Yavatmal ( is a city and

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

in the Indian

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 is the administrative headquarters of

Yavatmal District Yavatmal district , əʋət̪maːɭformerly known as 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. It is Vidarbha's third-largest district by popula ...

. Yavatmal is around 90 km away from divisional headquarters

Amravati Amravati (/Marathi phonology, əmᵊɾɑʋᵊt̪iː/) is a city in Maharashtra located in the Vidarbha region. It is the ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India & second largest city in the Vidarbha region in terms of population. It is the ...

while it is away from the state capital

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 ...

and 150 km south west of

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

Etymology

The name is derived from the

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 ...

''Yavat'' (mountain) and ''mal'' (row). Another theory is as the city is located on a plateau, which is comparatively higher altitude than its other tehsils. ''

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' (), or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document regarding the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl, in the Persian language. It forms ...

'' records Yavatmal as the headquarters of a pargana under the name of Yot-Lohara – ''Yot'' being the Urdu or Persian corruption of ''Yevata'', the original name of the town; ''Lohara'' the name of a village about to the west of Yavatmal, and the suffix ''mal'' is a corruption of '' mahal'' (or

pargana Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empire ...

History

Formerly known as "Yeoti" or "Yeotmal", Yavatmal was the main town of the Berar Sultanate and according to old writings "the safest place in the world". The then region of Yavatmal (now Yavatmal district), was part of the dominion of Aladdin Hassan Bahman Shah who founded the

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 ...

in 1347. In 1572, Murtaza Shah, ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate (current day Ahmadnagar District), annexed the Yavatmal district. In 1596, Chand Bibi, warrior queen of Ahmadnagar, ceded the district of Yavatmal to the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, 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 ...

, then rulers of a large part of India. Following the death of the sixth Mughal Emperor

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 ...

in 1707, Yavatmal was passed on to the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. When Raghoji I Bhonsle became ruler of the Nagpur kingdom in 1783, he included the Yavatmal district in his territory. After the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

created

Berar Province Berar Province, also known as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, was a province of Hyderabad. After 1853, it was administered by the British, although the Nizam retained formal sovereignty over the province. Azam Jah, the eldest son of the ...

in 1853, Yavatmal became part of East Berar District in 1863 and later part of the South East Berar district—both districts of the

Central Provinces and Berar The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the ...

. Yavatmal remained part of Madhya Pradesh until the 1956 reorganisation of states when it was transferred to the

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

. With the creation of the Maharashtra state on 1 May 1960, Yavatmal district became a part of the same. Yavatmal Municipal Council was constituted in 1869 but was dissolved shortly thereafter. It was established again in 1894 and thus forms the oldest municipal council in the district. Mr. Eliot was first mayor and Lieutenant, W. Hege was deputy mayor. Govind Punaji Bari was the first Indian president of the Yavatmal Municipal council (2 January 1914 to 31 May 1932). The first elections conducted for the position of president of municipal council were held on 22 December 1934. Prior to that the same was appointed. The mini-train called ''Shakuntala'' is a historic remark built by the British government to transport cotton which is now closed.

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian Census, Yavatmal had a total population of 116,551, of which 58,549 were males and 58,002 were females. The population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 11,360. The total number of literates in Yavatmal was 96,726, which constituted 82.9% of the population with male literacy of 85.1% and female literacy of 80.9%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Yavatmal was 91.9%, of which the male literacy rate was 94.8% and the female literacy rate was 89.1%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 19,816 and 6,543 respectively. Yavatmal had 26,173 households in 2011.

Religion

Majority of the population follow

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 ...

, followed by significant

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 ...

and

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 ...

minorities.

Language

The principal language of the Yavatmal district is

however Varhadi dialect of

majorly spoken by people of Yavatmal. However, since the district has numerous Scheduled and Nomadic Tribes, other languages such as Gormati or Banjari, Gondi, Beldari,

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 ...

, Telugu and

Kolami Kolami (Northwestern Kolami/Southeastern Kolami) is a tribal Central Dravidian language spoken in Maharashtra and Telangana states of India. It falls under the Kolami–Naiki group of languages. It is the most widely spoken Central Dravidian l ...

are also spoken in parts of the district. In 1973, the ''

Marathi Sahitya Sammelan Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (All India Marathi Literary Conference) is an annual conference for literary discussions by Marathi writers. Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra State. The first Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was ...

