Vidarbha


Vidarbha is the north-eastern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra, comprising Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. Amravati division's former name is Berar. It occupies 31.6% of the total area and holds 21.3% of the total population of Maharashtra. It borders the state of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana to the south and Marathwada and Khandesh regions of Maharashtra to the west. Situated in central India. The largest city in Vidarbha is Nagpur followed by Amravati. A majority of Vidarbhians speak Varhadi and Zadi dialects of Marathi.Vidarbha is the birth place of Goddess Rukmini.
The Nagpur region is known for growing oranges and cotton. Vidarbha holds two-thirds of Maharashtra's mineral resources and three-quarters of its forest resources, and is a net producer of power. Vidarbha region contains Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project, Melghat Tiger Reserve, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Navegaon National Park And Famous Tibetan Camp in Arjuni Morgaon, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary and Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary. Pench Tiger Reserve is one of the premier tiger reserves of India and the only one to straddle across two states: Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Throughout its history, Vidarbha has remained much calmer than the rest of India, especially during the communal troubles. However, there is considerable poverty and malnutrition. It is less economically prosperous compared to the rest of Maharashtra. The living conditions of farmers in this region are poor compared to India as a whole. There have been more than 200,000 farmers' suicides in Maharashtra in a decade, of which 70% being in the 11 districts of Vidarbha region.
There have been recent calls for a separate state of Vidarbha, due to perceived neglect from the Government of Maharashtra and incompetent political leadership in Vidarbha. Though rich in minerals, coal, forests and mountains, this region has mostly remained underdeveloped because of the continuous dominance of political leadership from the other parts of the state, especially Western Maharashtra. Being culturally, politically and financially distinct from the rest of Maharashtra, the calls for a separate state rose to prominence only when the leaders from this region were sidelined by other political leaders in recent years. Statehood demands have not been fulfilled mainly due to the opposition from the Shiv Sena, a major state political party.

History

Ancient period

Vidarbha was part of the Satavahana Empire, as suggested by Satavahana coin finds in Pauni.
Vidarbha was ruled by the Vakataka dynasty in the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. It consists of two branches – The Pravarapura Nandivardhana and Vatsagulma branches. The Pravarapura Nandivardhana branch ruled from different capitals like Pravarapura in Wardha district and Mansar and Nandivardhan in Nagpur district. This branch used to maintain matrimonial alliances with the Guptas.
The Vatsagulma branch was founded by Sarvasena, the second son of Pravarasena I after his death. Sarvasena made Vatsagulma his capital. The territory ruled by this branch was between the Sahydri Range and the Godavari River. They patronised some of the Buddhist caves at Ajanta.
Prabhavatigupta was the queen and regent of the Vākāṭaka Empire. Her father was Chandragupta II of the Gupta Empire and her mother was Kuberanaga of the Naga. She married Rudrasena II of the Vākāṭaka. After his death in 385, she ruled as regent for her two young sons, Divakarasena and Damodarasena for twenty years. This region is named after the mythological Vidarbha Kingdom mentioned in the Mahabharata.

Medieval period

was the capital of the Berar Subah, known as the Gulshan-e-Berar in the Medieval period, from the rule of the Khaljis to the Mughals, according to the Ain-i-Akbari and Alamgir Namah. In 1724, when Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah declared independence, the existence of Berar as a Mughal Subah came to an end. It became a part of Nizam state. Then the Bhonsle dynasty of Marathas who in the mid-eighteenth century created an independent Hindu princely state that covered much of east-central India. After their defeat in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the Bhonsle dominions were reduced to the Nagpur division. In 1853 the last Maharaja of Nagpur died without a male heir and subsequently Nagpur division was incorporated into mainstream British India. Nagpur division became a part of the British Raj's Central Provinces in 1861.

