Khargone district :

Khargone district, formerly known as West Nimar district, is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The district lies in Nimar region, and is part of Indore Division. Under indore Khargone town is the headquarters of this district.

History :

The district has a long history. In ancient period, the Haihayas of Mahishmati (present-day Maheshwar) ruled this region. In early medieval age, the area was under the Paramaras of Malwa and the Ahirs of Asirgarh. In late medieval age, the area was under Malwa Sultanate of Mandu. In 1531, Gujarat sultan Bahadur Shah brought this area under his control. In 1562, Akbar annexed this territory along with the whole Malwa to Mughal empire. In 1740 Marathas under the Peshwa brought the area under their control. In 1778, Peshwa distributed this territory to the Maratha rulers, Holkars of Indore, Sindhias of Gwalior and Ponwars of Dhar. After the independence and merger of the Princely states with Union of India in 1948, this territory became West Nimar district of Madhya Bharat. Khargone district had been part of the Nerbudda (Narmada) Division of the Central Provinces and Berar, which became the state of Madhya Bharat (later Madhya Pradesh) after India's independence in 1947. On 1 November 1956 this district became part of the newly formed state of Madhya Pradesh. On 25 May 1998 West Nimar district was bifurcated into two districts: Khargone and Barwani.

Geography :

Area of the district is 8030 km². The district is situated between 21°22' and 22°35' north latitudes and 74°25' and 76°14' east longitudes. The district is surrounded by Dhar, Indore and Dewas in the north, state of Maharashtra state in the south, Khandwa, Burhanpur in the east and Barwani in the West. Deepali was the princess who ruled city in 20th century.

Economy :

Economically, Khargone is dependent on agriculture, with several other industries developing in the area. The major cash crops of Khargone District are cotton, soybean and chilly (or "chili pepper"). The district is India's biggest cotton-producing region. There are various cotton processing units (spinning) in the cooperative sector and private sector. One of the major spinning unit is JawaharLal Nehru Sahakari Soot Mill, situated on Julwania Road. It is a cooperative sector society. The red chilly is exported abroad. A famous mandi of chilly at Bedia is located about 50 km from Khargone and the famous Sendhwa cotton hub is just 70 km from district headquarters.

Divisions :

The district is divided into 5 sub-divisions, which are further divided into 9 tehsils. Barwaha sub-division has only one tehsil, Barwaha with the town bigger than Barwaha name Sanawad. Bhikangaon sub-division has two tehsils, Bhikangaon and Jhirnya.[2] Kasrawad sub-division has only Kasrawad tehsil while Khargone sub-division has four tehsils, Khargone, Gogawan, Bhagwanpura, and Segaon. Mandaleshwar sub-division has one tehsil, Maheshwar. Khargone town is the administrative headquarters of the district. Other towns are Maheshwar, Kasrawad, Segaon, Bhagwanpura, Jhirnya, Bhikangaon, Gogawan and Barwah. Maheshwar is a place of tourist attraction as the former capital of the Haihayas and the Holkars of Indore.

The district consists 6 Vidhan Sabha constituencies. These constituencies are: Bhikangaon, Badwah, Maheshwar, Kasrawad, Khargone and Bhagwanpura. While, Bhikangaon and Badwah are part of Khnadwa Lok Sabha constituency, the rest are part of Khargone Lok Sabha constituency.

Demographics :

According to the 2011 census Khargone District has a population of 1,873,046, roughly equal to the nation of Kosovo or the US state of West Virginia.This gives it a ranking of 252nd in India (out of a total of 640).The district has a population density of 233 inhabitants per square kilometre (600/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 22.81%. West Nimar has a sex ratio of 963 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 63.98%.

Languages :

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 71.60% of the population in the district spoke Hindi, 24.31% Bhili, 1.98% Urdu, 0.61% Gujarati and 0.43% Marathi as their first language. Languages spoken include Nimadi is the most spoken language in west Nimar and Gujarati. Bareli Palya, a Bhil language with approximately 10,000 speakers centred in Madhya Pradesh; Bareli Rathwi, another Bhil language, with approximately 64,000 speakers, written in the Devanagari script; and Bhilali, with 11,50,000 speakers.

Places of Interest :

Khargone : District Headquarters – Located on the banks of Kunda River, this city is famous for the very ancient Navagraha temple. This city is 150 km from Indore (Railway / Airport), 90 km from Badwani. (If you are coming from Gujarat – State Highway 26), 70 km from Senthwa. (If you are coming from Maharashtra – Agra Mumbai National Highway No. 3), 65 km from Dhamnod. (If you are coming from Indore – Agra Mumbai National Highway No. 3), 130 km from Dhar, 90 km from Khandwa, 130 km from Burhanpur. 150 kms from Bhusaval Is at a distance. This city is a major center of cotton and jingling factories.

Maheshwar : This city has been the capital of the Haiyavanshi king Sahasrarjun, who had defeated Ravana. Because of persecution of Rishi Jamdagni, his son Bhagwan Parashuram had killed Sahasrangarh. In the mean time, the great goddess Ahilyabai has also been the capital of Holkar. Situated on the banks of river Narmada, this city is famous for its very beautiful and gorgeous Ghats and Maheshwari sarees. There are very artistic temples on the pier, from which the Raj Rajeshwar temple is the main. The famous legend of Adiguru Shankaracharya and Pandit Mandan Mishra was here. It is also the headquarters of a tehsil of the district. Is a popular tourist destination. 60 km from Khargone.

Mandleshwar : 10 km from Maheshwar This town is also situated on the banks of Narmada. Construction of hydropower project and dam has been done on Narmada. Here is a very ancient Shiva-temple at the place called Choli, where a very splendid Shiva-Ling is located. 50 km from Khargone.

Oon : This place is 18 kms from Khargone. Is at a distance. This place is famous for Parmar-Kalyan Shiva-Mandir and Jain temples. A very ancient Mahalaxmi-Narayan Temple is also located here. In addition to Khajuraho, there are only Parmar-Kalin ancient temples here.

Bakao and Raverkhedi : The great Peshwa Bajirao Samadhi is situated in Raverkhedi. At the time of a campaign for North India, he died on the Narmada border. Shiva-Linga is carved by carving stones of Narmada in Dakawan.

Dejla-Deora : There is a large dam on the Kunda river, which irrigates about 8000 hectares.

Sirwell Mahadev : 55 kms from Khargone Far away this place is recognized that Ravana had offered his 10 heads to Mahadev Shiva. That’s why this name is lying. This place is very close to the border of Maharashtra. M.P. on Mahashivaratri And many devotees from Maharashtra come to visit here.

Nanheshwar : 20 kms from Khargone This place is also famous for the ancient Shiva temple. This place is on the way while going from Khargone to Sirwell Mahadev.

The twin towns of Badwah and Sanawad : are settled on both sides of Narmada. North on the north side and southwest is Savadad. To go to Uchkareshwar Jyotirling, you have to go from here. Sanaward has also got to know the Indira Sagar hydropower project in Punasara. From Badwah to Mandleswar, Maheshwar and Dhammod can be visited. World famous Red Chilli Mandi at Bediya is near Sanawad.