is situated at the foot of Balaghat Range as if it is in a hole, it was named as ''Bil'' (बील Marathi for hole) which in course of time corrupted to ''Bid''. According to the second tradition a ''Yavana'' (यवण) ruler of ancient India named it ''Bhir'' (Persian ٻھېڔ for water) after finding water at a very low depth and Bhir might have become Beed in course of time. The first tradition seems to be untrue, because with no angle, the entire district can be called a 'hole'. Only the north eastern part of the district is at lower heights and a vast area of 10,615 km2 can not be called a 'hole' just because of slight depression. Furthermore, ''Bil'' (बील hole) in Marathi is spoken for a deep and narrow hole and not for a slight depression. The second tradition though have some distortion, appears to be true and in accord with ''Tārīkh-e-Bīr'' of Quazi Muhammad Qutubullah (1898). The word 'Yavana' in early
Indian literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India has 22 officially recognised languages. Sahitya Akadem ...
meant a
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
or any foreigner. At a much later date it was frequently applied to the
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
invaders of India. It is quite possible that
Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...
may have been referred to in this tradition as Yavana ruler. Muslims ruled the
Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...
for centuries and almost all Muslim rulers had Persian as their court language. It seems that Arabic word 'Bir' was eventually pronounced 'Bhir' in the Indian accent and the people mistakenly took this
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
word as Persian since the court language of the rulers was Persian. Until recent times after independence, the city was called 'Bir' and 'Bhir' in the official documents.


In mythology

According to legend, when
Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...
, demon king of ''Lanka'' (
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
), abducted
Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...
(wife of
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
deity
Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...
) and was taking her to Lanka, ''Jatayu'' (eagle) tried to stop him. Ravana cut its wings and wounded Jatayu fell on the ground. When Rama reached there in search of his beloved wife, Jatayu told him the whole story and died. The place where he died is said to be in Beed city and ''Jatashankar'' temple is standing at the place, which is; according to scholars, possibly built by Yadavas of Devagiri. However, Jatashankar temples are abundant in other parts of India with same narrations. Another legend also narrates that Beed was called ''Durgavati'' in the period of Pandavas and Kurus who fought a legendary war of
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
.


Early history

Early history of the Beed is obscure until it became part of Tughluq empire. If the city was founded in Yadava era then possibly it happened in king Singhana's (1210–47) period, when Yadava dynasty was at its height. Singhana may have built Kankaleshwar temple with a small surrounding city. Beed came under Muslim rule for the first time in 1317 when Qutb-ud-Din Mubarak Shah (1316–20), the last Khalji, captured Devagiri and Yadava dynasty was ended. Beed remained under Khaljis until 1320 when Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughluq (1320–25) took over. In 1327
Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...
(1325–51) made Daulatabad his capital. Firishta narrates that Tughluq and his army camped near Bīr city in 1341 (AH 742
Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar (), also known in English as the Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the Ramad ...
) while on the journey back to Daulatabad from
Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 811,844 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal serv ...
. The emperor lost one of his teeth here, which he ordered to be buried with much ceremony and a tomb was constructed at the place. The tomb of Tughluq's tooth is in about to collapse condition on a hill near the village ''Karjani'' about 13 km south of the city. Junna Khan one of the governors of Tughluq empire is said to have resided in Beed for quite some time and introduced many reforms for the welfare of the ruled. He diverted the course of Bensura from west to east by constructing a protection wall around the city. Before his time there was no such protection for the city and it was situated on the eastern bank of the river. After that the population was largely shifted to the western part. In 1347 Beed came under Bahmani rule when Hasan Gangu (1347–58), founder of
Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...
, rebelled against Tughluq rule and ascended throne of Daulatabad as Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah.
Muhammad Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 13 ...
acted vigorously and came to Deccan to subdue the rebels. He recaptured the province of Daulatabad, of which, Beed was a part. Hasan Gangu and other insurgents fled to
Bidar Bidar ( ) is a city and headquarters of the Bidar district in Karnataka state of India. Bidar is a prominent place on the archaeological map of India, it is well known for architectural, historical religious and rich heritage sites. Pictures ...
and Gulbarga through Beed. Before the matter is fully settled a rebel broke in Gujarat and the sultan approached to Gujarat appointing Imad-ul-Mulk as governor in
Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...
. Meanwhile, Hasan Gangu attacked Daulatabad and marched towards Beed and captured it. After that the city remained under Bahmanid rule and is said to be flourished under Firuz Shah Bahmani's (1397–1422) rule. During the reign of Humayun Shah Bahmani (1451–61), famous as ''Zālim'' (cruel), his brother Hasan Shah rebelled and came to Beed. A Jagirdar (feudatory) of Beed, Habibullah Shah was his supporter. Humayun Shah sent an army and after a fierce fighting in the grounds of Kankaleshwar temple, the rebellion armies defeated Humayun's army. Humayun became furious and sent another force to defeat the rebels. This time rebels were defeated, Habibullah Shah was killed and captured Hasan Shah was taken to the capital and was put before a hungry lion.


