Maharashtra
Introduction
India is a union of 28 states and 8 union territories. Among the 28 states, the state of Maharashtra ranks as the second most populous state and the second most populous country subdivision globally. By area, Maharashtra (307,713 km.sq.) ranks third after Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the west coast of India. The state shares boundaries with Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The state is one of the most industrialized states in India. The capital of Maharashtra, Mumbai, is the commercial capital of India and has evolved into a global financial fulcrum. Maharashtra has materialized itself as a key hub for IT, electronics, and inmate business outsourcing industries.
The Bombay Cinema (popular known as Bollywood), the famous film industry is based in Mumbai. Dadasaheb Phalke’s soundless Raja Harishchandra (1913) is the first feature film made in India. Before that, in 1897, Professor Stevenson projected a film presented as a stage show in Calcutta. He made an inspiring contribution. An Indian photographer, Hiralal sen made a film from that show, The Flower of Persia (1898). After the release of Raja Harishchandra in 1913, within almost 17 years, the industry was producing 200 films per year.
The state’s wide exposure of characteristics is mainly stumped up by 6 major river basins: Godavari, Narmada, Krishna, Tapi, Mahanadi, and western Deccan rivers, and agriculture rich in jowl, rice, bajra, wheat, tar, mung, urad, gram, and other pulses. The state is also a wide producer of oilseeds, sunflower, groundnut, soyabean, and other major oil seed crops.
History And Evolution
- The present-day Marathi language moved forward from Maharashtra (land of Marathi-speaking people) Prakrit, while the word Maratha is found in the Jain Marathi literature. The most widely accepted theory among the language experts is that the word Maratha and Maharashtra are derived from a combination of Maha and Rashtrika, the name of the tribe of chiefs ruling in the Deccan region. Another theory suggests that the term is derived from Maha (great) and Rathi (charioteer) which refers to a skillful northern fighting force that named southward into that area. A site named Jorwe culture (1300-700 BCE) belonging to the Harappa has been discovered throughout the state. Jorwe culture was a Chalcolithic archeological culture that existed in the large areas of western India and reached the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Many Gujrati people migrated to the northern part of Maharashtra during the late Harappan period.
1. The Maurya empire:
- In the fourth and third centuries BCE, Maharashtra was under the rule of the Maurya Empire. Maurya Empire was an iron age historical power in South Asia. Chandragupta Maurya founded it in 322 BCE.
2. Satavahana Dynasty:
- Maharashtra came under the Satavahana Dynasty in 230 BCE. The greatest ruler of the satavahana dynasty was Gautamiputra Satkarni. The dynasty was followed by western satraps, Gupta empire, Gurjara-pratihara, Kekataka, Kadambas, Chalukya Empire, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Western Chalukya, and the Yadava rule. The famous Buddhist Ajanta caves in Aurangabad describes ascendency from the satavahana and vakataka dynasty.
3. Chalukya Dynasty:
- The Chalukya Dynasty ruled the state of Maharashtra from the sixth to the eighth century CE. The Chalukya Dynasty was an ancient Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of Central and Southern India between the 6th to 12th centuries. The two eminent rulers were Pulakeshin II and Vikramaditya II who defeated the North Indian Emperor Harsha and the Arab invaders in the eighth century.
4. Rashtrakuta Dynasty:
- Rashtrakuta Dynasty ruled Maharashtra from the eighth to the tenth century. The Arab traveler Sulaiman -al- Mahri evoked the ruler of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty Amoghavasrsha as “one of the four great kings of the world”. Rashtrakuta was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries.
5. Shilahara Dynasty:
- The Dynasty began as vassals of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty which ruled in the Deccan plateau between 8th and 18th centuries. The Deccan plateau which includes a significant part of Maharashtra was dominated by the western Chalukya empyrean the Chola dynasty during the 11th to 12th centuries. The dynasty perforated the title of Tagara-puradishvra, which indicates that they originally hailed from Tagara (Osmanabad district). Several battles were fought between the Western Chalukya Empire and the Chola Dynasty on the Deccan plateau.
