Khandwa

About:

Khandwa District, formerly known as East Nimar District, is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The city of Khandwa is the administrative headquarters of the district.

Khandwa is an administrative district of Madhya Pradesh, situated in the south-eastern part of the state. It is bounded by Betul and Hoshangabad on the east and Burhanpur on the south, West Nimar on the west and Dewas on the north. The district forms a part of Indore division.

The district has an area of 6206 km², and a population 1,261,768 (2001 census). Khandwa District lies in the Nimar region, which includes the lower valley of the Narmada River. The Narmada forms part of the northern boundary of the district, and the Satpura Range form the southern boundary of the district. Burhanpur District, to the south, lies in the basin of the Tapti River. The pass through the Satpuras connecting Khandwa and Burhanpur is one of the main routes connecting northern and southern India, and the fortress of Asirgarh, which commands the pass, is known as the "Key to the Deccan". Betul and Harda districts lie to the east, Dewas District to the north, and Khargone District to the west.

Khandwa is an ancient town, with many places of worship, like many other towns in India. Mostly they are Hindu and Jain temples. During the 12th century A.D. it was a center of Jainism. During British rule, it passed nearby Burhanpur (now a separate district) as the main commercial centre of the Nimaad region. Khandwa is a major railway junction, where the Malwa line connecting Indore with the Deccan meets the main east-west line from Mumbai to Kolkata.

Khandwa is famous for its local crops of cotton, wheat (Khandwa2), soyabean and a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Its wheat variety Khandwa2 is famous nationwide for its aroma, colour and quality.

Asia's prestigious hydro power project Indira Sagar Pariyojna is located close to Khandwa and it is a pride to district and nation. Nepa paper mills, Mansingka oil mills, and Nimar textiles are a few well known names in industry which Khandwa possesses, although all except Nepa paper mills others are defunct.

Location info:

Climate/Weather:

The climate of the District is pleasant and healthy. The District falls in the drier part of India. Average annual rainfall in the District is 980.75 mm. The northern part of the District receives more rainfall than the southern part. The monsoon season starts approximately by 10th June every year and extends up to early October. The days are quite humid. The maximum temperature recorded in the month of May is 42O C and minimum recorded in the month of December as 10OC

History of Khandwa

Recent explorations in the beds/tributaries of Narmada have revealed traces of the Paleolithic men in East Nimar district. Omkar Mandhata, a rocky island on the bank of Narmada river, about 47 miles North-West of Khandwa, is said to have been conquered by the Haihaya king Mahishmant, a scion of Yadu family, who had named the same as Mahishmati.

During the rise of Buddhism, the East Nimar region was included in Avanti Kingdom under Chand Pradyota Mahesana, which was later added to the growing empire of Magadha by Shishunaga.

From the early 2nd Century B.C. to late 15th Century A.D., the Nimar Region (earlier a part of Khandesh) underwent the ruling of many emperors from many dynasties, which include Mauryas, Sungas, Early Satvahanas, Kardamakas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Imperial Guptas, Kalchuris, Vardhanas (of Harsha Vardhana fame), Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Paramaras, Faruki Dynasty etc.

Peticularly Khandwa city in this district is not having remarkable history but the nearby district Burhanpur has glourious past during mogul-period and the impact of presence of such mighty places is obvious.
In 1536 A.D., the Mughal Emperor Humayun, after his conquest of Gujarat, had visited Burhanpur and Asirgarh(both are now in Burhanpur District) via Baroda, Broach (Bharuch) & Surat. Raja Ali Khan (1576-1596 A.D.), also known as Adil Shah, was asked to submit to Akbar, when the latter had sent an expedition to Khandesh, in the summer of 1577 A.D. The former, to avoid the unequal contest with the mighty Akbar, dropped his royal title of Shah and accepted the Suzerainty of Akbar. This marked an epoch in the Deccan policy of the Mughals, for Khandesh was used as a base for the future Conquest of Deccan. Raja Ali Khan constructed many buildings like Jama Masjid in the upper portion of the fort of Asir in 1588 A.D., Jama Masjid at Burhanpur in 1590 A.D., Idgah at Asir, mausoleums & Serai at Burhanpur and Serai & Mosque at Zainabad (Near Burhanpur in Burhanpur District).