1600 to 1858

After the decline of Bahmani Sultanate, the city fell to Nizam Shahi rulers of Ahmadnagar. Several wars were fought in Beed between Nizam Shahi and Adil Shahi rulers of Bijapur to take the control of Beed. In 1598 Mughals captured Beed from Chand Bibi of Ahmadnagar. A year later Nihang Khan retook it but soon it fell again to
Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...
. Mughal army camped here for some time. During the reign of
Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...
(1569–1627), Jan Sipar Khan was administering Beed city. He constructed Jama Masjid of Beed in 1036 AH (1627).
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
(1658–1707), appointed Haji Sadar Shah in Beed as ''Naib-e-Subadar'' (assistant of governor). Sadar Shah did some good changes and constructions in the city. He built ''Eid Gah'' (place of Eid prayer) in 1702 and a new habitation on the heights in the eastern part as ''Ghazi Pura'' (now Islam Pura) in 1703. The remains of it are still visible. He also constructed a citadel (1703) inside the old fort which was worn out after standing for several hundred years, from Tughluq period. A stone plate in Persian script at the main entry of Jama Masjid sets the year of construction of citadel by Haji Sadar Shah in the year 1115 AH (1703). In his period economy of the city also flourished. Chhagal (water container made from leather), Gupti (hidden sword in wooden stick) etc. made in Beed were popular in the region. Beed was quite a beautiful city during Bahmanis and Mughals. ''Tārīkh-e-Bīr'' mentions many gardens and amenities of these periods. Until the 1960s there were two well maintained gardens in the city. In 1724 Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah founded Asaf Jahi kingdom, seizing Deccan against the rule of Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (1719–48). In Nizams' era no major addition or construction was done to the citadel because the old building was serving the purpose and the citadels were losing importance with the advent of modern fighting techniques.
Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...
ruler of
Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...
, Mahadji Scindia (1761–94) was missing after a severe injury and defeat in the third war of
Panipat Panipat () is an industrial , located 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-44 in Panipat district, Haryana, India. It is famous for three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761. The city is also known as ...
in 1761. His wife, who is said to be from Beed, went to a Muslim
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
of Beed Mansur Shah and told him to prey for the return of Mahadji. When Mahadji returned to Gwalior, he called the Sufi to Gwalior but he refused and sent his son Habib Shah instead. Mahadji remained thankful to Mansur Shah for all his life. His tomb is in eastern Beed which was built by Scindias. Reign of sixth Nizam Mir Mahbub Ali Khan (1869–1911) proved eventful in the history of Beed. Rebels, great famine and floods happened in his reign. Jagirdars were replaced by collectors (''Awwal Taluqdars'') in his father's reign and Jivanji Ratanji came as the first collector of Beed in 1865. Districts were created and Beed district was formally settled in 1883. He constructed one habitation and market ''Mahbub Gunj'' (now Hiralal Chowk) on the eastern bank of Bensura, remains of that can still be seen. After a very scarce rainfall in three successive years 1897–99, great famine occurred in Beed in 1900. Thousands of cattle and Hundreds of humans died of starvation and thousands migrated to the neighbouring parts of the country. The census in 1901 reported remarkable decrease of 150,464 in the population of Beed district. Mir Osman Ali Khan (1911–48) came after death of Mahbub Ali Khan as seventh and the last Nizam of Hyderabad State. His period was full of reforms in the government system, education and healthcare. Kotwalis, Police Stations, Schools, Hospitals and Dispensaries were built during his period. He established big libraries with the high schools in the state. Nizams were allies of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
in India. During the countrywide movement for independence, in 19th and 20th centuries they tried to suppress the feelings of
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
which were spreading due to nationwide efforts of the freedom fighters.
Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
s in the state of Hyderabad did not like Nizam's friendship with the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. Beed was the place in Marathwada region where freedom struggle first started in 1818. In 1818 during the rule of Nizam Sikandar Jah (1803–29) first rebel broke out in Beed under the leadership of Dharmaji Pratap Rao. Nizam sent the Risala of Navab Murtaza Yar Jang under the command of British Lieutenant John Sutherland. The rebel leader and his brother were captured and a long run rebellion movement in Beed came to an end.


