Dhule district is an administrative district in the northwestern part of the state of Maharashtra, India. The district headquarters is located in the city of Dhule. It forms part of the Khandesh region and falls under the Nashik Division for revenue administration.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| State | Maharashtra |
| Region | Khandesh |
| Division | Nashik Division |
| Headquarters | Dhule |
| Country | India |
| Official language | Marathi |
Dhule district lies in the upper Tapi river basin in northwestern Maharashtra. It is bordered by the state of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Nandurbar district to the west, Jalgaon district to the east, and Nashik district to the south. The terrain consists largely of plains drained by the Tapi and its tributaries, with the Satpura Range rising along the northern fringe.
The district is divided into four tahsils (talukas): Dhule, Sakri, Shirpur and Sindkheda. Local self-government in rural areas is exercised through the Dhule Zilla Parishad and panchayat samitis at the taluka level, while urban administration is handled by the Dhule Municipal Corporation along with municipal councils in towns such as Shirpur, Dondaicha and Sindkheda.
The district contributes to the Dhule Lok Sabha constituency, and includes Vidhan Sabha (state assembly) constituencies covering Dhule City, Dhule Rural, Sakri, Shirpur and Sindkheda.
The area now forming Dhule district has historically been part of Khandesh, which came under the Faruqi dynasty, the Mughal Empire, the Marathas, and subsequently the British, who organised it within the Bombay Presidency as part of West Khandesh district. Following the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1960, the district became part of Maharashtra. In 1998, the erstwhile Dhule district was bifurcated, with its western portion forming the new Nandurbar district.
The economy of Dhule district is predominantly agricultural. Major crops include cotton, jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet), groundnut, pulses, wheat and sugarcane, supported by irrigation from projects on the Tapi and Panzara rivers. Cotton ginning and pressing, oil milling, dairy, and power-loom textile units form the principal agro-based industries. The district lies along important trade corridors, with National Highway 52 and National Highway 3 (the Agra–Mumbai route) passing through it, making Dhule a notable highway junction.
Marathi is the principal language of the district, with significant use of Khandeshi (Ahirani) as a regional dialect, alongside Hindi and Urdu in urban pockets. The district has a substantial tribal population, particularly the Bhil and Pawra communities in the hilly tracts of Sakri and Shirpur talukas.
Dhule is home to several educational institutions, including the Shri Bhausaheb Hire Government Medical College and the Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University-affiliated colleges. The Rajwade Sanshodhan Mandal, founded in memory of the historian V. K. Rajwade, is based in Dhule and houses an important archive of Marathi historical manuscripts.