Aurangabad district, Maharashtra

Overview

Aurangabad district is an administrative district located in the Marathwada region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district takes its name from its headquarters, the historic city of Aurangabad, which was officially renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar by the Government of Maharashtra in 2023. The district is one of the most prominent in the Marathwada region, known for its medieval monuments, industrial growth, and connections to the Mughal and Nizam periods of Indian history.

Key facts

Geography

The district lies on the Deccan Plateau in north-central Maharashtra. It is bordered by Jalna district to the east, Ahmednagar district to the west and south-west, Nashik district to the north-west, Jalgaon district to the north, and Beed district to the south. The Godavari river basin influences much of the southern part of the district, while the Tapi basin lies to the north. The terrain consists largely of undulating plateau land with hill ranges associated with the Sahyadri and Satmala–Ajanta systems.

Administration

Aurangabad district is administered by a District Collector and forms part of the Aurangabad Division, which also includes other Marathwada districts. The district is divided into several talukas (tehsils), including Aurangabad, Kannad, Sillod, Soegaon, Phulambri, Khuldabad, Vaijapur, Gangapur and Paithan. The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation administers the headquarters city, while smaller urban areas are governed by municipal councils and nagar panchayats.

History

The region has been inhabited since ancient times and lay along important trade routes connecting the Deccan to northern and western India. The area gained particular prominence in the medieval period:

• The rock-cut monasteries at Ajanta and the temples and viharas at Ellora, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, lie within or near the district.
• Daulatabad (Devagiri) served as the capital of the Yadava dynasty and was briefly made an imperial capital by Muhammad bin Tughlaq in the 14th century.
• The city of Khadki was founded by Malik Ambar in 1610 and was later renamed Aurangabad after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who used it as a base during his Deccan campaigns.
• After 1724 the region came under the Asaf Jahi Nizams of Hyderabad and remained part of Hyderabad State until 1948.
• Following Operation Polo in 1948, the district became part of Hyderabad State of the Indian Union, and on the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1956 it was incorporated into Bombay State, before becoming part of Maharashtra in 1960.
• In 2023, the city of Aurangabad was officially renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar by the Maharashtra government.

Economy

The economy of the district combines agriculture, industry, and tourism. Major crops include cotton, jowar, bajra, pulses, and wheat, while the Paithan area along the Godavari is known for sweet lime (mosambi) cultivation. Industrial estates developed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) at Waluj, Chikalthana, Shendra and the Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) node at Shendra–Bidkin have made the district a significant manufacturing hub, with units in automobiles, engineering, pharmaceuticals, breweries, and consumer goods. Paithan is also famous for the handloom Paithani saree.

Culture and tourism

The district is one of the most visited tourist regions in Maharashtra. Notable sites include:

• Ajanta Caves — Buddhist rock-cut caves with celebrated murals.
• Ellora Caves — Hindu, Buddhist and Jain rock-cut temples, including the monolithic Kailasa temple.
• Bibi Ka Maqbara — a 17th-century Mughal mausoleum often called the "Taj of the Deccan".
• Daulatabad Fort