'' (Marathi Literature Conference) was hosted in the city for the first time which was presided over by

Gajanan Digambar Madgulkar Gajānan Digambar Mādguḷkar (1 October 1919 – 14 December 1977) was a Marathi language, Marāthi poet, lyricist, writer and actor from India. He is popularly known in his home state of Maharashtra, Mahārāshtra by just his initials as Ga ...

. The second time, it was hosted on 11 January 2019 chaired by Vaishali Yende, widow of a suicide victim farmer, to highlight the issue of farmer suicides in the area.

Culture

Yavatmal is known for its unique Navratri festival celebration, the whole city is known for organising huge celebration events for Navratri. Festivals like

Gudi Padwa Gudhi Padwa is a spring festival marking the start of the lunisolar new year for Marathi people, Marathi and Konkani people, Konkani Hindus. It is celebrated in and around Maharashtra, Goa and Daman district, India, Daman at the start of ...

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

, Dussehra,

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

and almost all

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 ...

and

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 ...

occasions are celebrated. The district is also home to a

community, and they celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti in huge gatherings.

Climate

This city has a tropical savannah climate. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is Aw. In Yavatmal, the average annual temperature is 26.8 °C. The rainfall here averages 946 mm.

Economy

During

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 ...

, Yavatmal city was classified as a

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

. Both cotton-ginning and pressing are carried on in Yavatmal, while the town is also the chief trading center in the district and connected by road with Dhamangaon station, away. Major business establishments in Yavatmal include the Raymond UCO mill that produces denim fabrics for jeans. There are establishments related to the cotton, and textile industries. There is a textile

Special Economic Zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

(SEZ) under construction while HLL Unilever has also decided to restart the plant they currently have in the city. Other local businesses in the town are dominated by the presence of agricultural supply facilities used by the nearby farming community. Banking services are available in the Yavatmal, Arni, Ner, Pusad, Digras, Ghatanji and Kelapur(Pandharkawada) and Wani areas. The major industrial centres are at: MIDC Lohara,

Darwha Darwha is a town and a municipal council in Yavatmal district in the state of Maharashtra, India. History Locals believe Rango Bapuji Gupte, a freedom fighter had lived incognito in the town. The town is also famous for 'Golibar Chowk', squa ...

, Digras, Pusad, Umerkhed, Wani, Umari, Kelapur,

Ralegaon Ralegaon is Tehsil place town in Yavatmal District of Maharashtra (India). It is located in Vidarbha region of Maharashra. Geographically it is located northwest from Yavatmal. It is located 42 km away from Yavatmal and 21 km away f ...

and Babhulgaon, Ner, and Wani-Maregaon with the main market places in: Yavatmal City, Arni, Wani, Darwha, Digras, Ghatanji, Mohada, Pusad, Umerkhed and Kelapur.

Transport

Roads

*New Shaktipith Expressway will pass through Yavatmal city and district Nagpur-Yavatmal-Goa Express * The National Highway

NH 44 National Highway 44 (NH 44) is a major north–south National Highway in India and is the longest in the country. It passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh ...

(Varanasi–Kanyakumari) passes through the district at Vadki, Karanji, Pandharkawada, Patanbori, and Kelapur. * New National Highway has been proposed from Khandwa(MP)- Dharni-

-Yavatmal- Karanji on NH 44. * The state highway (Amravati–Chandrapur) passes through Ner, Yavatmal, Jodmoha, Mohada, Umari, Karanji and Wani. * The (Nagpur–Tuljapur) National highway 361 passes through Kalamb, Yavatmal, Arni, and Umarkhed. * Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway will directly connect to Yavatmal City with feeder roads.

Railways

* Yavatmal is the southern terminus of the

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

known locally as the Shakuntala Railway. This line is composed of two legs intersecting with the

Broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line at Murtijapur – the northern leg to

Achalpur Achalpur (), formerly known as Ellichpur and Illychpur, is a city and a municipal council in Amravati District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the second most populous city in Amravati District after Amravati and seventh most populous ...

and the southeastern leg to Yavatmal.

Station lies on this line. *Another line, Majri–Mudkhed line, passes through the district. Wani is a railway station on this line. The state cabinet has approved Wardha–

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 ...

rail link project. This railway line will connect Wardha–Yavatmal in

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 ...

with

in Marathwada. *

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 ...

