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Maharashtra
 Capital
: Mumbai
Largest city : Mumbai
District(s) : 35
Population : 96,752,247 (2nd)
Density : 314.42/km² (814/sq mi)
Language(s) : Marathi
Established : 1960-05-01
Maharashtra is India's third largest state in area and
second largest in population after Uttar Pradesh. It is bordered
by the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and the Union territory of Dadra and
Nagar Haveli. The Arabian Sea makes up the state's western coast.
Mumbai, India's most populous city, is the capital of Maharashtra.
Mumbai is a cosmopolitan city, and serves as the financial and
entertainment capital of the country.
The name Maharashtra first appeared in a 7th century inscription
and in the account of a Chinese traveler, Hiuen-Tsang.
In 90 A.D. Vedishri, son of the Satavahana king Satakarni, the
"Lord of Dakshinapatha, wielder of the unchecked wheel
of Sovereignty", made Junnar, thirty miles north of Pune,
the capital of his kingdom. In the early fourteenth century
the Devgiri Yadavs were overthrown by the northern Muslim powers.
Then on, the region was administered by various kingdoms called
Deccan Sultanates.
In 17th Century, the Marathas rose under leadership of Shivaji
Raje Bhosale against the Mughals who were ruling a large part
of India. After a lifelong struggle against Mughals and other
rulers (mostly Muslim), he established an independent state,
with an efficient administration and a powerful army. By 1680,
the year of Shivaji's death, nearly all of the Deccan belonged
to his kingdom. He is thus regarded as the father of the Maratha
state.
After Indian independence, in 1960 a separate Maharashtra state
was carved out from Bombay presidency and Central provinces.
The principal language of the state is Marathi.
History
Pre Medieval history
Not much is known about Maharashtra's early history, and its
recorded history dates back to the 3rd century B.C.E., with
the use of Maharashtri Prakrit, one of the Prakrits derived
from Sanskrit. In literature Maharashtra is referred to as Dandakaranya,
i.e. the forest (aranya) bound by rules (dandakas). Later,{needs
date} Maharashtra became a part of the Magadha empire, ruled
by emperor Ashoka. The port town of Sopara, north of present
day Mumbai, was the centre of ancient India's commerce, with
links to Eastern Africa, Mesopotamia, Aden and Cochin.
With the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire, a local dynasty
called Satavahanas came into prominence in Maharashtra between
230 B.C.E. and 225 C.E. The period saw the biggest cultural
development of Maharashtra. The Satavahana's official language
was Maharashtri, which later developed into Marathi. The great
ruler Gautamiputra Satkarni (also known as "Shalivahan")
ruled around 78 C.E. He started the Shalivahana era, a new calendar,
still used by Maharashtrian populace and as the Indian national
calendar. The empire gradually disintegrated in the third century.
During (250 C.E. – 525 C.E.), Vidarbha, the eastern region
of Maharashtra, came under the rule of Vakatakas. During this
period, development of arts, religion and technology flourished.
Later, in 753 C.E., the region was governed by the Rashtrakutas,
an empire that spread over most of India. In 973 C.E., the Chalukyas
of Badami expelled the Rashtrakutas, and ruled parts of Maharashtra
until 1189 when the region came under the Yadavas of Deogiri.
Islamic
Rule
Maharashtra came under Islamic influence for the first time
after the Delhi Sultanate rulers Ala-ud-din Khalji, and later
Muhammad bin Tughluq conquered parts of the Deccan in the 13th
century. After the collapse of the Tughlaqs in 1347, the Bahmani
Sultanate of Gulbarga took over, governing the region for the
next 150 years. After the breakup of the Bahamani sultanate,
in 1518, Maharashtra was ruled by the breakaway Shah's, namely
Nizamshah of Ahmednagar, Adilshah of Bijapur and Imadshah of
Berar.