6. Yadava Dynasty:
- The Yadava was a post-classic Indian Dynasty. It ruled a kingdom stretching all the way from the Narmada River in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south. From its capital at Devgiri, present-day Daulatabad in modern Aurangabad district, its territory included present-day Maharashtra, North Karnataka, and parts of Madhya Pradesh. As the Chalukya Power disappeared. The Yadava king Bhillama V declared independence around the middle of the 12th century. Under the leadership of Simhana II, the Yadava kingdom was at its peak. The kingdom was defeated in the early 14th century by Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi sultanate in 1308 BC.
7. Muhammad bin Tughluq:
Subsequently, Muhammad bin Tughluq conquered the parts of Deccan and shifted his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in Maharashtra in 1327. Daluatabad was in a central place so the administration of both North and South could be feasible. Then he ordered his people to move back to Delhi. Many people died during the journey. The reign of the Tughluqs collapsed in 1347. The Baahamani sultanate of Gulbarga took over and governed the region for 150 years. The Bahamani sultanate was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire of the Deccan in south India. Bahamani was the first Muslim independent kingdom of the Deccan and is known for its never wars with its Hindu Rivals of Vijayanagara. The Bahamani sultanate was founded by Ala-ud-din Bahaman Shah in 1347.
In 1518, the Bahamani sultanate got shattered which resulted in the splitting of Maharashtra into five Deccan sultanates: Adilshah of Bijapur, Nizamshah of Ahmednagar, Qutubshah of Golkonda, Bidarshah of Bidar and Imadshah of Elichpur. Mumbai was ruled by the Sultanate of Gujarat. Later it was captured by the Faruki Dynasty and Portugal in 1535. The Faruki Dynasty ruled the Khandesh region between 132 and 1601. Later it joined the Mughal Empire.
Shahaji Bhonsale, an ambitious regional general who served the Mughals, The Ahmednagar sultanate, and Adil Shah of Bijapur at contrasting intervals throughout his carrier, tried to establish his independent rule. He was the master of guerrilla warfare and the father of Shivaji who founded the Maratha Empire. Chhatrapati Shivaji succeeded in establishing the Maratha Empire. The Maratha empire was further expanded during the 18th century by the Bhat family Peshwas based in Pune. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom by declining the Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur which formed the root of the Maratha empire. He was crowned the Chhatrapati of his realm in 1674 at Raigad fort. Shivaji was born in Shivneri in the Pune district. Shivaji’s military forces enlarged the Maratha sphere of influence, building forts and forming a Maratha Navy. Shivaji set a proficient and developing civil rule with well-structured administrative organizations.
“India contains no more than two great powers, British and Maratha and every other state acknowledges the influence of one or the other. Every inch that we recede will be occupied by them.”
Charles Metcalfe, one of the ablest of the British Officials in India and acting governor-general, wrote in 1806.
The British East India Company captured Mumbai in the early 17th century and became one of their major ports. The East India company slowly expanded areas under its rule during the 18th century. The British governed western Maharashtra as part of the Bombay presidency. It stretched an area from Karachi in Pakistan to North Deccan. The British ruled Maharashtra province from 1818 to 1947 and ascended every characteristic of life for the people of the terrain. They built modern means of transport including roads and railways, took hold of different steps to deliver mass education, entrenched universities based on the western system and imparted education in the field of science, technology, and western medicine and standardized the Marathi language and instigated mass media by availing modern printing technologies. The modern struggle for independence started in the late 1800s under the leadership of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Pherozeshah Mehta, Gopal Krishna Gokhle and Dadabhai Navroji.
