The Buldhana district of Maharashtra lies in the Amravati Division of the Maharashtra state and comes under the Vidharba region. The district is surrounded by Madhya Pradesh in the north, Akola, Washim, and Amravati districts from the east, in south it is covered by the Jalna district and Jalgaon and Aurangabad districts respectively in the west.
The history of Buldhana reveals that the district had been under the control of various rulers and dynasties. Going back to the historical records it is believed to the part of Berar province under the kingdom of Vidharba of Mahabharatta. The district had been under the dominance of Mauryan ruler Great Ashoka during 272 to 231 BCE. However, the province of Berar came under the control of Satavhana dynasty during 2nd century BC and 2nd century CE.
After that the region came under the control of various dynasties from time to time and from period to period. Before finally coming under the control of East India Company the rulers of Vakataka Dynasty (from 3rd to 6th century), the Chalukya Dynasty (6th to 8th century), the Rashtrakuta Dynasty (8th to 10th century) again the Chalukya Dynasty (10th to 12th century) and finally the Yadav Dynasty of Devagiri (12th to early 14th century) controlled over the region. In the beginning of the 14th century the region came under the control of Allauddin Khilji, the Sultanate of Delhi. By the middle of the 14th century the district got separated from the control of Delhi Sultanate and came under the dominance of Bahmani kingdom.
By the end of 15th century it remained under the control of Bahamani Sultanante but by then it broke into smaller Sultanates and by 1572 it became the part of Nizam Sahi Sultanate of Ahmednagar along with the rest of Berar region. With the beginning of 18th century the Mughal rule over India extended to other parts as a result of this Asaf Jah I, the Nizam of Hyderabad took possession of the southern provinces of the empire (including Berar) in 1724, forming an independent state. In 1853, the Buldhana district together with the rest of Berar came under the administration of the British East India Company. Berar was divided into East and West Berar with Buldhana district being included in West Berar.
The district is divided into five subdivisions, namely Buldhana, Mehkar, Khamgaon, Malkapur, and Jalgaon-Jamod. There are thirteen talukas- Buldhana, Chikhli, Deulgaon Raja, Malkapur, Motala, Nandura, Mehkar, Sindkhed Raja, Lonar, Khamgaon, Shegaon, Jalgaon Jamod and Sangrampur.
The district Head Quarters is at Buldhana which is connected to all thirteen talukas of the district by state highway. The distances of the other major towns from Buldhana is Aurangabad ( 180 KM ), Pune ( 425 KM ), Amravati ( 200 KM ), Nagpur ( 350 KM ).
Geographically the district lies between 19°51’ to 21°17’ North latitude and 75°57’ to 76°49’ East Longitude on the basins of river Tapti and Godavari. Purna River is a tributary of the Tapti River while Penganga River and Kadakpurna Riverare tributaries of Godavari River.
The district is blessed with few fascinating tourist attraction owing to the ancient Lonar crater (second largest in the world), declared a world heritage. Shegaon of Gajanan Maharaj & Sailanibaba’s Dargah are the major places of pilgrimage. Sindakhedraja in this district is renowned to be birthplace of Rajmata Jeejabai.
The major crops in the district are cotton, jowar and other cereals, oil seeds, soybean, sunflower and groundnut. The major industrial areas of district are Khamgoan and Malkapur and has mini industrial areas at Chikhli, Buldhana, Dasarkhed, Deoulgaonraja, Mehkar, Sangrampur and Lonar.
Connectivity: The nearest airport for the district is Aurangabad which is about 150 kms from the town. The state capital of Mumbai is 450 km to the west and is connected to Buldhana by road.
Distances of the other major towns from Buldhana are:
- Amravati (200 kms)
- Aurangabad (180 kms)
- Nagpur (350 kms)
- Pune (425 kms)
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