Komaram Bheem Asifabad district

Overview

Komaram Bheem Asifabad is a district in the northern part of the Indian state of Telangana. It was created on 11 October 2016 when the Government of Telangana reorganised the state's administrative geography, increasing the number of districts from ten to thirty-one. The district was carved out of the erstwhile Adilabad district and is named after Komaram Bheem, the Gond tribal leader who led an armed revolt against the Nizam of Hyderabad's rule in the 1930s under the slogan Jal, Jangal, Jameen (water, forest, land).

Key facts

Country	India
State	Telangana
Region	Telangana (northern)
Headquarters	Asifabad
Formed	11 October 2016
Parent district	Adilabad (erstwhile)
Named after	Komaram Bheem

Geography

The district lies in the Godavari basin and is bounded by Adilabad district to the west, Mancherial district to the south, and the state of Maharashtra to the north and east, with the Pranahita river forming part of the inter-state boundary. The terrain is largely undulating and forested, with parts of the district falling within the reserved forests of the eastern Deccan plateau. The Pranahita and its tributaries are the principal rivers, and the area is known for teak forests and pockets of bauxite and coal-bearing geology associated with the larger Godavari valley coalfields.

Administration

The district headquarters is located at Asifabad town. For administrative purposes, the district is divided into revenue divisions and a number of mandals, with Kagaznagar functioning as a major urban and commercial centre alongside Asifabad. The district is part of the Adilabad Lok Sabha constituency for parliamentary elections.

Demographics and society

Komaram Bheem Asifabad has a substantial Scheduled Tribe population, including Gond, Kolam and Naikpod communities, and the district lies within the Fifth Schedule areas where special protections for tribal land and governance apply. Telugu is the principal language, with Gondi, Kolami, Lambadi, Marathi and Urdu also spoken. Agriculture, particularly cotton and paddy cultivation, is the predominant occupation, supplemented by forest-based livelihoods and coal mining in adjoining belts.

Economy

The economy is largely agrarian. Cotton is the leading commercial crop, alongside paddy, jowar, soybean and pulses. The Sirpur Paper Mills at Kagaznagar, one of the older paper manufacturing units in the region, has historically been a major employer in the district. Coal mining operations of Singareni Collieries in the wider Godavari valley extend into parts of the district, and forest produce continues to be an important secondary source of income for tribal households.

History

The territory now forming the district was historically part of the Gond kingdoms of central India and later came under the Nizam's Hyderabad State. In the early twentieth century the region became the centre of Komaram Bheem's struggle against feudal exploitation and the appropriation of tribal lands; he was killed by Nizam's forces in 1940 at Jodeghat, which is located within the present district. After the integration of Hyderabad State into India in 1948 and the formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, the area became part of Adilabad district. Following the creation of Telangana in 2014, the state government reorganised districts in 2016, and Komaram Bheem Asifabad was constituted as a separate district. A memorial and museum dedicated to Komaram Bheem at Jodeghat commemorates the leader and the tribal uprising.

Places of interest

Jodeghat – memorial complex associated with Komaram Bheem.
Kagaznagar – industrial town known for the Sirpur Paper Mills.
Pranahita river – forms a scenic and ecological boundary with Maharashtra.
Reserved forest tracts and tribal hamlets in the Asifabad and Tiryani belts.

References

Government of Telangana, notification on reorganisation of districts, 2016.
Wikidata entry: Q28170184.
Census of India and Telangana state administrative gazetteers.

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