Modern period

, formerly known as Berar division, was administered by the Nizam of Hyderabad until 1853. In that year, citing misgovernance by the Nizam, the British colonial administration took direct control over the province. Berar was added to the Central Provinces in 1903.
During India's independence struggle Nagpur hosted the sessions of Indian National Congress several times. Sevagram in Wardha was arguably the capital of nationalistic India during the Gandhian era.
After India's independence in 1947, Central Provinces and Berar became the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. In 1956 Vidarbha was transferred to Bombay state along with all other Marathi-speaking areas. In 1960 Bombay State was split along linguistic lines into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Marathi-speaking Vidarbha became part of the state of Maharashtra.

Geography

Vidarbha lies on the northern part of the Deccan Plateau. Unlike the Western Ghats, there are no major hilly areas. The Satpura Range lies to the north of Vidarbha region in Madhya Pradesh. The Melghat area of Amravati district is on the southern offshoot of the Satpura Range. Large basaltic rock formations exists throughout Vidarbha, part of the 66-million-year-old volcanic Deccan Traps. Bhandara and Gondia district are entirely occupied by metamorphic rock and alluvium, making their geology unique in Maharashtra. Buldhana has the Lonar crater created by impact of an asteroid. The eastern districts of Gondia, Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Nagpur are in earthquake zone 1, which has the least seismic activity in India, while other districts are in zone 2.
Wainganga is the largest river in Vidarbha; along with its major tributaries, the Wardha, Kanhan, and Painganga, its waters flow south into the Godavari River. In the north, five small rivers—Khapra, Sipna, Gadga, Dolar and Purna—are tributaries of Tapti river.

Administration

Vidarbha region has 11 districts divided into two divisions.
Name of Division
DistrictsSource
Amravati Division
HQ=Amravati
Districts=5
Talukas=56
Nagpur Division
HQ=Nagpur
Districts=6
SubDivisions=31
Talukas=64

Following detailed table shows the districts of Vidarbha, their sub-divisions and talukas:
Name of division
DistrictsTalukas
Amravati Division
Akola
Amravati Division
Amravati
Amravati Division
Buldana
Amravati Division
Yavatmal
Amravati Division
Washim
Nagpur Division
Bhandara
Nagpur Division
Chandrapur
Nagpur Division
Gadchiroli
Nagpur Division
Gondia
Nagpur Division
Nagpur
Nagpur Division
Wardha

Each district has a collector's office which is responsible for day-to-day administration. The District Collector is a Central Indian Government appointee who is in charge of the governance of a district in a state. Nagpur city, the largest city in Vidarbha, has a special civic body, the Nagpur Improvement Trust, which along with Nagpur Municipal Corporation is responsible for overall development and planning activity. Other significant cities, including Amravati, Akola and Chandrapur, also have a municipal corporation. The corporators in these civic bodies are elected. Urban areas are split into different wards and each ward elects a representative. Rural areas have a panchayat raj system.
Nagpur is the largest city in Vidarbha region covering the area of 227.36 km2, followed by Amravati which covers 183.38km2 of area.

Demographics

Vidarbha has a total population of according to the 2011 India census.
DistrictMaleFemaleTotal
Akola936,226882,3911,818,617
Amravati1,482,8451,404,9812,887,826
Bhandara604,371594,4391,198,810
Buldhana1,342,1521,245,8872,588,039
Chandrapur1,120,3161,073,9462,194,262
Gadchiroli542,813528,9821,071,795
Gondiya662,524659,8071,322,331
Nagpur2,388,5582,264,6134,653,171
Wardha665,925630,2321,296,157
Washim621,228575,4861,196,714
Yavatmal1,425,5931,349,8642,775,457