The Rise of the Marathas
By the early seventeenth century the Maratha Empire began to
take root. Shahaji Bhosale, an ambitious local general in the
employ of the Mughals and Adil Shah of Bijapur, at various times
attempted to establish his independent rule. The attempts succeeded
through his son Shivaji Bhosale. Marathas were led by Chhatrapati
Raje Shivaji Bhosale, who was crowned king in 1674. Shivaji
constantly battled with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and Adil
Shah of Vijapur. Shivaji Raje was the most able, successful,
popular and respected king Maharashtra ever had. By the time
of his death in 1680, Shivaji has created a kingdom covering
most of Maharashtra today (except the aurangabad district which
was part of the Nizam) and Gujarat.
Shivaji's son and successor became the ruler of the maratha
kingdom in 1680. He Sambhaji Bhosale was tortured and killed
by Aurangzeb. Sambaji Maharaj accepted painfull death but refused
to accept ISLAM, the Mughal emperor in the late 1689s. The Mughals
forced Sambhaji's younger brother, Rajaram Bhosale to flee into
the Tamil-speaking countryside. He retreated to the fortress
of Jinji (sometimes anglicised to Ginjee) thereafter recovering
his power in Maharashtra in the early 18th century, in somewhat
changed circumstances.
Rajaram's nephew & Sambhaji's son, Shahu Bhosale declared
himself to be the legitimate heir to the Bhosale throne. In
1714, Shahu's Peshwa (chief minister) Balaji Vishwanath, helped
him seize the Maratha throne in 1708, with some acrimony from
Rajaram's widow, Tara Bai.
The Peshwas
The Peshwas, Balaji Vishwanath and his son, Baji Rao I, bureaucratized
the Maratha state. They systematized the practice of tribute
gathering from Mughal territories, under the heads of sardesmukhi
and chauth (the two terms corresponding to the proportion of
revenue collected). They also consolidated Mughal-derived methods
of assessment and collection of land revenue and other taxes.
Much of the revenue terminology used in Peshwa documents derives
from Persian, suggesting a far greater continuity between Mughal
and Maratha revenue practice than may be politically palatable
in the present day.
At the same time, Balaji Vishwanath cultivated the maritime
Angre clan, which controlled a fleet of vessels based in Kolaba
and other centres of the west coast. These ships posed a threat
not only to the new English settlement of Bombay, but to the
Portuguese at Goa, Bassein, and Daman.
On the other hand, there emerged a far larger domain of activity
away from the original heartland of the Marathas, which was
given over to subordinate chiefs as fiefs. Gwalior was given
to Scindia/Shinde, Indore to Holkar, Baroda to Gaekwad and Dhar
to Pawar.
After suffering a stinging defeat at the hands of Afghan chieftain
Ahmad Shah Abdali, in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, the
Maratha Confederacy broke into regional kingdoms.
Post-Panipat, the Peshwa's ex-generals looked after the regional
kingdoms they had earned and carved out for themselves in the
service of Peshwas covering north-central and Deccan regions
of India. Pune continued to be ruled by what was left of the
Peshwa family.
British Rule and Post-Independence
With the arrival and subsequent involvement of the British East
India Company in Indian politics, the Marathas and the British
fought the three Anglo-Maratha wars between 1777 and 1818, culminating
in the annexation of Peshwa-ruled territory in Maharashtra in
1819, which heralded the end of the Maratha empire.
The British governed the region as part of the Bombay Presidency,
which spanned an area from Karachi in Pakistan to most of the
northern Deccan. A number of the Maratha states persisted as
princely states, retaining local autonomy in return for acknowledging
British sovereignty. The largest princely states in the territory
of present-day Maharashtra were Nagpur, Satara and Kolhapur;
Satara was annexed to Bombay Presidency in 1848, and Nagpur
was annexed in 1853 to become Nagpur Province, later part of
the Central Provinces. Berar, which had been part of the Nizam
of Hyderabad's kingdom, was occupied by the British in 1853
and annexed to the Central Provinces in 1903. A large part of
present day Maharashtra called Marathwada remained part of the
Nizam's Hyderabad state during British rule. The British rule
was marked by social reforms, an improvement in infrastructure
as well revolts due to their discriminatory policies. At the
beginning of the 20th century, the struggle for independence
took shape led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the moderates like
Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Agarkar,
Pherozeshah Mehta and Dadabhai Naoroji. In 1942, the Quit India
Movement was called by Mahatma Gandhi which was marked by a
non-violent civil disobedience movement and strikes.