1858 to Present

Another rebellion broke in 1858 but all the rebels were captured. After this many small incidents of defiance happened against
British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...
but all were suppressed by force. A major rebel broke under the leadership of Baba Sahab alias Rao Sahab Deshpande in 1898. The important leaders of this movement were
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
s of Beed and the Deshastha Brahmin officials in police and judiciary also supported the movement. . But after a short fight the rebels were captured and the movement came to an end. But the feelings of defiance could not be suppressed and different movements under the leadership of Swami Ramanand Teerth continued in Marathwada and the state. After independence, Mir Osman Ali Khan was reluctant to join India. Finally, on 12 September 1948 a military action Operation Polo was launched and the state was easily captured within six days as Nizam's army resisted little. Although Operation Polo caused relatively few casualties, the following communal carnage was all the more terrible. Beed was one of the eight worst hit districts in the state. After calm down, a team visited the town on behalf of Indian government and sent a report to the centre. According to official
Sundarlal Report
27,000–40,000 Muslims were killed throughout the state. Horrible crimes of abduction and rape of Muslim women's & girls, loot, arson, desecration of masjids, forcible conversions and seizure of houses and lands were mentioned in the report. Some unofficial reports, however, puts the figure of killings up to 50,000 and some even to a few hundred thousand. A plebiscite was held shortly after the military action in which the population voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining India. Many Muslims during and after 1948 migrated to
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. The city has witnessed communal strife several times in modern India. In 1949 Bendsura Project was launched to provide drinking and irrigation water supply to the city and nearby villages. The project was completed in 1956. In 1952, Beed ''Nagar Pālika'' (Municipal Council) was established under the undivided Hyderabad State. In 1962, a year after the creation of Maharashtra State, Beed District Council (''krushna temple'') came into being after dissolving all the local bodies.


Beed district consists of 11 talukas (tehsils)

# Ambajogai # Ashti # Beed # Dharur # Georai # Kaij # Majalgaon # Parli Vaijnath # Patoda # Wadwani # Shirur Kasar These talukas are administrative subdivisions that help manage the region's governance and services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure


Topography


Location

Beed is situated on the
Deccan Plateau The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura Range, Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound ...
, on the banks of the ''Bensura'' river (also called ''Bendsura'' or ''Bindusara''). Bensura is a sub-tributary of
Godavari The Godavari (, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...
river originating in the hills of Balaghat range, about 30 km south-west of Beed near the village of ''Waghira''. The river divides the city into smaller eastern and larger western parts. Balaghat Range stretches very close, up to 10 km south of the city resulting in undulating terrain in the eastern part of the city. Soil is coarse and rocky largely consisting of basalt. Thin layers of fertile black soil are also seen in the northern part of the city. Bensura is a rapid and seasonal river. ''Bendsura Project'' (capacity 7.106 mm3) was constructed on the river in 1955 near the village ''Pāli'', about 10 km south of the city. At some places in the city, the river is narrow and looks like a stream. The river has slop due to undulating terrain which contributes to violent floods when it rains heavy. Floods have repeatedly caused substantial loss of property and life in the history of the city, most recently on 23 July 1989 when a massive flooding of three habitations in the city caused a number of dead or missing and property losses of millions of rupees. Beed falls under Seismic Hazard Zone-III in India according to the new seismic hazard map updated in 2000 by th
of Indian Standards''
The city was under Zone-I prior to this update. Beed is 400 km from Mumbai.


