TAHSIL INFORMATION
The History of Ahmednagar
The early history of Ahmednagar starts from 240B.C. when the vicinity is mentioned in the reference
to the Mauryan Emperor Ashok. It was not place of any district importance but small hamlets did lay in the neighbourhood of the present city and were regarded as important by-pass places in between Junner and Paithan.
The Andhrabrityas – the name of the dynasty of the ruling kings whose powers lasted from B.C. 90 to A.D. 300 and who at the time ruled the Deccan held Ahmednagar in their sway. After that The Rashtrakuta Dynasty ruled over Ahmednagar till about 400 A.D. and by the early Chalukya & Western Chalukya kings till 670 A.D. The Rashtrakuta kings then ruled Ahmednagar from 670 to 973 A.D. Govind III (785 to 810) was the mightiest of the Rashtrakutas whose kingdom stretched from Marwar and Rajputana in the north to Tungabhadra river in the south. Then followed the Western Chalukyas whose dynasty ruled from 973 to 1190 A.D. The caves and temple at Harishchandragad in Akola Tahsil were carved and built during this period.
After the Western Chalukyas , Ahmednagar passed on to the Deogiri Yadavs who ruled from 1170 to 1310. Deogiri ( modern Daulatabad) sventy-four miles north east of Ahmednagar was the capital city of Yadavs. The most notable minister and statesman of this time was Hemadri who invented modi script (comparable to the running English script) and is still being studied by the intelligentsia . Hemadri was indeed a genius and is created with the idea of constructing buildings without the help of lime stone and mortar. His main idea in this is to place well cut stones of medium size across each other and filling upon each other in particular angles in such a manner that walls would be erected forming the shape of temple. Twenty six such temples scattered over the whole district bear a testimony to this. His engineering intelligence is still worth emulating by others.
The famous king of Yadav was Ramdeorao and his name is mentioned in the great literacy works of saint of Dnyandeo in this Dnyaneshwari, the contemporary of king. This Hemadri was the minister of this most reputed king. Otherwise strong & brave ; the military unpreparedness of king late to his defeat at the hands of Alladin Khilaji, the commander-in-chief of the Moghal king of Delhi, Jallalnddin Khilaji at Devgiri in 1294. This was the first ever invasion of the Musalman kings in the South across the Vindsya mountains. This victory at the very invasion gave a fillip to the Muslim ambition of establishing Muslim stronghold in the Deccan. After repeated invasions the Adam domination came at end in 1318. Maharashtra the began to be ruled by governors appointed from Delhi and stationed at Deogiri. In 1338 Mohommed Tughlak, the emperor of Delhi made Deogiri his capital and changed its name to Daulatabad or the Abode of Wealth. Later on the Tughlak left Daulatabad and the disorderly noblemen of the Emperor harassed the people looting them and burning their houses and palatial buildings. These cruelties laid to a revolt among the Muslim nobleman & leader of one of factions, An Afgan soldier Alladin Hasan Gangu was successful in overthrowing the power of Delhi emperors and establishing an independent sovereign kingdom named after his Brahmin preceptor Gangu Brahmin at Gulbarga in 1347. The kingdom is known as Bahamani or Brahmin kingdom. This kingdom lasted for 150 years ruled by 13 kings after Hasan Gangu Bahamani. Administration was commendable & the frame setup by Hasan Gangu proved to be great strength. It was followed by the succeeding kings, when at last a great famine fell in 1460. It was repeated in 1472 & 1473. During this time the noble men became rather strong & disobedient. To face this administrative calamity, Mohamed Gawan who was prime minister contemplated to bring about a drastic change in the administration. The noble men were greatly disturbed and influenced king. They leveled various charges against Mohamed Gawan. The king was weak enough to believe the charges and foolish enough to order the minister’s execution, a loss which Bahamani power never recovered. Thus poor Gawan put to death in 1487.
Thereafter the Bahamani kingdom was divided into five independent kingdoms. Ahmednagar was one of them , kown as Nizamshahi. Mohmad Gawan was succeeded in the office of Bahamani minister by Nizam-ul_mulk Bhairi and about the year 1485 Bhir and Ahmednagar were added to his estates. The management of this area was made over to the minister’s son Malik Ahmad, the founder of the Nizamshahi Dynasty of Ahmednagar. First of all Malik Ahmed made his headquarter at Junnar in Poona district.
In 1486 Nizam-ul-mulk was assassinated and Malik Ahmed became the Prime Minister of the Bahamani Kingdom. While Malik Ahmed was away from the king, the king ordered one of his generals Jahangir Khan to march against Malik Khan. While Jehangir Khan did take upon himself this task Malik Khan was almost unprepared and had a little army with him. But with great courage and unusual tactics, he defeated Jehangir Khan and army of Bahamani kingdom on the open grounds east of Ahmednagar on 28th of May 1490. This victory was called the victory of the garden because on that spot Ahmed Nizam built a palace and laid out a garden. From this time onward Ahmed Nizam continued to attack Daulatabad to lay the country waste. His headquarter, Junnar was far off from Daulatabad , so in 1494 he laid the foundation of a city close to the victory gardens (Bagh Nizam) upon the left bank of Sina river and called it after himself, Ahmednagar. In two years the city is said to have rivaled Bagdad & Cairo splendour.
Ahmed Nizam was still not at peace with himself and wanted to take revenge on the Bahamani forces. He was at last successful in 1499 when captured the fort of Daulatabad and stationed his army there. To commemorate this victory Ahmed Nizam raised a wall round the Bagh Nizam( this is the present fort of Ahmednagar) and in it built a palace of red stones. Ahmed Nizam dies in 1508 and was succeeded by his seven year old son Burhan. Ahmed Nizam was indeed a great man , that he could establish an independent kingdom clearly shows his qualities and statesmanship. By his kindness, peaceful demeanour & efficiency, he could win the loyalty of the local and foreign Muslims and also of the Maratha peasants and worriers. Since his origin was Hindu, he found no difficulty in wining over the confidence of Brahmins who were highly regarded by the Hindus. Ahmed Nizam was also a great swordsman, Administrator & general.