In the second half of the 19th century, Jyotiba Phule was the colonizer of social reform in the Maharashtra region. His work was later carried on by Shahu Maharaj, Raja of Kolhapur, and later by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. B. G. Kher was appointed as the first Chief Minister of the Congress-led administration of the trilingual Bombay Presidency following the partial autonomy granted to the states by the Government of India Act of 1935. The Quit India Movement’s ultimatum to the British culminated in the transfer of power and independence in 1947 and was delivered in Mumbai. The Quit India movement, also known as August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942 at the Bombay session of The All-India Congress Committee, demanding an end to British rule in India. Princely states and Jagirs of the Deccan States Agency were combined into Bombay State, which was established from the previous Bombay Presidency in 1950 after India gained its independence. The Bombay Presidency State was expanded by the addition of the primarily Marathi-speaking regions of Marathwada (Aurangabad Division) from the former Hyderabad state and Vidarbha region from the Central Provinces and Berar in 1956 as a result of the States Reorganization Act, which reorganized the Indian states along linguistic lines. Mysore received the southernmost portion of Bombay State. Under the aegis of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, the Marathi people vehemently fought the bilingual Bombay state in the 1950s. Keshavrao Jedhe, S.M. Joshi, Shripad Amrit Dange, Pralhad Keshav Atre, and Gopalrao Khedkar were significant Samiti leaders. The samiti’s main demand was for a state that spoke Marathi and had Mumbai as its capital. A similar Mahagujarat Movement called for a separate Gujarat state with territories that are predominately Gujarati in the Gujarati-speaking regions of the state. Following protracted demonstrations that resulted in 106 protestor deaths and the Samiti’s electoral victory in the 1957 elections, the central government, led by Prime Minister Nehru, bowed to public pressure and divided Bombay State into the new states of Maharashtra and Gujarat on May 1, 1960. The state and Karnataka are still at odds over the Belgaum and Karwar region. The Maharashtra government complained to India’s Ministry of Home Affairs about the border demarcation in 1957 because it was unsatisfactory. Before the country gained its independence, Belagon, Karwar, and Nippani, three urban settlements that were all a part of the Bombay Presidency, were all claimed by Maharashtra. In the Supreme Court of India, Maharashtra has filed a petition asserting its ownership over Belagon.
The Remarkable Physical Uniformity Of Maharashtra
With a total area of 307,713 km2 (118,809 sq mi), Maharashtra is the third-largest state by land area and makes up 9.36% of India’s overall geographical area. The State is located between 72°36’E to 80°54’E longitude and 15°35’N to 22°02’N latitude. Its 840 km of coastline along the Arabian Sea is in the western and central regions of the nation. The Western Ghats, a mountain range that runs parallel to the coast from north to south, divides the plateau-like state’s topography from the Konkan coastline, which is its most distinguishing physical characteristic. The Western Ghats commonly referred to as the Sahyadri Range, is in southern India and has an average elevation of 1,200 meters (4,000 feet).
The state is physically separated from the west by the Western Ghats (also known as the Sahyadri Mountain range), while its natural borders are the Satpura Hills to the north and the Bhamragad-Chiroli-Gaikhuri ranges to the east. The length of this state from North to South is 700 km, and its length from East to West is 800 km. The 50–80 km wide Konkan coastal lowlands are located to the west of these hills. The level Deccan Plateau is located to the east of the Ghats. The Krishna and its tributary Bhima, the Godavari, and its principal tributaries Manjara, Wardha-Wainganga, and the Tapi and it’s tributary Purna are the state’s principal rivers. There are five geographic regions in Maharashtra. Between the Western Ghats and the ocean is the western coastal region known as Konkan. The Khandesh region lies in the Tapti-Purna River valley and is in the north. The principal cities in this area are Nashik, Malegaon Jalgaon, Dhule, and Bhusawal. Desh is in the middle of the state. Marathwada is situated in the southeast of the state and was formerly a part of the princely state of Hyderabad until 1956. The two largest cities in the area are Aurangabad and Nanded. Vidarbha, the state’s most eastern region, was historically a part of Berar and the Central Provinces. The state has a small amount of irrigated land, soils with low natural fertility, and a sizable portion of land that is prone to repeated droughts. Due to this, Maharashtra’s agricultural productivity is typically lower than the national average for several crops. Based on the annual amount of rainfall, the types of soil, the vegetation, and the pattern of agricultural growth, Maharashtra has been categorized into nine agro-climatic zones. Maharashtra has a tropical monsoon climate, which includes hot, wet, and chilly seasons as well as dry summers. The summer season officially begins in March, and the temperature rises until June. Summertime highs in the central plains range from 40 °C (or 104.0 °F) to 45 °C (or 113.0 °F). The hottest month of the year is often May, and the coldest is typically January. The winter season lasts from December through February, with the coldest months being December and January. Although the climate is drier on the Deccan plateau, which is located on the eastern side of the Sahyadri mountains, dew and hail frequently occur depending on the seasonal weather. The terrain of the various regions affects the state’s rainfall patterns differently. The state can be classified into the coastal Konkan, Western Maharashtra, Marathwada, and Vidarbha weather zones. The final week of June often marks the start of the southwest monsoon, which lasts until mid-September. Around the middle of June, pre-monsoon showers start, and occasionally, post-monsoon rains start in October. July and August have the most rain on a monthly average. When there are western winds blowing across the area in the winter, there can be a tiny bit of rain. With an average annual rainfall of more than 3,000 mm, the Konkan coastal region west of the Sahyadri Mountains experiences extremely severe monsoon rains. However, just 500-700 mm/year will fall just 150 km to the east, in the rain shadow of the mountain range, and prolonged dry spells leading to drought are frequent occurrences. Many of the 99 Indian districts that the Indian Central Water Commission designated as being vulnerable to drought are in Maharashtra. The southwest monsoon, which occurs from June to September, contributes 75% of the state’s 1,181 mm of annual rainfall. However, due to the Bay of Bengal’s impact, eastern Vidarbha experiences good rainfall in the months of July, August, and September.
