Beed is a town and administrative headquarters of the district of same name located in central Maharashtra state of India. According to 2001 census, it is the largest urban area in the district with a population of 138,091.[1] Calculated population of 2009 is 159,118.[2] It ranks 295th in population in India.[3] Nearly 36% of the district’s urban population lives in the town alone. It has witnessed roughly 23% population growth during 1991–2001 decade.
There are several historical buildings located in the town of which Kankaleshwar temple is the most famous. There are remains of citadel wall which protect a part of the old town from rare but violent floods of Bendsura river. As district headquarters, the town has several district and local administrative offices including district and municipal councils, district and session courts and offices of district collector and superintendent of police. Hospitals, schools and colleges including professional training colleges are also located in the town.
History
Beed is a historical town of possibly medieval origin but few historians have mentioned it as it never became a place of importance. Rulers, almost always, ignored it perhaps because of its unimportant location. The first historical mention of the town came in the Tārīkh-e-Firishta (original name Gulshan-e-Ibrahimi) compiled by Muhammad Qasim Firishta (1560–1620), a 17th century Persian-Indian historian. Famous English translation of this book History of The Rise of Mahomedan Power in India by John Briggs has been published several times in India and abroad. Firishta has given little but valuable information about the town of his time. He has also mentioned the famous Kankaleshwar temple in detail.
In 1317 AH (1898), Qazi Muhammad Qutbullah, a resident and Qazi of Beed wrote a detailed history of Beed town (Tārīkh-e-Bīr) in Urdu based on the accounts available at that time. Copy of this book, now can only be found in the State Archives, Library of Salar Jang Museum and Library of Osmania University; all in Hyderabad. However, first detailed history of the town Riyāz-ul-Abrār (Garden of the Virtuous) was written by Qazi Muhammad Fakhruddin in 1152 AH (1739). Unfortunately this book is not available in the libraries for reference. However, Qutbullah has quoted this book in his Tārīkh-e-Bīr (History of Beed) and also has referred for the accounts. In 1361 AH (1942) Syed Basit Ali, a resident of Beed, who was a student of intermediate in the City College of Hyderabad, wrote a brief history Tārīkh-e-Bīr in Urdu. Its copies can be found in the library of Osmania University.
In recent times Abdul Hamīd Nathapuri wrote Zila Bīr Kī Tārīkh (history of Beed district) in Urdu which is published in 1998 from Mumbai. His book gives accounts of mainly Beed town and is largely based on Qutbullah’s accounts and oral traditions. Some historical accounts can also be found in the gazette of Beed district published in 1969 by the Gazetteers Department of Beed district. This Gazette is now out of print but available online at the government of Maharashtra website. The Imperial Gazetteer of India, compiled during the British rule also gives some important details of the town and the district.