Burhan Nizam Shaha ( 1508 to 1553)
As Burhan Nizam Shaha was a child of seven years, Mukamil Khan Dakhani, an able statesman and general was appointed as Protector of king. When the king reached manhood he married a dancing girl, Amma and also used to drink wine. Mukamil khan did not like this and he retired from public life leaving everything to the young king’s care.
In 1523 Bibi Meriem, the sister of Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur was given in marriage to Burhan and the nuptials were celebrated with great splendour. Asad Khan of Belgaum, the envoy of Adil shah had promised the town of Sholapur as dowry to Burhan Nizam, which he afterwards refused. This raised a quarrel amongst them and led to attacks and counter-attacks resulting into a lasting ill feelings.
Burhan Nizam Shah was indeed a great warrior and fighting was his second nature. He spent most of his
years in fighting with the Khandesh & Berar kings. He was never afraidof the mighty Bhahadur Shah ,the
king of Gujarat. One time the great Bahadur Shah marched against Burhan and stayed in the
fort of Ahmednagar for a few months. Burhan Shah was never ruffled by the enemies’ might though he
was in league with the kings of Berar and Khandesh. At last Bahadur Shah left Ahmednagar and Burhan
Nizam Shah came to terms with the Bahadur Shah’s deputies.
Burhan Nizam Shah was a man of great understanding knew the might, value and greatness of Bahadur
Shah. He sent one of the saints of Ahmednagar, Shah Tahir to Gujrat and made friends with Bahadur,
the Great. Burhan Nizam Shah was in constant alliance with the king of vijaynagar, Ramraja, Hindu king
and often attacked Bijapur. At last Burhan Nizam Shah died in 1553 at the age of fifty four after a
reign of forty seven years. His body was embalmed and entombed at Karbela in Persia, near the burial place
of Hussan the son of Ali, the Prophet. He had two sons , Hussaian and Abdul Kadar by his favourite wife, Amina & two others Shah Ali and Miran Muhmmad Bukar by Bibi Marian , the daughter of Yusuf Adil Shah. He had also another son Shah Haidar married to the daughter of Khvaja Jahan Dakhani.
Husain Nizam Shah ( 1553-1565)
Hussain Nizam Shah succeeded his father in the thirteenth year of his age. There were two parties, the Abyssinians embracing Hussain Nizam Shah’s cause and the Dakhanis- both Muslmans and Hindus that of his brother Abdul Kadar, who at last was deserted by his party & left Ahmednagar & took refuge with the king of Bearar. The other brothers fled to their uncle at Bijapur.
Hussain Nizam Shah built Ahmednagar fort with stones. The fort was originally built of Mud. Now as new addition a ditch surrounding the fort was also built to keep the enemy at a safe distance from the stone wall. Ram Raja , the hindu king of Vijaynagar often attacked the Ahmednagar fort and persued Hussain right upto Junnar.
The Adil Shah of Bijapur often helped Ram Raja against Hussain Nizam shah. The Adil Shah and Hussain Nizam shah often marched against each other and tried to take revenge. Ram raja played the role of making these Muslim kings fight against one another.
Hussain Nizam shah could see the futility of nursing ill feelings against one another amongst the Muslim kings. He therefore entered into league with the kings of Bijapur, Bedar and Golkouda against Ram raja in 1564.
The united army of 4 kings defeated Ram raja in 1565 at Rakshastagadi. Hussain Nizam Shah’s elephant Gulam Ali caught Ram Raja,in his trunk and brought him to Hussain Nizam Shah, who beheaded him. Seeing the head of their king, Ram raja, which was struck on the point of a Lance. Ram raja’s army fled to Vijaynagar. The allies attack Vijaynagar and looted it and sacked and plundered the city. After this Hussain Nizam shah died at Ahmednagar, he left four sons & four daughters.
Murtaza Nizam Shah ( 1565-1588)
Murtaza Nizam Shah, Hussain’s son came to the throne when he was a minor. He was commonly known as Divana and madman. His mother Kurja Sultana acted as regent for six years. The alliance between Nizam Shah & Adil Shah was a little disturbed on account of Vijaynagar king. The Nizam Shah & Adil Shah in March league against Tufalkhan , who as prime minister of Berar had usurped a great deal of power. On their return from this invasion, Adil Shah tried to capture Murtaza Nizam Shah, but the latter , knowing this in advance fled back with his mother night. Thus the old rivalry started with the incident. The king overthrew the powers of his mother and later on appointed Changiz Khan his agent. King Murtaza and Changiz Khan then marched to Berar drove Tufal Khan & his son from Elichpur to the hills.
Tufal Khan felt insulted & applied for help to Emperor Akbar of Delhi. This because of Tufal Khan, the Delhi Emperor got opportunity of mixing in the affairs of the Deccan Murtaza received warning from the Emperor to quit Berar. But he did not take any notice of this. On contrary he continued his victorious campaign, seizing and placing in confinement, Tufal Khan, his master Burhan. Imad-ul-Mulk and his family. Unfortunately., however king Murtaza was displeased with Changiz Khan on account some political reason, with the result that Changiz Khan was compelled to take a glass of poison. Salabat Khan one of the great statesman was then appointed as minister of the Nizam Shahi (by about 1579). In 1584, the sister of Bijapur king was brought over to Ahmednagar with great pomp and dignity with the intention of getting her married Miran Hussain, the Prince of Ahmednagar.
Murtaza was called a madman because his behavior was at times strange. Once he wanted to give two beautiful necklaces as a present to one of his favourites. Salabat Khan did not like this , so he substituted these two most beautiful necklaces. The king was enraged and ordered Salabat Khan to place all the ornaments plundered in the war against Ramraja, the Hindu of Vijaynagar. The minister did so and when the king knew those two necklaces are missing , he ordered the ornaments to be thrown into fire. Thus these ornaments were put into fire. Salabat Khan lost king’s favour and was confined to jail at Danda rajapur. Murtaza always suspected that his son was after displacing him, so once while the youth was sleeping in his chamber, Murtaza set fire to his bed clothes and fastened door upon him. Thus Murtaza tried to destroy his son.