The Western Ghats, Deccan Plateau, and the West Coast are the state’s three most significant biogeographic regions. The Deccan Plateau supports huge mountain ranges and grasslands, the Ghats support endemic species, and the coast supports littoral and swamp forests. Maharashtra’s flora is made up of several species. In terms of the total area of recorded forests, Maharashtra is ranked second among the Indian states. In the state, there are 61,579 sq mi (159,489 km2) of recorded forest area (RFA), of which 49,546 sq mi (128,324 km2) are reserved forests, 6,733 sq mi (17,438 km2) are protected forests, and 5,300 sq mi (13,727 km2) are unclassified woods. Maharashtra has four types of forests:
- Southern Tropical Semi-Evergreen forests: The forests are found in the western ghats at a height of 400-1000 m.
- Southern Tropical West Deciduous forests: These are a mix of moist Teak bearing forests.
- Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous forests: Southern tropical thorn forests are found in the low rainfall receiving regions of Marathwada, Vidarbha, Khandesh, and western Maharashtra.
- Littoral and swamp forests are mainly found in the creeks of Sindhudurg and Thane district of the coastal Konkan region.
- Monkeys, wild pigs, tigers, leopards, gaurs, sloth bears, sambars, four-horned antelopes, chitals, barking deer, mouse deer, small Indian civets, golden jackals, jungle cats, and hares are the most prevalent animal species in the state. Reptiles including lizards, scorpions, and different types of snakes like cobras and kraits are among the other creatures that may be found in this state. Six specialized tiger reserves under the jurisdiction of the National Tiger Conservation Authority are used by the state to legally protect its tiger population.
Divisions Of Maharashtra
- Maharashtra is formed of Six administrative divisions.
- Aurangabad
- Amravati
- Konkan
- Nagpur
- Nashik
- Pune
The six divisions of the state are further subdivided into 358 talukas, 109 sub-divisions, and 36 districts. Mumbai, followed by Pune, Nagpur, and Nashik make the most populated part of Maharashtra. A district collector or district magistrate, appointed by the Maharashtra Civil Service or the Indian Administrative Service, oversees each district. Districts are further divided into blocks and Taluka, which are both administered by subdivisional magistrates. Panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities make up a block. Talukas are a type of panchayat that sits between the district-level Zilla Parishad (district councils) and the lower-level gram panchayat (village councils).
Although there are dialects spoken in each region, Marathi is the official language. Most people speak regional tongues that the census classifies as dialects of Marathi. In the Vidarbha region, Powari, Lodhi, and Varhadi are spoken; Dangi is spoken close to the Maharashtra–Gujarat border; Bhil languages are spread in the state’s northwest, and Khandeshi (also known as Ahirani locally) is spoken in the Khandesh region. Gondi, Korku, Konkani, and Malvani are some of the other important languages spoken in the state. Except for Nandurbar, where 45.5% of the population speaks Bhili, the majority of people in every district of Maharashtra speak Marathi. Dhule district has the highest concentration of Khandeshi speakers (29%) and Gadchiroli district has the highest concentration of Gondi speakers (24%). In the metropolitan areas of Mumbai and other Indian cities like Nagpur and Pune, Hindi is primarily spoken. It is primarily spoken in the districts of Thane (18.6%), Mumbai Suburban (25.4%), and Mumbai City (26%). Mumbai City district (20.53%) and Mumbai Suburban district (18.5%) are where Gujrati is most often spoken.