Climate

The city has
Semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...
, hot and dry climate consisting mainly of three seasons. Summers are long, ranging almost five months from mid February to June. Temperatures in summer fall between 31 °C (87.8 °F) – 40 °C (104 °F) (1997 average). However, it may reach higher than 40 °C in searching summer. May is the hottest month of a year with an average day temperature of 42 °C (107.6 °F). Winters are short with temperatures ranging within 12 °C (53.6 °F) – 20 °C (68 °F). December is the coldest month in a year. Occasionally, temperature may fall as low as 3 °C (37.4 °F) or 4 °C (39.2 °F) due to northern cold waves. Relative humidity in winter is the lowest and December is the driest month in a year with the relative humidity as low as 30%. Rains are scarce and occur only during the
Monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
from mid June to September. Annual average rainfall is 66.6 cm (26.22 inches). The average rain fall has dropped 9.6 cm from the averages recorded during the 1900s. Average number of rainy days in a year is 41. September gets the maximum rainfall in a year while July has the maximum rainy days. Highest rainfall recorded in 24 hours (19.18 cm) occurred on 17 August 1887. Climate of Beed can be compared with that of Pune city's climate. Beed receives low rainfall because it is located in rain shadow area.


Demographics

At the time of the 2011 census, Beed Municipal Council has a population of 146,709. Males are 75,566 and females 71,143, for a sex ratio of 941 females per 1000 males. 13.60% of the population is under 6 years of age, and the child sex ratio is 854. Beed has a literacy rate of 89.34%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 9.51% and 0.90% of the population respectively. Death rate is 3 which is lower than the national average of 8.2. Infant mortality rate is 71 per thousand live births which is much higher than the national average of 54.6 deaths for thousand live births. Maternal mortality rate however, is 1 which is extremely lower than the national average of 540. Beed district has got the lowest
sex ratio A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...
in Maharashtra State. Beed has the lowest male-female sex ratio in the age group of 0–6 years (801 as against 1000 male children) as per the 2011 census. Maharashtra's sex ratio in the age group of 0–6 years is 883 girls as against 1000 boys. Even this small town is an evidence of India's religious and cultural diversity. 69.15 km2 of land is home for Hindu, Muslim,
Buddhist 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 ...
, Jain,
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and
Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
communities. A calculated Hindu population in the town comprises around 54%. 12,307 Hindus were living in the town in 1901, which was 69.64% of the then population. Moreover, Jain population was also considered as Hindu at that time. 4,993 Muslims were living in the town in 1901 which was 28.25% of the then population. Today Muslims are nearly 41% of the population in the city. Buddhists and Jains are small minorities. At the time of the 2011 census, 52.35% of the population spoke
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 ...
, 35.47%
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 ...
, 7.80%
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 2.32% Marwari as their first language.


Culture

There are no public places in the city except cinema halls and a small, little maintained garden. Till few years back there were seven cinema halls, but now in 2018 only two are remaining; namely 'Asha' and 'Santoshimata'. Two parks were maintained until 1969 by the municipal council.


Economy

Beed has a growing economy with a rapid growth. In 1997, Sarma committee listed Beed as one of the 100 most rapid growing districts in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. After this listing the government of India and the government of Maharashtra specified Beed town as 'D' zone and declared tax holiday and concessions to lure the investors in the district. Without proper arrangement of water supply and transport facility, this declaration resulted nothing. Economic backwardness is attributed to the lack of natural resources, frequent droughts, lack of good transport facilities and corruption. Economy entirely depends on monsoon dependent agriculture, service sector and small businesses. Beed is one of the poorest districts of Maharashtra (in the bottom 10 in 2019-2022) with Per capita GDP of Rs 128,660 (about $1812) which was much lower than the
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 ...
State average GDP Rs 229,488 (about $3232) in 2019-2020.