Religion

Religion in Vidarbha is characterized by the diversity of religious beliefs and practices. Vidarbha possesses six of the world's major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism, Christianity, and Sikhism.
According to the 2011 census, Hinduism was the principal religion in the state at 76.91% of the total population, while Navayana Buddhists constituted 13.08% of the total population. Vidarbha account for 45.91% of total Buddhists in Maharashtra.
Religious compositionPopulationPercentage
Hindus15,866,51476.906%
Buddhists29,98,26313.075%
Muslims1,720,6908.340%
Jains89,6490.435%
Christians70,6630.343%
Sikhs37,2410.181%
Others127,5160.618%
Religion not stated21,1700.103%
Total23,003,179100%

Language and culture

Vidarbha has a rich and distinct cultural background. Though Marathi culture is most dominant, Vidarbha has been a melting pot of Telugu-speaking people from the south, Hindi-speakers from central India and tribal people of Chhattisgarh. The Gadchiroli district of Vidarbha has a large population of tribal people. Vidarbha is known for the Varhādi dialect in Amravati division and Zadipatti in Nagpur division.
Hindu festivals like Holi, Diwali and Dasara are celebrated throughout the region. There are many prominent cultural and literary societies working in Vidarbha, including:
The Nagpur Central Museum maintains collections that are mainly from Vidarbha. Dr. Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi served as the principal of Vidarbha Mahavidyalaya, now the Government Vidarbha Institute of Science And Humanities.
Vidarbha's culture developed distinctly from the rest of Maharashtra in a different fashion. Many scriptures mention Vidarbha as the location of:
Vidarbha's economy is primarily agricultural, with the addition of forest and mineral wealth. From a business point of view, Gondia, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur are important cities of Vidarbha. Nagpur is a central hub for business and healthcare. Amravati is known for film distributors and cloth markets. Chandrapur has a thermal power station which is one of the biggest in India and some other heavy industries such as paper, steel, cement industries and numerous coal mines.
An international cargo hub project, the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur,, is being developed. MIHAN will be used for handling heavy cargo coming from South-East Asia and Middle-East Asia. The project will also include a Special Economic Zone for information-technology companies. This will be India's biggest development project.

Agriculture

The main cash crops of the region are cotton, oranges and soya beans. Nagpur is the largest orange-growing district. Traditional crops are sorghum, pearl millet and rice. Yavatmal is the largest cotton-growing district. Gondiya is the largest rice-growing district. Gondiya is known as rice city in Vidharbha. Vidarbha has recently become infamous for a large number of farmer suicides.
On 1 July 2006 the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh announced a -crore relief package for Vidarbha. The package is intended to help farmers in six districts of the region. However the package was not welcomed by most financial pundits and journalist P Sainath wrote in The Hindu that the package was destined to fail. Corruption was found amongst most of the officials involved with the packages and the government considered suspended more that 400 officials in the scam.

Mineral wealth

The Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara and Nagpur Districts form the main mineral belt, with coal and manganese as the major minerals. Chandrapur district contributes 29% of all mineral output of Maharashtra. Iron ore and limestone are identified as potential mining resources.

Industry

Traditionally Vidarbha has lagged behind western Maharashtra in industrial growth. Various incentives were granted to attract industries but have failed. Butibori Industrial Area MIDC outside Nagpur is one of the largest industrial areas in the country but few industries have opened there. The MIHAN cargo hub project underway at Nagpur aims to exploit the central location of Nagpur and may attract more industries. Ballarpur Industries, India's largest manufacturer and exporter of paper is located in Chandrapur district.

Education

There are many educational institutes in Vidarbha region. Most of the higher education institutes are affiliated to: Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur; Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Amravati; Gondwana University, Gadchiroli; or Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola.
Major institutes in Vidarbha are: Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University, Nagpur; Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek; Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur; Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Nagpur; Government College of Engineering, Nagpur; Government Polytechnic, Nagpur; Indian Institute of Management, Nagpur; National Law University , Nagpur and AIIMS, Nagpur.