Bahadur Khan (1596-1600 A.D.) successor of Raja Ali Khan declared his independence & refused to pay homage to Akbar & his son Prince Daniyal, which enraged Akbar, who marched towards Burhanpur in 1599 and occupied the City without any opposition on 8th April 1600 A.D. Akbar paid a visit to Asirgarh, so as to inspect it personally, where he stayed for 4 days before returning to his Head Quarter at Burhanpur.

Prince Khurram was nominated as the Governor of the Deccan in 1617 AD, by Jahangir to succeed Prince Parviz, and was bestowed the title of Shah by Jahangir. Khurram led the Mughal army to a peaceful victory by which Jahangir was pleased with his success & conferred him the title of Shah Jahan on 12th October, 1617 AD. After the death of Jahangir in 1627, Shah Jahan ascended the throne of Mughal empire. Due to troubled conditions in the Deccan, he reached Burhanpur (Deccan) on the 1st March 1630, where he stayed for the following two years, conducting operations against Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golkunda. On 7th June 1631, Shah Jahan lost his beloved & favourite wife Mumtaz Mahall at Burhanpur, and her body was buried at first in the Garden of Zainabad, across the river Tapti. Early in December of the same year (1631 AD), the remains of her body were sent to Agra. Later on 6th March 1632, Shah Jahan left Burhanpur for the north, after appointing Mahabat Khan as the viceroy of the Deccan.

From the mid 16th Century to the early 18th century, the Nimar region (including East Nimar), was under the rule/impact of Aurangzeb, Bahadur Shah (Mughals), Peshwas, Sindhia, Holkar & Pawar (Marathas ), Pindaris etc. Later from early part of the mid 18th century, the management of the Nimar region came under the British.

The East Nimar district did not remain unaffected by the Great Uprising of 1857, which swept the country, against the British rule. In connection with the so called Riots of 1857, Tatya Tope had gone through the region of East Nimar district, and Khandwa and before marching out of the district, burnt the police stations and Govt. buildings at Khandwa, Piplod and a number of other places and escaped again to central India by way of Khargone.

The East Nimar district was greatly affected with the beginning of freedom movement, Non-Co-operation movement, Civil Disobedience movement, Quit India Movement etc., to obtain the Independence of the Motherland India, from late 18th century till 15th August 1947. During this time Khandwa was visited by Swami Dayanad Saraswati of Arya Samaj fame, Swami Vivekanand,the great monk & founder of Ramkrishna Mission, Mahatma Gandhiji in 1921, Lokmanya Tilak etc.

Young Nationalists of the district, like Haridas Chatterjee, Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Thakur Laxman Singh( of Burhanpur District), Abdul Quadir Siddique has attended the Calcutta Session of Congress in 1917. Tilak has visited the district during his whirl-wind tour to central province in 1918. The district did not fail to make its contribution in non-co-operative movement. Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 has also been participated by many people of the district. Karmavir, weekly , was seized publication and its editor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi was sentenced to two years. Editor of swarajya S.M.Agarkar was also arrested and imprisoned. Nav Jawan Sabha was established at Khandwa in 1931. Students had also participated in this movement. They removed Union Jack from high school building and hoisted the tricolor, in this connection Raichand Bhai Nagda was fined and imprisoned.

The District also has contribution in Quit India Movement. The District Political Conference was held at Harsud sometime before August, 1942 had alerted the people for impending struggle.The Students of Robertson High School, Burhanpur( Burhanpur is now a new district but,formaly part of Khandwa District) hoisted Tri-colour on the school building on the 15th August. But it was removed by the police. The students organized the processions against this act of police till their demands of hoisting tricolor and pasting of photographs of national leaders did not met.

Educational Institutions in Khandwa:

Engineering Colleges in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh offering Engineering Degree coures such as BE, BTech, BArch, BPlan, ME, MTech, MArch or MPlan in the region. Joining in Engineering colleges that are All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) accredited is preferred.