Health

Beed was in the international news in August 1994 for the outbreak of
Bubonic Plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...
. To some researchers, though, the disease detected here resembled Plague but could not be substantiated as per
WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...
criteria.


Media and communication

More than a dozen
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 two
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 ...
dailys are published from the city. Beed Reporter (newspaper), Champavati Patra, Lok Prashna, Lokasha, Parshv Bhumi and Zunjar Neta are major Marathi dailies.alhilal times one and only Urdu news paper daily published Local and regional news, crime stories and articles on local issues and politics are common features of the dailies. Marathi, Urdu, Hindi and English dailies including national dailies publishing from different cities of India also have consumers in city. No magazines are published in the city, but all the major national magazines do have readers.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (commonly known as BSNL) () is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, central public sector undertaking, under the ownership of Department of Telecommunications, which is part of the Ministry of Communicatio ...
(BSNL), a state owned telephone service provider, has more than 15,000 customers. It has also introduced broadband
internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
lines. Some enthusiasts have started a local cable channel ‘Beed News’. It provides local news coverage and plays movies rest of the time.
All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...
Beed, at FM 102.9 MHz, broadcasts news, film and folk music, programmes of ''Vividh Bharti'' and programmes based on agriculture and health education.


Issues and challenges in the 21st century

Beed district as a whole — * Population below poverty line = 32.4% * Sex ratio = 912 (rural)
file:SBB Giruno by Stadler (46959878215).jpg, Gender symbols on a public toilet in Switzerland, alt=Image shows male and female symbols incised deeply A gender symbol is a pictogram or glyph used to represent sexual differentiation, sex and gender ...
/
file:SBB Giruno by Stadler (46959878215).jpg, Gender symbols on a public toilet in Switzerland, alt=Image shows male and female symbols incised deeply A gender symbol is a pictogram or glyph used to represent sexual differentiation, sex and gender ...
* Estimated coverage of safe drinking water (habitations) = 66.1% * Villages not connected by paved roads = 52.82% Beed has a long history as a neglected and backward area. Industrial and economic backwardness, lack of good transport facility, electricity and literacy were the issues in the 1960s and they are the same even today. Many elections have been fought with the issue of
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
line facility. In the recent times the list of issues has gone up with a shortage of drinking water supply and electricity, frequent droughts, failing crops and suicide of farmers, unemployment, corruption and increasing crimes. Beed also records highest power theft in Maharashtra. Nearly 60% power supplied to the district is stolen before it can reach to the consumers who pay for it. Further, unpaid electricity bills runs to almost
Rupee Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currency, currencies of Indian rupee, India, Mauritian rupee, Mauritius, Nepalese rupee, Nepal, Pakistani rupee, Pakistan, Seychellois rupee, Seychelles, and Sri Lankan rupee, Sri Lanka, and of former cu ...
s 4540 million (about $113 M) . The district ranks 143rd in literacy in India based on IndianNgos.com research and analysis of 586 districts throughout India. On
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
(HDI), using
UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
method, Beed ranks 18th out of 30 districts in the State of Maharashtra, with 0.47 HDI. It is 7th poorest district in the state with Human Poverty Index (HPI) of 21.21. Deforestation, desertification, frequent droughts, shrinking water reservoirs and extreme shortages of drinking water, especially in rural areas are major issues which needs urgent attention. Beed district, according to the official statistics, has only 2.47% forest area, that too of lower quality. Attitude of people is the major concern. As the literacy is quite low, bringing change starts with change in the outlook and behaviour of people.