After
India's independence in 1947, the princely states were integrated
into the Indian Union, and the Deccan States including Kolhapur
were integrated into Bombay State, which was created from the
former Bombay Presidency in 1950. In 1956, the States Reorganisation
Act reorganized the Indian states along linguistic lines, and
Bombay Presidency State was enlarged by the addition of the
predominantly Marathi-speaking regions of Marathwada (Aurangabad
Division) from erstwhile Hyderabad state and Vidarbha region
(Amravati and Nagpur divisions) from Madhya Pradesh (formerly
the Central Provinces and Berar). On May 1, 1960, Maharashtra
came into existence when Bombay Presidency State was split into
the new linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Demographics
As per the 2001 census, Maharashtra has a population of 96,752,247
inhabitants making it the second most populous state in India,
and the second most populous country subdivision in existence,
and third ever after the Russian SFSR of the former Soviet Union.
The Marathi-speaking population of Maharashtra numbers 62,481,681
according to the 2001 census. This is a reflection of the cosmopolitan
nature of the state. Only eleven countries of the world have
a population greater than Maharashtra. Its density is 322.5
inhabitants per square kilometre. Males constitute 50.3 million
and females, 46.4 million. Maharashtra's urban population stands
at 42.4%. Its sex ratio is 922 females to 1000 males. 77.27%
of its population is literate, broken into 86.2% males and 67.5%
females. Its growth rate between 1991-2001 was pegged at 22.57%.
Marathi is the official state language. Marathi is spoken by
a vast majority of its populace. In Mumbai however, due to its
cosmopolitan nature, Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati and English, along
with a variety of other languages are also spoken. In the northwest
portion of Maharashtra, a dialect Ahirani is spoken by a minority.
In south Konkan, a dialect of Konkani (sometimes called a dialect
of Marathi) known as Malvani is spoken by most of the people.
In the Desh region of the Deccan, a dialect called Deshi is
spoken, while in Vidarbha, a dialect known as Varhadi is spoken
by most of the people.
The state has a Hindu majority of 80.2% with minorities of Muslims
10.6%, Buddhists 6%, Jains 1.3% and Christians 1%. Maharashtra
has the biggest Jain, Zoroastrian and Jewish populations in
India.
The Total Fertility Rate in 2001 was 2.23. Caste Hindus - 2.09,
Muslims - 2.49, Christians - 1.41, Jains - 1.41, Sikh - 1.57,
Buddhist - 2.24, Others -2.25, Tribals - 3.14 and Dalits of
all religions - 2.42(Hindu Dalits had higher TFR compared to
Buddhist Dalits).
It should be noted that about 76% of Hindus of Maharashtra speak
Marathi while the rest speak Hindi, Gujarati and other languages.
About two-thirds of the Muslim population speak Urdu while the
rest speak Marathi. Almost all of the Buddhist, Jain and Christian
population of Maharashtra speak Marathi.
Culture
See also: Maharashtrian cuisine and Marathi cinema
Hindus form the majority of Maharashtra population and the culture
of Maharashtra reflects that. There are many temples in Maharashtra
some of them being hundreds of years old. These temples are
constructed in a fusion of architectural styles borrowed from
North and South India. The temples also blend themes from Hindu,
Buddhist and Jain cultures. The temple of Vitthala at Pandharpur
is the most important temple for the Varkari sect. Other important
religious places are the Ashtavinayak (eight temple sites of
Ganesha), Bhimashankar which is one of the Jyotirlinga (12 important
shiva temples). Amongst the cave art and architecture is the
famous tourist attraction of Ajanta and Ellora Caves near Aurangabad.
A famous example of Mughal architecture is the tomb of the wife
of Aurangzeb called Bibi Ka Maqbara also located at Aurangabad.
Forts
Maharashtra has a large number of hill, land and sea forts.