Sri Dadaji Institute of Technology & Science, East Nimar, Khandwa

Law Collegesin Khandwa, Madhya Pradeshoffering Legal Education including Civil Law, Criminal Law, Business Law, Forensic Law etc. and courses such as Bachelor of Law (BL), Master of Law (ML) etc:

MNL Law College, Khandwa

Postgraduate Degree Colleges in Khandwa offering Postgraduate Degree courses such as MA/MSc/MCom/MBA/MCA etc. in the region. Generally, Postgraduate colleges in this region will be affiliated with the regional University:

S Neelkantheswar Government Post Graduate College, Khandwa

Langauges:

Culture:

The rich heritage of communal dances is still preserved by the Rajputs, Gujars,Korkus, Naagar Brahmins, and Banjaras. The Dance of the Rajput male is known as Gair and Kimadi while their female-folk is called khada. Among the Gujars, the male folk, perform dip dance. The favourite male dance of Korkus is susur, whereas gadolia is female-folk of the same. Gujarati Communities female folk is garba. Kathi is Nimar's famous folk dance.
The Ramleela and Gammat (Play) are the favourite pastimes of the rural mass.

Major part of the working mass is in the primary sector agriculture. per family avergage farm size is low and the adoption of traditional form of agriculture, the majority of peasants are earning for livelyhood only. the agricultural labour is also sizable part of the total population.

Mandhata is famous pilgrim centre in the District. Throughout the year, a number of pilgrims from distant parts of the country visit the place. In the month of Kartika a fair is held at this place, which is attended by a number of pilgrims. About 40 fairs are held in the District. Fairs or Jatras of importance are held at Pipaliya-Singaji, Daata-Saheb's fair at Malagaon, Baba Bukhardas's fair at Chhanera, Bageshwari Devi's fair at Borgaon, Kajal Devi's fair at Punasa, Brahmagir Maharaja's fair at Sivna, Shivaratri's fairs at Rustumpur, Suktakhurd , Nimbola, Sival, Khaknar, Dongergaon, fair in the name of Lord Shri Rama at Jamaniya, in the name of Hanumaan at Barziri, Ukhadgaon, Mohangarh. Main urs of Muslim community are urs-mahals urs at Guradiya, Khwaza Sahebs urs at Rahimpura, Navgaz Pir urs at Pokharkalan.

Major part of population are Hindu, Muslim Sikhkha & Sindhi. Hindu consist approx. 80 % of the total population. Mainly Rajput, Kunbi & Gujar & Maratha's form the agricultural social structure and construct the rural mass. Jain, Banias (the caste engaged in trade & commerce), Muslims, Sikhkhas and Sindhis, mainly prefer to live in urban areas and form the trade oriented non-agricultural social structure. The Korkus, Bhils & Gond are major scheduled tribes which live in the forest areas.

How to reach Khandwa?

Nearest Railway Station:

The District is connected by Delhi-Bombay Broad gauge Railway line of Indian Railways and Purna (Maharashtra State) -Jaipur(Rajasthan State) meter gauge line .

Road Transport:

The District has road network covering 2328.45 Kms. Major Roadways are -Mortakka -Khandwa, Khandwa -Burhanpur, Burhanpur - Bombay, Burhanpur - Amravati, Khandwa - Harsud,Ujjain-Indore-Aurangabad.

Tourist Attraction of Khandwa:

There are some worth visiting sites in and around Khandwa which include Khandwa town, Omkareshwar Mandhata, Narmada Nagar, Dada Dhuniwale Darbar, Turja Bhavani Mata Temple, Nav Chandi Devi Dham, Nagchun Dam and Gauri Kunja.The Town Khandwa has the proud to be the Head Quarter of District East Nimar. Due to its location on the map of India, it has been enjoying visits of great Indians. In the past (age of British Government), this was a place alone connecting northern, eastern, southern and western rail routes.Delhi(North) and Bombay(South) (now Mumbai) and Baroda (West) was directly connected whereas Calcutta was accessible through Bhusawal Junction. Hence Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak and many more great personalities visited the place during there all India visit. The Location, easy availability of resources and other socio-economic factors are in favour of making the place a very good Industrial region.The place has several ancient kunds., English architecture and religious places.

Ghantaghar (Clock Tower),Khandwa

The place is located at Bombay-Delhi central line and north of Burhanpur. The place has been the district Head quarter since 1864. The place has four historic kunds in its four direction namely Suraj kunda, Padma kund, Bhima kunda, Rameshwar kund. The buildings of Collector office, Girls Degree College, Ghantaghar are Among the ancient monuments. Dada Dhuni wale ki samadhi, Turja Bhavani Temple, Nav-chandi Devi Dham are the places of faith & worship of Hindus.