The prince’s cries for help brought his father’s friend Fatteh Shah to save him. He carried off the prince secretly to Daulatabad. When king heard of this, he dismissed all his ministers and appointed Mirza Khan as regent. Mirza Khan knew about the imbecility of the king. The king at such critical times released Salabat Khan. Mirza Khan managed to release the prince Miran Hussain from Daulatabad and tried to reach Ahmednagar, before Salabat Khan. The prince and Mirza Khan rushed into the fort with 40000 armed men. The prince treated his father with greatest contempt and put him into a warm bathing room, close the doors and windows lighted a great fire underneath. Thus the king was speedily suffocated to death in 1588.
Miran Hussain Nizam Shah ( 1588)
Miran hussain appointed Mirza Khan prime minister but never cared for anything except pleasures and excesses. Mirza Khan advised Miran Hussain to put to death the male members of the royal family. Lest they would either go against the king of create suspicion about the royal officers. Accordingly Miran Hussain put to death fifteen princes. After some days Miran Hussain decided to put Mirza Hussain to death. When Mirza Hussain learn this plot he captured the king and sent for cousins Ibrahim and Ismael from Poona. When they arrived in Ahmednagar, Mirza Khan called a meeting of the leading noblemen from Ahmednagar and announced in the meeting that the king was deposed and Ismael Shah , a twelve year old boy was made Nizam Shah.
While the salutations to the new king were going on inside the fort, Jamal khan, a military leader with several officers and soldiers mainly Abyssians and Dakhanis assembled at the gate of the fort demanding to see Miran Hussain, their rightful king Jamal khan told the nobels and people of Ahmednagar that if Mirza Khan were allowed to act uncontrolled, they would be soon slaves in their own land. Thousands of men gathered at the gate. When Mirza Khan saw this , he ordered Miran Hussain’s head to be cut off. The king’s head was placed on pole and planted on one of the bastions.
Jamal khan ordered the gate of the fort to be burnt. The mob then rushed into the fort, but Miraz Khan made good his escape, but later on he was seized at Junnar and brought back to Ahmednagar. He was first carried through the city on an ass and his body mangled. The massacre continued for seven days and nearly thousands foreigners were murdered.
Ismael Nizam Shah ( 1588 to 1590)
Jamal Khan acknowledged Ismael as Nizam shah. Jamal Khan put to death all foreign Musalmans, but had to spent most of his time career in fighting. When Emeror Akbar Knew about the restlessness in the Deccan, he recalled Burhan Nizam (father of Ismael Shah) and allowed him to start for the Deccan. Soon after this Jamal Khan was killed in one of the battles. Burhan Nizam captured his son and confined him to prison.
Burhan Nizam Shah (II) 1590 to 1594
Burhan Nizam Shah was advanced in age and gave himself to pleasures and excesses. Nothing important happened during his reign except a few skirmishes here and there. Before his death on March 15, 1594 he appointed Ibrahim his successor.
Ibrahim Nizam Shah 1594
By his father’s advice Ismael Nizam appointed Mian Manju Dakhani his tutor to be his Prime Minister Two parties one led by Mian Manju and the other led by Yekhlas Khan, a partisan of Ismael arose in Ahmednagar and a sort of civil war loomed large on the horizon, The Adil Shah always wanted to conquer Ahmednagar, so knowing this he marched to Ahmednagar borders. Yekhlas Khan wanted to fight but Mian Manju proposed to conclude peace so that the whole forces of the Deccun might joint to meet Emperor Akbar’s intended invasion. The king who was given to drinking persisted in an attack on the Bijapur Army and was shot in the head in the action which followed. Thus ended his rule of four months.
Ahmed (II) 1594-95
After Ibrahim Nizam Shah’s death most of the Abyssinians felt that the king’s only son Bahadur, an infant in arms should be proclaimed under the regency of Chand Bibi, his father’s aunt, Mian Manju was opposed to this Instead it was agreed to bring Ahmed, the son of Shah Tahir (who clamied tobe the son of Muhammed Khudabanda brother of Husain Nizam Shaha,) a boy of twelve years who was imprisoned at Daulatabad. This Ahmed was crowned as Nizam Shah on 6th of August 1594. The Chiefs divided the kingdom among themselves and removing Bahadur, the late king Ibrahim’s son from the charge of his aunt sent him by force to the fortress of Chavand.
Soon a quarrel arose among the chiefs and bloodshed became the rule of the day Mian Manju wanted to overcome all the disorder and so he wrote a letter to Prince Murad, Emperor Akbar’s son who was then in Gujrat to march his army to Ahmednagar, Murad who was waiting for an opportunity to invade Deccan promptly accepted this invitation.
While Murad was on march to Ahmednagar many noblemen left Yekhlas Khan and joined Mian Manju . Mian Manju now repented of his earlier mistake of sending an invitation ot Prince Murad and decided to resist Prince Murad in the interest of Nizam Shahi So he marched out of Ahmednagar with Ahmed in his possession and requested Chand bibi to accept regency and protect the fort and repulse the attack of Prince Murad. Yekhalas Khan also escaped.
Chand Bibi accpeted this regency and proclaimed Bahadur Shah king of Ahmednagar, Prionce Murad attacked the fort of Ahmednagar but his attack was bravely repulsed by Queen Chand Bibi. At last she gave Prince Murad and he withdrew.