's First broad-gauge Metro will run From

to Yavatmal on

- Wardha, Wardha-Yavatmal-

line. *SURVEY REPORTS SUBMITTED TO BOARD for approval for new broad gauge line between Yavatmal-

Adilabad Adilabad, also known as Edlawada and Eddulapuram, is a city which serves as the headquarters of Adilabad district, in the Indian state of Telangana. Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, Lambadi and Gondi are the most spoken languages of Adilabad. Adilabad ...

Via Ghatanji, Pandharkawada, Chankha

Airport

International

* Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport,

is 150 km away From Yavatmal City.

Regional

* Yavatmal airport is located east of the city of Yavatmal and has been taken up by Reliance Airport Developers Ltd for development.

Education

Prominent educational institutes: * Shri Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College *Technical: Government College of Engineering, Government Polytechnic, Government Residential Women's Polytechnic, Jawaharlal Darda Engineering and Technical Institute (private), Jagdamba College of Engineering, *Other: Amolakchand Mahavidyalaya (Science, Arts and Commerce), Babaji Datey Kala & Vanijya Mahavidyalaya (Arts and Commerce College), St. Aloysius English School

Notable people

* Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, Founding Sarsanghachalak of the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...

* Aajibai Banarase, community leader and president of Maharashtra Mandal London. * Vijay Darda, former MP (

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

), Chairman Lokmat media Pvt. Ltd * Jambuwantrao Dhote, politician and founder of Vidarbha Janata Congress * Nachiket Mor, banker and National Director for

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...

. *

Sudhakarrao Naik Sudhakarrao Rajusing Naik (21 August 1934 – 10 May 2001) was an Indian politician from Indian National Congress party who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 25 June 1991 until 22 February 1993 following the communal riots. He had ...

, former

Chief Minister of Maharashtra The chief minister of Maharashtra (IAST: Mahārāṣṭrāce Mukhyamaṃtrī) is the head of the executive branch of the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Following elections to the Legislative Assembly, the governor invites ...

. *

Vasantrao Naik Vasantrao Phulsingh Naik (1 July 1913 – 18 August 1979) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1963 until 1975. Career He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Madhya Pradesh during 1952-1957, of ...

, former

. *

Sanjay Rathod Sanjay Dulichand Rathod is a Shiv Sena (2022–present), Shiv Sena politician from Maharashtra. He is a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Digras (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Digras-Darwha (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Darwha As ...

, former Guardian minister Yavatmal * Manikrao Thakare, former President Maharashtra State Congress Committee * Madan Madhukarrao Yerawar, former Guardian minister Yavatmal * Wasudev Waman Patankar, Marathi poet and advocate (1908–1997) * Akash Chikte, Indian field hockey player * Suryakanta Patil, Indian politician * Lalit Yadav, Vidharbha cricketer * Alind Naidu, Vidharbha cricketer * Ashok Uike, Former Minister of Tribal Development * Vasant Purke, Politician and former Minister of Education *

Jawaharlal Darda Jawaharlal Amolakchand Darda (2 July 1923 – 25 November 1997), known popularly as Babuji, was an Indian freedom fighter and a senior Indian National Congress politician. He is the founding editor of Lokmat group of newspapers (now Lokmat Medi ...

, Freedom Fighter *

Madhav Shrihari Aney Madhav Shrihari Aney (29 August 1880 – 26 January 1968),Sen S.N. (1997). ''History of the Freedom Movement in India (1857–1947)'' New Delhi: New Age. p. 354. popularly referred to as Loknayak Bapuji Aney or Bapuji Aney, was an ardent educa ...

( Loknayak Bapuji Aney nowiki/>Padma Vibhushan">Padma_Vibhushan.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Padma Vibhushan">nowiki/>Padma Vibhushan Ardent educationist, freedom fighter, statesman, a modern Sanskrit poet and a politician * Rajendra Darda, Politician * Shivajirao Moghe, Former Minister of Social Justice in Maharashtra Cabinet * Faheem Hussain, Pakistani physicist * Harising Nasaru Rathod, Politician

References

External links

Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of agriculture of Government of IndiaList of Yavatmal Pincode .
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Yavatmal district Talukas in Maharashtra Cities in Maharashtra Yavatmal