Forts have played an important role in the history of Maharashtra.
Entertainment
Maharashtra like other states of India has its own folk music.
The folk music viz. Gondhal Lavani, Bharud, Powada, stand popular
especially in rural areas, while the common form of music favored
in urban areas is from the Hindi and Marathi Film Industry.
Like its rich folk culture Maharashtra has equally rich Literature.
The earliest instances of Marathi literature is by Dnyaneshwar
with his Bhawarthadeepika (popularly known as Dnyaneshwari).
The compositions done during this period are spiritually inclined.The
other compositions are by Sant Tukaram, Sant Namdev, Sant Gora
Kumbhar. The compositions are mostly in poetic form, which are
called as Bhajans. These bhajans by saints are popular and part
of day to day life. The Modern Marathi literature has been enriched
by famous poets and authors like P. L. Deshpande, Kusumagraj,
Prahlad Keshav Atre, Vyankatesh Madgulkar. This literature has
been passed on to the next generations through the medium of
large number of books that are published every year in Marathi.
The world famous Film industry Bollywood is in Maharatstra located
in the economic capital of India Mumbai. The Marathi film industry
was once placed in Kolhapur but now is spread out through Mumbai
too. The pioneer of Indian movie industry, Dadasaheb Phalke,
producer & director V. Shantaram, B.R.Chopra, Shakti Samanta,
Raj Kapoor, form a few names of the Hindi Film fraternity, while
writer, director, and actor P. L. Deshpande, actor Ashok Saraf,
actor Laxmikant Berde, actor & producer, Sachin Pilgaonkar,
Mahesh Kothare belong to the Marathi Film Industry. The early
period of Marathi theatre was dominated by playwrights like
Kolhatkar, Khadilkar, Deval, Gadkari and Kirloskar who enriched
the Marathi theatre for about half a century with excellent
musical plays known as Sangeet Naatak. The genre of music used
in such plays known as Natyasangeet. It is during this era of
the Marathi theatre that great singer actors like Bal Gandharva,
Keshavrao Bhosle, Bhaurao Kolhatkar, Deenanath Mangeshkar thrived.
Some of the popular Marathi television channels are DD Sahyadri,
Zee Marathi and ETV Marathi, which host shows ranging from soap
operas, cooking and travel to political satire and game shows.
Recently (31 Sept 2007) Zee Telefilms launched a new channel
Zee Talkies, which will be broadcasting total range of Marathi
cinema.
The cuisine of Maharashtra varies according to the region of
Maharashtra. The people of the Konkan region have a chiefly
rice based diet with fish being a major component, due the close
proximity to the sea. In eastern Maharashtra, the diet is based
more on Wheat, Jowar and Bajra. Puran Poli, Bakarwadi, plain
simple Varan Bhat(dish cooked with plain rice and curry), Modak
are few dishes to name. Chicken and Mutton are also widely used
for a variety of cuisines. Kolhapuri Mutton is famous dish for
its peculiar spicy nature.
Women traditionally wear a nine yard or five yard sari and men
a dhoti or pajama with a shirt. This, however, is changing with
women in urban Maharashtra wearing Punjabi dresses, consisting
of a Salwar and a Kurta while men wear trousers and a shirt.
The Cricket craze can be seen through out Maharashtra, as it
is the most widely followed and played sport. Kabaddi, Hockey
are also played with fervor. Children’s games include
Viti-Dandu (Gilli-danda in Hindi) and Pakada-pakadi (Tag).
Hindus in Maharashtra follow the Saka era calendar. Gudi Padwa,
Diwali, Rangapanchami, Gokulashtami and Ganeshotsav are some
of the festivals that are celebrated in Maharashtra. Ganeshotsav
is the biggest festival of Maharashtra which is celebrated with
much reverence and festivity throughout the state and has since
some time become popular all over the country. The festival
which continues over ten days is in honour of Ganesha the God
of learning and knowledge. A large number of people walk hundreds
of kilometers to Pandharpur for the annual pilgrimage in the
month of Ashadh.
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