Sports

Cricket is the most-popular sport in the region and Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground has hosted international cricket matches. It has been superseded by the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, built in 2008 in Jamtha.
The Vidarbha cricket team plays for the Ranji Trophy. Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal, one of the largest sports institutes in India, is situated in Amravati.Vidharbha has been the Ranji trophy champion in 2017–18 season and 2018–19 season.

Tourism

Vidarbha has lush green deciduous forests which are home to a variety of flora and fauna. These attract a large number of visitors each year. There are several tiger reserves located in Vidarbha. They are Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district, Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary in Nagpur district and Pench Tiger Reserve in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh to the north. The Nagzira wildlife sanctuary and Navegoan Bandh National Park of Gondia District are also very popular.
The eastern region of Vidarbha contains Maharashtra's oldest National Park, the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, one of India's 39 Project Tiger Reserves. The National Park consists of two forested rectangles of the Tadoba and Andhari range. Aside from around 50 tigers, Tadoba Tiger Reserve is home to rare Indian wildlife like leopards, sloth bears, gaur, wild dogs, hyenas, civet, jungle cats, and many species of Indian deer such as sambar, cheetal, nilgai, and barking deer. The Tadoba lake sustains the Marsh Crocodile, which were once common across Maharashtra. Tadoba also has a varied diversity of aquatic birdlife. Thick hills form the northern and western boundary of the Tiger Reserve. To the southwest is Irai water reservoir which acts as a buffer between the park's forest and the extensive farmland.
Chikhaldara is a Hill Station and a municipal council in Amravati district. It is featured in the epic Mahabharata, where Bheema killed the villainous Keechaka, and so came to be known as Keechakadara—Chikhaldara. It is the only hill resort in the Vidarbha region, at an elevation of, with a number of lookout points. Wildlife include panthers, sloth bears, sambar, wild boar, and wild dogs. The nearby Melghat Tiger Project has 82 tigers. Other destinations include Gavilgad and Narnala Fort, the Pandit Nehru Botanical Gardens, the Tribal Museum, the Semadoh Lake, and the only coffee-growing plantations in Maharashtra.

Politics

Representation in Lok Sabha

Vidarbha is represented at national level by ten Lok Sabha seats. Nagpur district which has the highest population density is split into two lok sabha seats, Nagpur and Ramtek, while districts with lower population density like Chimur and Gadchiroli are clubbed together. Ramtek and Amravati seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates only while Gadchiroli-Chimur is reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

Representation in Vidhan Sabha

Vidarbha is represented at state level by 62 Vidhan Sabha seats. Nagpur boasts the densest concentration of assembly seats with the city divided into six areas. Certain seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates only, while others are open to all. As part of the Nagpur Pact the winter session of Maharashtra assembly is held as Nagpur Vidhan Bhavan.

Separate statehood movement

Background:
In recent years there have been sporadic calls for Vidarbha to secede from Maharashtra. This is based on a feeling of being neglected by the Maharashtra state government and a desire to assert a distinct political identity. The region has been seen to have fallen behind others in Maharashtra in attracting investment and development funds, being comparatively poorly served by roads, irrigation facilities and educational institutions. However political movements for attaining statehood have failed to hold sway as their leaders have been considered opportunistic and corrupt. Vidarbha Rajya Party and Vidarbha Rajya Nirman Congress are very small political parties created by leaders that have split from national-level parties like Indian National Congress. The only national party to officially support Vidarbha state is Bhartiya Janata Party, which included this demand in its national manifesto.
Politician and economist Dr. Shrikant Jichkar opposed separation of Vidarbha from Maharashtra, believing that it was not sustainable: "If Vidarbha is hived off, we will have no funds from day one to run the new State. The region's share is burdened by a deficit and Monopoly Cotton Purchase Scheme, Employment Guarantee Scheme and such activity will immediately cease since we would not have money to pay salaries." He noted that income from available natural resources could not balance Mumbai's subsidies, and that Mumbai's cooperation was vital to any development—in addition to the societal risks of dividing the Marathi-speaking state.