In 1599 Akbar dispatched Prince Danyal Mirza and Khan Khanan to ahmednagar Prince Danyal laid siege to the fort Sultana Chand Bibi could not bring about an effective resistance . So she decided to negotiate terms with Prince Danyal. But Hamid Khan, one of the noblemen in the fort ran cut in the streets saying that Chand Bibi was in treaty with the Moguls for the delivery of the apartment and put her to death. Thereupon the Moguls entered the fort and conquered it Bahadur was arrested and sent to Delhi and afterwards confined in the fort of Gwalior. Then Emperor Akbar made over Khandesh Ahmednagar to Prince Danyal.
Murtaza Nizam Shah (1600-1613)
Though Emperor Akbar appointed his officers to look after the kingdom of the Deccan, the Nizam Shah’s officers refused to believe them. They had lost their independence. They declared Murtaza, the son of Shah Ali king and made Paranda, about 75 miles south east of Ahmednagar capital.
The two famous officers Malik Ambar an Abyssinian and Mian Raju Dakhani, in spite of the presence of the Moghul forces, held the territory for about twenty years . Malik Ambar was a genius and laid out a system of marking land and counting land revenue.
Malik Ambar was the regent of the Nizam Shah from 1607 to 1626. During this period he increased the strength and power of Murtaza Mizam Shah and raised a large army . He changed the capital from Paranda to Junar and founded a new city, Khadki which was later on changed to Aurangabad by the Emperor Aurangzeb when he invaded the Deccan (1658 to 1707) , Malik Amber thrust defeats on the Moghul General Khan Khanan many times and attacked Ahmednagar often.
Lakhuji Jdhavrao, Maloji Bhosale, Shahaji Bhosale and other Maratha chiefs had gained great prominence during this period and with the help of these Maratha Chiefs. Malik Ambar had captured Ahmednagar fort and town from the Moghals . But in one of the battles Malik Ambar was defeated by the Moghals and had to lose the fort of Ahmednagar, Many Maratha Chiefs and especially Lakhuji Jadhavrao joined the Moghals. Shah Jahan-Prince of Delhi once again laid a crushing blow to Malik Ambar in one of the battles and further decreased his power.
Malik Ambar was a great statesman and soldier. He humbled the might of the Moghal and Adil Shah of Bihjapur and raised the falling status of the Nizam Shah. Though defeated by the Moghals he was never cowed down by their might He died in 1626 at the age of 80 (eighty)
Malik Ambar two sons, Fatteh Khan and Changiz Khan of whom. Fatteh Khan succeeded his father
As the regent of Mizam Shah.
In 1629 Murtaza Nizam Shah II came of age. He was wanting in ability and unfit to meet the fiffculites that surrounded him. He could not bear the supremacy of the regent, So he managed to put Fatteh Khan behind the bars . In this confusion, Shahji Bhosale joined the Moghals . Shah Jahan, the Moghal Emperor marched to the Deccan at this time, Murtaza Nizam Shah seeing the danger of attack set Fatteh Khan free and appointed him his minister. Foreseeing the ruin of rthe Nizam Shaha, the Bijapur king declared war on the Moghals. Fatteh Khan who did not forget insults done to him by the Nizam Shah turned all his powers to Murtaza’s destruction. Aided by Murtaza’s weakness and unpopularity Fatteh Khan was strong enough to put Murtaza to death and to take the government into his won hands in 1631. After assuming full powers he submitted to Shah Jahab and set an infant on the thrown and professed that he held his dignity from the Emperor.
After Mohabat Khan’s exit Nizam Shahi which seemed to have come to an end was reviced by Sahaji Bhosale, who disgusted at the treatment by the Moghals ahd in the mean time joined the Bijapur King and fought against Moghals Shahaji proclaimed another prince as the lawful heir of Nizam Shah and assuming the regency captured the former Nizam Shahi domain. Shah Jahan marched to the Deccan and attacked the Nizam Shah’s area and the Bijapur kings. After along struggle the Adil Shah decided to conclude treaty with Shah Jahan and secured peace by agreeing to pay ranson every year, and in return secured the South and South-east portions of the Nizam Shahi dominions. Shahaji held for some time but submitted at length, gave up his pretended king and with Shah Jahan’s consent entered the Bijupur service. Thus ended the Nizam Shahi in 1636.
Moghals or the rule of Delhi (1636 to 1759)
Shivaji. The Maratha king who rose on powers attacked Ahmednagar and its neighborhood. For the Moghals, Shivaji was a regular terror. Though he did not really possess a strong and large army shivaji’s army resorted to guerrilla warfare and harassed the Moghal army.
Shah Jahan appointed Aurangzeb as the viceroy in 1636 and again in 1650. Shivaji personally invaded Ahmednagar in 1657 and in 1665. At other times Shivaji’s minister and generals attacked Ahmednagar intermittently.
Aurangzeb tried to put an end to the independent kingdom of the Marathas but he never succeeded in this and at last died in Ahmednagar on 21 st of February 1707. His attempts to put down the Maratha failed tragically Shortly after this the fall of the Moghal power in Deccan was completed by the revolt of Chin Killich “Khan (Nizam-ul-Mulk) , the governor of Malva. Ahmednagar was one of the parts of the Deccan which became subject to the Nizam and remained in his hands till his death in 1748.
The Rule of the Marathas (1759 to 1817)
After the death of Nizam-ul-Mulk there issued a quarrel between his two sons Salabat Jung Ghazi-ud-din . In this political mess the Nizam’s commandant Kavi Jung betrayed the fort of Ahmednagar to the Peshwa, the minister of the Maratha power War followed between the Nizam & the Peshwas & the Nizam was defeated in 1760 at Udgir. Besides other concessions the Nizam confirmed the grant of Ahmednagar and Dualatbad and also gave up the greater part of the province of Ahmednagar, the Nizam was again defeated by the Maratha in 1795 at Kharda. After the death of Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa in 1795, quarrels arose among the Maratha Noblemen. In 1797 Daulatrao Sindia took the fort of Ahmednagar from Bajirao Peshwa, as a price of his help to him to raise him to the post of Peshwa. The famous statesman Nana Fadnavis was imprisoned in Ahmednagar fort in 1797 by Sindia . At last he was released in 1798 but sorely discouraged, Nana Fadnavis died in 1800.