Historical buildings

Beed is home to several historical buildings, some of the noteworthy are: The Kanakaleshwar Temple which is one of old temples in beed. It is a temple of Lord Shiva. It is surrounded by water from all sides. The Khandoba temple is situated on the eastern hills. Built in Hemadpanti style. Two symmetrical, octagonal ''dīpmal'' (tower of light) rising 21.33 meters (70 ft) are standing in front of the temple. Towers have carved figures of humans and animals, now most of them defaced. There are two stories about the construction of this temple. One says that it was built by Sultanji Nimbalkar a Jagirdar of Nizam era. The other says that it was built by Mahadji Scindia. ''Tārīkh-e-Bīr'' (History of Beed) mentions it with Nimbalkar. The Jama Masjid (Grand Mosque) is a Masjid situated in the centre of the city at ''Quila'' (fort) and is one of the largest Masjids of Beed city. It was built during the period of
Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...
Jahāngīr (1605–27) by his official in Beed ''Jān Sipār Khan'' in 1627 (1036 Islamic Year). Constructed completely in stone, it has ten huge domes and four minarets. All the domes are having different designs from inside and does not match with each other. The Shahinshah Wali tomb: Shahinshah Wali was a
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
of the 14th century from Chishtiya clan. He came to Beed during the rule of
Muhammad Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 13 ...
. His tomb and surrounding areas were built in different periods from 1385 to 1840. The details can be seen in the history of Beed. It is situated on the eastern elevations. Each year an ''Urs'' (fair) is held here on 2nd day of ''Rabi’ Al-Awwal'', third month of
Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar (), also known in English as the Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the Ramad ...
. The Mansur Shah tomb: Mansur Shah was 18th century Sufi of ''Suharwardy'' clan of Sufis. He is said to be a ''Dharma Guru'' (spiritual teacher) of Mahadji Scindia. His tomb is in the eastern part of Beed near Khandeshwari temple. The dome of the shrine is made of marble.


Notable people

* Sundarrao Solanke, Indian politician who served as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra state * Gopinath Munde, senior leader of the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
(BJP) * Pankaja Munde, Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party * Dhananjay Munde, member of
Maharashtra Legislative Council The Maharashtra Legislative Council or Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India. Maharashtra Legislature Leaders Party Group Leader & Chief Whip and Whip Location Th ...
, representing the
Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party is one of the List of political parties in India#State parties, state parties in India and is one of the major political parties in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra with a recognised state party statu ...
CP(Ajit Pawar) * Prakashdada Solanke, three times MLA from the Majalgaon Constituency * Suresh Dhas, member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council and former state minister Maharashtra * Vimal Mundada, Indian politician belonging to the
Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party is one of the List of political parties in India#State parties, state parties in India and is one of the major political parties in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra with a recognised state party statu ...
* Sanjay Bangar, cricket player and coach * Bhaskaracharya, famous mathematician * Makarand Anaspure, famous marathi comedy actor * Sachin Dhas, Indian cricketer u-19 represent India team in 2024


See also

*
Marathwada Marathwada () is a geographical region of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurang ...
* Sonesangavi * Kaij


References


Further reading

* Qazi, M. Q. Bīri (1898): ''Tārīkh-e-Bīr (History of Beed in Urdu).'' * Nathapuri, Abdul Hamīd (1998): ''Zila Bīr Kī Tarīkh (History of Beed District in Urdu).'' Asian Printing Press, Gulshan Colony, Jogeshwari (W) Mumbai.
''Gazette of Beed district (1969)''
Gazetteers department–Bhir (Beed). Out of print but available online at the government of Maharashtra web site.
Official website of Beed district

''The Imperial Gazetteer of India.''
New edition, published under the authority of His Majesty's secretary of state for India in council. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1908–1931. Editors – Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, 1840–1900 /Cotton, James Sutherland, 1847–1918 ed./Burn, Richard, Sir, 1871–1947 joint ed./Meyer, William Stevenson, Sir, 1860–1922. joint ed. *
Frontline
Volume 18, Issue 05, 3–16 March 2001 *
Frontline
Volume 18, Issue 05, 3–16 March 2001


External links


Official website of the Beed district
{{Geographic location , Centre = Beed , North = Aurangabad, Jalna , Northeast = Parbhani , East = Ambajogai, Parli , Southeast = Latur,
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Cities and towns in Beed district Talukas in Maharashtra Cities in Maharashtra