Omkareshwar Mandhata

Omkareshwar Mandhata is located on the bank of Narmada River, approx. 75 Kms. From Khandwa on Indore-Khandwa Highway. This is a holy place for Hindu and Jain Sects. Mamaleshwar, One among the 12 Jyotirlingas of Hindu sect and Siddhawar Kut of Jain sect are located at this place. Millions of the pilgrims of both sects & foreigners visit the place every year. Other sites are the caves of Adi Guru Shankaracharya (The great ancient saint of advait philosophy of Hindu sect.) is located at this place.The name "Omkareshwar" is due to the shape of the island.

Indira Sagar

NarmadaNagar Near Punasa has a key location in Indira Sagar Project of Narmada Valley Development Authority, on the bank of River Narmada.. The place is about 61 KMs from the District H.Q. Khandwa, and can be approached from two stations Khandwa & Bir of Central Railway line of Bombay- Delhi, and is well connected by roadways, from these two.

Dada Dhuni Wale Darbar Khandwa

Dada Dhuniwale Darbar is located in South- Western part of the Town about 3.0 Kms from railway/Bus station. This is a centre of faith and worship. The Samadhi Places of great Avadhoot Hindu saints Swami Keshwanandaji Maharaj and Swami Hariharanandji Maharaj, respectfully called as "Bare Dadaji" and "Chhote Dadaji" respectively. A fair is held on Guru Purnima at this place and thousands of the devotees attend the fair from all over the nation.

The District Collectorate Building, Khandwa

The Building is located in the Eastern part of the town approx. 1 KM away from the railway station. This was constructed in 1919 and is in good Condition. Currently the Office of The Collector is located in the building. The District Office enjoys the position of having such a beautiful, well arranged building. Initially the building was constructed in 100mts x 50 Mts. area. Later several extensions have been made. Dense tree plantation has been done around the building. Efforts to save and beautify and modernize the monument is being carried out by the Collector and District Magistrate.

Turja Bhavani Mata Temple, Khandwa

This temple is located beside the Dadaji Darbar and dedicated to Hindu Goddess Maa Turja Bhavani.Many myths are revealing in the mass regarding the temple. It is said that during the wandering period of Lord Rama, Visited the place and worshipped the Shakti for 9 days at this place. A 9 day fair in Navratri period is held here every year. Thousands of devotees visit the place especially in this period. Daily prayers also being attended by hundreds of the devotees.

Nav Chandi Devi Dham , Khandwa

Devi Nav Chandi Dham is newer place for the devotees of Shakti, located in the LavKush nagar, In the northern part of the city and is approx. 4 Km from the Station sites. The temple is dedicated to the Goddess Nav-Chandi. A fair is organized in the month of Falgoon (feb-march) and cultural & religious program is being organized by Baba Gangaram, the devotee of the Goddess who has constructed the temple. Stellar luminary and / or any great personality attends the fair every year. Thousands of devotees attend the fair.

Nagchun Dam, Khandwa

Nagchun Dam is 7 Kms from the Station sites, Northern to the city near Nagchun village. This is a nearest picnic spot of the city. From this dam also the water is being supplied to the city. Dense plantation around the place makes it beautiful.

Gauri Kunja, Khandwa

In memory of the well known playback singer Kishore Kumar Ganguly, A Cultural hall (especially for music) constructed approx. 1 Km east-ward from the station site, Cultural Programs of the town are being organized at this place.

Other Places

Ichhapur (Temple of Ichhadevi) in Burhanpur District, Mahalgurara (ancient royal leisure pavilion on the bank of Badi Utaoli river) in Burhanpur District. Navgriha Temples, Maheshwar & Mandleshwar in Khargone District, Mandu in Dhar District, Bawan Gaja in Barwani District, Rajwada and Holkar state related monuments in Indore District. Mahakal Jyotirlinga other temples etc related to hindu relegion in Ujjain, chamunda temple in Dewas District are the places for tourism,

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation in Khandwa:

Grand Hotel

Address : Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh
Access : 130 Km from airport, 1 Km from Railway station
Rooms : 17 Rooms
Amenities: Room Service, Telephone service, coffee maker, doctor on call

Special Room Facilities

* Room Service.
* H/C running water.
* Telephone.
* Fax.
* T.V.
* Coffee maker.
* Post Office.
* Car Parking.
* Bank.
* Doctor.
* Taxi on Demand.
* Open Lawn of 16000 sqfts. for Receptions.
* Parties/ Functions.