Bajirao Peshwa was continuously harassed by Yeshwantrao Holkar and Daulatrao Sindia,. So he concluded a treaty with the British for the safety of his Ministership, on 31 st December 1802 at Bassein. Now the noblemen had to fight with the British might. General Wellesley attacked Ahmednagar city and captured it. Then he laid a siege to Ahmednagar fort on 9th of August 1803 and captured it of 12 th of August 1803. General Wellesley then returned the fort of the Peshwa soon i.e in 1803 . The Holkar also came to terms with the British. There was widespread disorder in the area due to famine and hundreds were looted, murdered and massacred by the Pendharis . There was a rebellion against the British rule by common people headed b6y Trimbakji Dengale of Sangamner. The British troops soon brought the circumstances under control with the help of their disciplined soldiers . At last a treaty was concluded with Bajirao Peshwa at Poona by Virtue of which the Ahmednagar Fort was handed over to the English.
British Rule (1817 to 1947 )
When the British Government took possession of Ahmednagar much of it was almost ruined. Many former rich areas were depopulated because of famine and continuous fighting between the British soldiers and the freedom fighters. They continued to rise in arms taking resort to villages and the hills and mountains-mostly Parner, Jamgao and Akola areas. The Kolies and the Bhils harassed the British troops intermittently. Raghoji Bhangria headed this mutiny. AT last he was caught at Pandharpur in 1847 and was immediately hanged.
During the great freedom Struggle of 1857 (Which the British call Sepoys’ Mutiny ) Ahmednagar was a scene of considerable disturbance. The active freedom fighters were about 7000 Bhils under the leadership of ?Bhagoji Naik. They were active in the hilly t5racks and especially in the Parner, Jamgao, Rahuri, Kopargaon and Nasik areas. But at last all these attempts to rise against the British failed and the slavery came to stay. By about 1880 it was almost quiet everywhere.
Lokmanya Tilak organized political movement in the whole of India and was put behind bars by the British Government. But he passes away in 1920 Mahatma Gandhi took up the leadership in 1920 and carried on the responsibility of organizing Civil Disobedience Movements. Thousands offered Satyagraha and courted arrest. The Satyagraha Movements were launched many times between 1920 to 1941. The last unarmed Movement was spontaneously started by all the Indians throughout the length and breadth of the country from 9th of August 1942 upto 1944. All the leaders of India including Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Azad, Subhash Chandara Bose, DR. Syed Mahmood, Shankarrao Deo, were arrested Most of the leaders excepting Gandhi were kept in the Ahmednagar Fort. Jawaharlal Nehru , wrote his famous book. “ The Discovery of India” in Ahmednagar Fort.
The famous leaders of Ahmednagar Raosaheb Patwardhan was underground for many days. Achyutrao Patwardhan was never arrested by the British since he was carrying on the Freedom Struggle by remaining underground . The veteran leader of Ahmednagar District Senapti Pandurang Mahadeo Bapat was the most fearless and was one of the greatest disciplines of Mahatma Gandhi. He carried on the Mulshi Satyagraha bravely and was arrested in 1937. He was kept behind the bars till India achieved her independence. Senapti Bapat never cared for anything and was ever prepared to lay down his life in the Freedom Struggle.
India attained her freedom on 15 th of August 1947 and all the brave leaders were released from the imprisonment. The flag salutation ceremony took place on the ramparts of the Ahmednagar Fort at 8 a.m on 15 th August 1947 at the auspicious hands of Acharys Narendra Dev who was interned in the Fort of a long time during the struggle for freedom . It was touching sight worthy to be watched by Gods.
Some Freatures of old Ahmednagar
The old Ahmednagar was quite different from its present appearance. It covered an area of six miles from the present railway station to the present town of Bhingar with its surroundings on the south and north. The Bhingar area was further extended by the Cantonment area . This still is in existence.
Ahmed Nizam Shah founded Ahmednagar in 1494 and therefore this city is named after his name. It was found on the left bank of the Sina river, in two years the city is said have revalled Bagdad and Cairo in splendour. This very Ahmed Nizam Shaha built the present fort with mud in 1490 and Hussain Nizam Shah rebuilt the fort with the present stone masonary and dug the present ditch around the fort in 1562.
The whole city which was moderate in size was surrounded by walls built of stone and mud masonary below and white mud masonary above. They were 12 to 13 feet high, six feet broad and about three miles round, The walls were built about 1631 by Sarjekhan one of Shah Jahan’s nobles. There ware eleven gates set in this huge circular wall . They were the Jhenda and the Bava gates on the east, the Maliwada or Railway and Fergusson gates in the south, the Nepti and Nalegaon gate in the west and the Delhi, Tophkhana, Sarjepura, Mangal and king gates in the north.
It seems that the British captured this old historic city on 8 th August 1803. But not without dear strife. The people of Ahmednagar were hard fighting and brave to the core. It is there ill luck that they did not find any able leader to give on organized ane effective resistance at that very crucial and momentous juncture. All the same the might of Ahmednagar was humbled down from 8 th of August 1803 to 8 th August 1942. When the rebellion against the Britishers stoved by once against on the nationwide basis under the unique leadership of Gandhiji in Ahmednagar under the leadership of Raosaheb and Achutrao Patwardhan and many other local patriots.
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES OF AHMEDNAGAR DISTRICT
in the central part of the state.
Location
1. North Latitude (degrees) 18.2 to 19.9
2. East Longitude (degrees) 73.9 to 75.5
Area
Total area (Hector) 1741271
Forest ( Hector) 151571
Under irrigation ( Hector) 425
GEOLOGY
The whole district forms part of the great trap region of the Deccan. Throughout Ahmednagar the trap rock is distinctly stratified and ,as in the rest of the Deccan, the alternative belts of basalt and amygdaloid preserve a striking parallelism to each other .
Prismatic disposition is observed more markedly and perfectly in the basalt strata than in the amygdaloids. Perfect columns are generally small, of four, five, or six sides, but the prismatic structure sometimes manifests itself in basaltic and amygdaloidal columns many feet in diameter, In the face of the hill at Kothul, a small village in shrigonda twenty four miles south of Ahmednagar ,there is thick stratum of close grained gray homogeneous basalt wich is crowned by temple of Khandoba.
In the water-courses near Kadus in Parner are columns of basalt of bluish gray colour, compact texture, vitreous hue, and sharp fracture. At Harichandra there is sheet of rock which has the appearance of a pavement of pentangular slabs which are doubtless the terminal planes of basaltic columns.
Round or oval masses of compact basalt, with concentric layers like the coasts of an onion, known as nodular basalt are widely diffused and form another characteristic of Deccan trap formation.
The basaltic dykes are all vertical and do not occasion any disturbance or dislocation in the strata through which they pass. The most remarkable example is the dyke which runs vertically from east to west through the hill-fort of Harichandragad.
Another distinctive feature is the occurrence of strata of red ochreous rock underlining thick strata of basalt or amygdaloid. At Baragaon-Nandur in the Rahuri subdivision it is found many thick as a porphyritic stratum with embedded crystals of lime and is used as a building stone.
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Another distinctive feature of the Deccan trap formation is the occurrence of immense quantities of loose basalt stones of all sizes which look as if they had been showered on the land :also of rock piled into heaps as if by the labour of man.
Pot holes in the rocky river beds are of frequent occurrence. Those above the falls of the Pravara , at village of Rauda in the Akole Subdivision, and at Kund-Mahuli in the Kukadi river a short distance from the village Nighoj in the Parner subdivision, are specially note worthy on account of their number and size.
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To the north of the Ahmednagar district lie the districts Nashik and Aurangabad .
To the east are districts of Beed and Osmanabad.
To the south lie Solapur and Pune.
To the west lie the districts of Thane and Pune.
LAND FORMS
There are various land forms in Ahmednagar district. There are hilly off-shoots of the Sahyadris in the western part of he district. They are called Kalsubai, Adula, Baleshwar and Harishchandragad hill ranges. Kalsubai, the highest peak in the Sahyadris, lies in Ahmednagar district. Harishchandragad, Ratangad, Kulang and Ajuba are some other peaks in the district. We see the Vita ghat on the way to Randha falls and the Chandanpuri ghat on the Pune-Sangamner road. In the northern part of the district, plains are found along the banks of the rivers Godavari and Pravara and the southern part, along the rivers Bhima,Ghod and Sina.
The different land forms in a region constitute its physical setup. If we consider the physical setup of Ahmednagar district we see that there are three physical divisions
1. Western Hilly Region
2. Central Plateau Region
3. The region of northern and southern plains
1. Western Hilly Region : Akole taluka and of Sangamner taluka are included in this region. The hill ranges of Adula, Baleshwar and Harishchandragad lie in this region and various high peaks are found in the same region. Kalsubai of height of 5427 feet, the highest peak in the Sahyadris, lies in this Region.
2. Central Plateau Region : Parner and Ahmednagar talukas and parts of Sangamner, Shrigonde and Karjat talukas are included in this region.
3. The Region of Northern and Southern plains : This region includes northern Kopargaon, Rahata, Shrirampur, Rahuri, Newasa, Shevgaon and Pathardi talukas This is the region of the Godavari and the pravara river basins. Parts of the southern talukas of Shrigonda, Karjat, jamkhed are also included in this physical division. This region covers basins of the Ghod, Bhima and the Sina rivers.
RIVERS
The district is drained by two chief rivers ,the Godavari and the Bhima a tributary of the Krishna. The Water-shed line is the great spur of the Sahyadris which branches off at Harichandragad and stretches completely across the district from west to east. The important rivers flowing through the district are Paravara,Mula,Sina and Dhora. Pravara is tributary of the river Godavari. Waters of the river Pravara fall from a great height, creating the Randha Falls.
The Godavari, which drains by far the larger part of the district, including the tahsils of Kopargaon,Sangamner,Akole,Rahuri, Newasa,Shevgaon the northern half of Parner and parts of Nagar and Jamkhed ,rises near Trimbak in Nashik on the eastern slope of the Sahyadris. After passing the town of Nashik it receives the Banganga and the Kadva from the north and Darna from the south and is already a considerable stream,when ,after course of about sixty miles ,it enters north-west corner of the Kopargaon tahsil. It then flows south-east through rich alluvial plain past Kopargaon to the town of Puntamba,which is situated on the Nizam’s frontier ,where it receives from the south the combined water of Kat and Khara rivers.From Puntamba to a point beyond Paithan,a distance of sixty miles ,the godavari forms almost continuously the boundary between Ahmednagar and the Nizam’s dominions. At the village to Toka it receives on its right bank the combined waters of the Pravara and the Mula.A few miles below ,the Shiva and Ganda join it from the left and the Dhora from the right. Two miles east of Mungi the river enters the Nizam’s dominions, and hence, flowing across the peninsula ,it empties itself into the bay of Bangal after the total course of 900 miles.
The Pravara rises on the eastern slopes of the Sahayadris between Kulang and Ratangad. After the sinuous course of twelve miles in an easterly direction, near the village Ranad, it falls into rocky chasm 200 feet deep,and then winds for eight miles through a deep narrow glen which opens wider valley east of and below the central plateau on which the town of Rajur stands. Total Length of Pravara is 120 miles. The Dam Bhandardara is constructed across the river at Bhandardara, near by are the Randha falls.
The Adhula rises in north of Akole on the Slopes of Patta and Mahakali.It flows for fifteen miles in an easterly direction between two ranges of hills which encloses the Samsherpur valley ;then falling into the rocky chasm some 150 feet deep it winds between rugged and precipitous hill-sides for couple of miles,when ,debounching in to the plain of Sangamner,it turns south and falls into the Pravara three miles west of the town of Sangamner.
The Mahalungi rises on the southern and eastern slopes of Patta and Aundha.After the course of three miles it passes east into the Sinnar subdivision of Nashik.It reenters Ahmendagar after taking bend to south.
The Mula rises on the eastern slopes of the Sahaydris between Ratangad and Harichandragad.for first twenty miles it flows parallel to Pravara draining the southernmost or Kotul valley of Akole subdivision.Passing the town of Kotul it takes a bend to Baleshvar.It then crosses through Sangamner ,Parner . The Dam Mula is constructed across the river at Baragaon Nandur.
The Dhora rises on the slopes of the hills east of the town of Ahmendagar.It flows north-easterly ,draining Shevgaon and part of Newasa.
The Bhima river drains the whole of the southern portion of the district ,comprising the greater part of the Parner and Nagar subdivisions,the whole Shrigonda and Karjat ,and nearly the whole of Jamkhed.
The Sina has two chief sources ,one near Jamgaon fourteen miles west of the town of Ahmendagar, near, Jeur ten miles to the north-east. The town of Ahmednagar is built on left bank of the river ,which there takes south-easterly course .Leaving the district boundary it enters Solapur and ultimately falls into the Bhima .
Forests
The western hilly part of Ahmednagar district has forests. Teak, babul, dhavada, haldu and neem are trees found in these forests. Fruit trees like Mango, Tamrind, Amala, Bor are also found in the district
District Specialities
1) The first industrial co-operative venture in Asia
But he was also aware of the immense storage of resources hidden within the humble rural people. which could be tapped to combat poverty, illiteracy, disease and inertia among the rural masses. He had made a decision. He had decided to take the lead. His lack of formal education did not deter him from his chosen path. With his untiring efforts and the unfliching support from stalwarts like Shri. Vaikunthbhai Mehta as well as Shri.D.R.Gadgil, the first industrial co-operative venture in Asia - Pravara Sugar Factory (1948) was started. What started as a small step, soon developed into an approach that has since been widely recognised as The Pravara Model of Integrated Rural Development.
He established the first sugar Factory at Pravaranagar for uplifting socio-economic condition of the farmers. Towards the fulfillment of the vision of the great son of soil, a mission of educational Institutions were set up in Loni, Ahmednagar, Pune and Nashik District. Padmashri Dr. Vithalrao Vikhe Patil Foundation is one of such educational trust.
2) An Ideal village –Ralegaon siddhi
A role model of water conservation work can be seen at Ralegaon-Siddhi, which is also called the
Ideal Village.
A success story –
3) An Ideal village-HIWARE BAZAR
4) Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV)
The Campus is situated 35 kms from Ahmednagar on Nagar-Manmad highway. The campus is 10 km from Rahuri Railway Station and 110 km from Manmad railway junction.
The basic mandate assigned to this University are advancement in teaching, research and imparting extension education to the farmers of the State. There are four Agricultural Universities in the State , catering the similar services in their locality. The jurisdiction of Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri extends over Western Maharashtra covering ten districts.
The University has two faculties namely Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering. The under-graduate and post-graduate programs are offered in both faculties. The University also deals with lower agricultural education through Agricultural Schools, Mali Training Centre and Training's for Livestock Supervisors.
The University has a very good network of research stations spread over different agro-climatic zones. In all 23 research stations, 4 State level specialists and 16 research testing/verification centers are located in different agro-climatic zones in addition to 4 Zonal research stations.
Of the three fold functions, it is mandatory on the part of the University to transfer the technology from the research centers to the ultimate users through extension education program.
5) Sanctuary for Black-Buck
6) Maldhok( The Great Indian Bustard) Bird Sanctuary
7) Vehicles Research & Development Establishment
Sant Dnyaneshwar
Krishna's advice in the Bhagavad Gita is a small chapter in the Mahabharata, comprising 700 shlokas or verses in Sanskrit.
Sant Dnyaneshwar realised that the Gita's teachings could be read and understood only by a small Sanskrit-knowing elite. Dnyaneshwar, under the advice of his guru, Nivrathinath, rendered a Marathi version of the Gita known as Dnyaneshwari. It contains more than 9,000 verses called ovies. So Sant Dnyaneshwar brought the teachings of the Gita within reach of the common man. Dnyaneshwari was composed around the twelfth century, when Dnyaneshwar was only 16 years old. Teen-ager Dnyaneshwar lived and attained samadhi in Alandi at a tender age of twenty-one. and left this mortal world. Dnyaneshwari has since been translated into several Indian languages.
Dnyaneshwar presented his work to his guru Nivrathinath and sought his blessings. He did this through a poem of just nine verses called Pasayadan. Pasayadan literally means a request, asking for boons from God. In the Pasayadan, Dnyaneshwar asked nothing for himself but he prayed for the well- being of entire mankind.
In the second verse of Pasayadan Dnyaneshwar requests the Lord to grant him a boon which will remove all evils from wicked persons, putting them on a righteous path. The evils in human beings are indulgence, anger, greed, ride; Kama, Krodh , Lobh , Matsar and Ahankar . He prayed that these evils be replaced by kindness, humility, tolerance, forgiveness and devotion and surrender to God. Dnyaneshwar says, let the people of the world be happy and let them do good deeds to make others happy. Dnyaneshwar says that while flowing streams provide water needed for life, the banyan tree provides shade and shelter from the sun's heat, without any expectations. Being good and doing good to others without evil thoughts or expectations of rewards, is the first step towards spiritual attainment. Next, Dnyaneshwar requests God to remove ignorance from our lives and replace it with enlightenment and divine light to achieve our goal, to let everyone adhere to his swadharma or his own sacred duty towards others. If everyone sticks to swadharma there will be no conflict and happiness will prevail. Dnyaneshwar requests God to fulfil the genuine desires and aspirations of all. All pious persons who perform their duty without any expectations or returns, will ultimately desire to become one with the Supreme.
AVATAR MEHER BABA
five Perfect Masters of the time.Hazrat Babajan, the aged woman master of Poona, initiated his spiritual awakening in January, 1914,by kissing him on the forehead.
Almost immediately he entered into a transcendental state of mind out of touch with normal gross consciousness. He scarcely ate or slept for nine months.
Dazed and apparently insane, he made his way during the next year to Shirdi Sai Baba, the chief of the five Perfect Masters, who acknowledged him publically as the Sustainer of the Universe, and sent him to Upasni Maharaj. As soon as that master saw the young man approaching, he picked up a stone and threw it with great force. It struck him on the forehead exactly where the old woman had kissed him. Thus began a painful five-year process of regaining normal consciousness while retaining his divine state.
During the 1920's he gathered and rigorously trained his inner circles of disciples while founding an active spiritual community in Ahmednagar, India, with schools, hospitals and other public service projects. In the middle of the decade he became silent and never again uttered a word. For 44 years he communicated by spelling words on an alphabet board and through hand gestures, including two important books, God Speaks and Discourses.
In 1931 he came to the West for the first time, traveling on the same ship that took Mahatma Gandhi to the Round Table Conference in London. During that voyage, he became Gandhi's spiritual adviser. In England and America he gathered a select group of western disciples, some of whom joined him in India later on. He visited his disciples in the West a half dozen times before the Second World War.
During the 1940's he traveled all over India in his work with the poor, with lepers, with the insane and with masts, a category of mentally disturbed people seldom found in the West whose afflictions come from unwise use of powerful spiritual practices, overwhelming and unbalanced love for God, or enthrallment by a sudden vision of Divinity. He set up temporary mad and mast ashrams in every part of the country where he contacted and served them in his own silent way.
He established two places of pilgrimage outside of India during the 1950's, Meher Spiritual Center, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S.A., and Avatar's Abode, near Brisbane, Australia. It was necessary to spill his blood in America, he said, and while there to dedicate his center, major bones were broken and his face severely smashed in an car accident. A few years later he suffered a similar fate in India.
He became well known in the West during the 1960's by opposing the use of LSD and other drugs in the quest for spiritual experiences. In the last years he largely withdrew from public life and intensified his work in seclusion, announcing in the fall of 1968 that his work was completed 100% to his satisfaction. On January 31, 1969, one month before his 76th birthday, he left his body, which now lies in the tomb near Ahmednagar, a place of pilgrimage for those who love him.
He said that his tomb, called his samadhi, takes the place of his physical body. For a period of 100 years, entering his samadhi is equal to coming into his physical presence. Many pilgrims take advantage of this opportunity to keep his company. After 70 years, he said, his samadhi will be the most frequented place of pilgrimage in the world
Shri Anand Rishiji Maharaj
He Mastered the Jain Scriptures as well as ancient philosophical texts of Sanskrit language. His teachings were deep rooted in love, non-violence and tolerance. He was proficient in nine languages and wrote extensively in Marathi and Hindi. He had founded numerous educational and religious institutions and also rejuvenated many ailing institutions and founded magazines. He was bestowed with the title of "Acharya" in the year 1965 and left for his heavenly abode in the year 1992. News Courtesy: Mr. Sudhir Jain, The place Anand Dham is developed in his memory. Many social activities are arranged in his memory.
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
Agricultural research and education is one of the important measures which attempts at over-all change in the field of agriculture. It assumed greater importance especially when India embarked upon the rural reconstruction through Community Development Programme. It was but necessary to educate the rural masses which mainly include a large number of cultivators governed by the time-honoured practices. The Government of Maharashtra, therefore, established agricultural research stations, taluka seed multiplication farms, trial-cum-demonstration farms, training centres, mass training courses and various other training camps of short durations for educating the cultivators in the country-side in respect of scientific methods of cultivation, crop rotation, application of manures and fertilisers and protection of crops from pests and diseases. Considerable progress has been made in the field of agricultural research and education. The agricultural class is receiving the benefits of it.
Government conducts seven agricultural research stations in the district for carrying out research and experiments on different crops. The details of these research stations are as under: —
N. A.=Not available.
Besides, there are 13 seed multiplication farms in the district engaged in multiplying the foundation or improved strains. Such seeds are distributed to a few progressive cultivators in some selected villages. The seeds are thus multiplied so as to meet the demand of a large number of cultivators. The following statement gives details regarding the taluka seed farms: —
Area in acres
The following statement gives area under each improved variety of seeds and yields therefrom during 1968-69: —
continued..
A trial-cum-demonstration farm was established at Kashti in 1959-60 to work out different cropping patterns suitable for the Ghod weir area. The total area of the farm is 59.11 acres of which 47.30 acres constitute the net cultivable area. The net cultivable area is divided into three units. The first unit forms the control unit, being not irrigated. In the second unit the present pattern of crops would be followed with some new crops to formulate proper rotations. The third unit has an intensive cropping pattern with suitable cash-crops and subsidiary crops. All the crops in this unit are suitably manured and irrigated. The crop of chillis is rotated with cotton.
Besides the research activities, the mass training schemes, village leaders' training camps, study tours, etc., help in educating the large number of cultivators in the country-side. These activities are carried out through the Zilla Parishad and the Panchayat Samitis. In addition the agricultural school at Puntamba in Kopargaon taluka provides for a two-year training course in agriculture. So far 650 students have completed the course from this school. Besides, the school provides facilities for imparting training in poultry and dairy farming. This school was established by the Hind Seva Mandal. Its management was later on taken over by the then Government of Bombay in 1947. The school was afterwards transferred to the Ahmadnagar Zilla Parishad in 1962. It has an area of 192.30 acres out of which 160 acres are under cultivation, the main crops being sugar-cane, gram, jowar,wheat, groundnut, etc. An area of 50 acres is under canal irrigation. Government Of India
Archaeological Survey of india
National Protected Monument & Ancient Sites of Archaeological Survey of india,
Ahmednagar Sub-Circle.Dist-Ahmednagar.-414001
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