Government And Administration
The state has this characteristic with other Indian states: it is administered by a parliamentary representative democracy. One of the seven Indian states, Maharashtra has a bicameral state legislature with two houses: the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and the Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council). The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the legislature, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, are chosen by the members. The legislature is made up of elected members. Unless the Assembly is dissolved prior to the end of the term, the 288 members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to five-year terms. A third (33 members) of the Legislative Council’s 78 regular members retire every two years. The state is represented by 48 members of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, and 19 members of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house.
The Governor, who is selected by the President of India for a five-year term, serves as the official head of the government of Maharashtra, which is a democratically elected entity in India. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister, who is the leader of the party or coalition that holds a majority in the Legislative Assembly, and the Governor appoints the Council of Ministers on the Chief Minister’s recommendation. The Chief Minister and his council are in charge of running the government on a daily basis, with the governor serving only as a ceremonial head of state. Cabinet ministers and ministers of the state make up the council of ministers (MoS). The Chief Secretary-led Secretariat supports the cabinet of ministers. The chief administrator of the government is the Chief Secretary. Every department of the government is led by a Minister, who is supported by an Additional Chief Secretary or a Principal Secretary. Typically, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary acts as the administrative head of the department to which they are assigned. Assisting the Minister and the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary are officers with the ranks of Secretary, Special Secretary, Joint Secretary, etc. in each department.
The Indian National Congress party or one of its offshoots, such as the Nationalist Congress Party, predominated state politics in the initial decades following the state’s creation in 1960. Four political parties—the Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Shivsena—rule it now. Dynastic politics are quite prevalent among political parties in Maharashtra, just like in other Indian states. The dynastic phenomenon can be observed at all governmental levels, including the national, district, and even village levels. This phenomenon in rural regions was also aided in its development and consolidation by the three-tier Panchayati Raj structure that was established in the state in the 1960s. In addition to controlling the administration, political families also have influence over the state’s district cooperative banks and cooperative sugar industries. Even though the Bharatiya Janata Party has several dynastic senior leaders, the phenomenon is less prevalent in the BJP than it is in the Congress party. The NCP has an especially high degree of dynasticism in Maharashtra. Early on, leaders of the Congress party in Maharashtra’s politics were Yashwantrao Chavan, Vasantdada Patil, Vasantrao Naik, and Shankarrao Chavan. Sharad Pawar has been a dominant figure in state and federal politics for more than 40 years. He began his political career in the Congress party. He twice split the Congress throughout his lifetime, which had a tremendous impact on state politics. Up until 1995, when the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won an overwhelming majority in the state to establish a coalition government, the Congress party had virtually uncontested domination of the political scene. Sharad Pawar launched the NCP after his second split from the Congress party in 1999, but afterward joined forces with the Congress for fifteen years, up till September 2014, to prevent the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance from holding office in the Maharashtra state government. Under the Congress/NCP coalition, Prithvi raj Chavan of the Congress party served as Maharashtra’s final chief minister. The two alliances between the BJP and Shiv Sena and the NCP and Congress for the 2014 assembly elections, respectively, fell out over seat distribution. With 122 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party won the most seats in the election. Under Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP originally formed a minority government. After two months, the Shiv Sena joined the government and gave the coalition a solid majority in the Maharashtra Vidhansabha throughout the rest of the session. Thackeray served as the 19th Chief minister of Maharashtra of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition until June 2022.
The Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition started to fall apart in late June 2022 when senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and the bulk of Shiv Sena MLAs revolted and allied themselves with the BJP. Thackeray tried to use the anti-defection law to disqualify the opposing members, but his efforts failed because the bulk of the Shivsena parliamentary party supported Shinde. Uddhav Thackeray made the decision to leave his position as chief minister and a member of the MLC on June 29, 2022, considering the situation. Later, Shinde and the BJP created a new alliance, and on June 30, 2022, he was sworn in as chief minister. Devendra Fadnavis, a BJP leader, was appointed deputy chief minister in the new administration.
Maharashtra’s Economy
Manufacturing, international trade, mass media (television, movies, video games, recorded music), aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, apparel, and tourism are the main drivers of Maharashtra’s economy. Maharashtra is the most industrialized state in India and has held the top spot in the industry for many years. In terms of small-scale industry, the State is a pioneer. Most of the major business and financial institutions have their headquarters in Mumbai, the state capital and financial center of India. Mumbai is home to India’s primary stock exchanges, capital markets, and commodity exchanges. The state keeps drawing in industrial investments from both domestic and international organizations. Maharashtra has the highest percentage of taxpayers in India, and its stock exchanges handle about 70% of all trading. Maharashtra is the most indebted state in the nation and generates 25% of the industrial output of the nation. Seven districts—Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Aurangabad, Pune, Nagpur, and Nashik—are the center of the state’s industrial activity. Mumbai contributes the most to the GSDP (19.5%), Thane and Pune contribute similarly to the industry sector, Pune district contributes more to the sector of agriculture and related industries, and Thane district contributes more to the sector of services. Compared to Thane and Pune districts, Nashik district ranks best in the area of agriculture and related activities but far behind in the sectors of industry and services. In Maharashtra, the following industries account for 17.6% of all production: chemicals and chemical products, food and food products, 12.9% of all refined petroleum products, 8% of all machinery and equipment, 6.9% of all textiles, 5.8% of all basic metals, 4.7% of all motor vehicles, and 4.7% of all furniture (4.3 percent). Some of India’s top public sector companies, such as Oil India Ltd., Tata Petrodyne, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, have their manufacturing facilities in Maharashtra. The Pune Metropolitan Area is the main IT center in the state, and Maharashtra has a higher-than-average knowledge economy compared to other Indian states. In the IT industry, Maharashtra is home to about 25% of the top 500 companies. The state is responsible for 28% of India’s software exports. The state is home to significant financial institutions like the SEBI, the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India, and various Indian and international enterprises’ corporate headquarters. Additionally, it is the location of several of India’s top nuclear and scientific institutions, including the Department of Atomic Energy, BARC, NPCL, IREL, TIFR, AERB, and AECI. Given that more than half of the population lives in rural areas, agriculture and related sectors are crucial to the economy of the state and a major source of income for those who live there. 12.9 percent of the state’s income comes from the sector of agriculture and related activities. The main crops grown during the monsoon are staples like millet and rice. Sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, tobacco, fruit, vegetables, and spices like turmeric are all significant cash crops. Animal husbandry is a crucial aspect of agriculture. The percentage of cattle and poultry owned by the State in India is roughly 7% and 10%, respectively. After gaining independence, Maharashtra led the way in the creation of agricultural cooperative societies. The idea of “rural development with local initiative” promoted by the then-governing Congress party included it in full. The government assumed the role of a mentor by acting as a stakeholder, guarantee, and regulator, and sugar cooperatives were given a “special” status. In addition to the sugar industry, cooperatives are essential to the dairy, cotton, and fertilizer sectors.
On April 16, 1853, the first passenger railway in India traveled between Mumbai and Thane. The Central Railway, Western Railway, South Central, and Southeast Central Railway zones of the Indian Railways are responsible for managing rail transportation. The first two zones have their headquarters in Mumbai, at Church gate and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), respectively. Navi Mumbai serves as the headquarters of Konkan Railway. The Mumbai Rajdhani Express, the fastest Rajdhani train, runs between Mumbai and New Delhi, the capital of India. The busiest rail hubs in India are Thane and CSMT, with the latter acting as a hub for commuter and long-distance Mumbai Suburban Railway trains.
The government of India oversees and keeps an eye on the country’s two main seaports, Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, both of which are in the Mumbai region. In Maharashtra, there are about 48 minor ports. The majority of these have a finite capacity and handle passenger traffic. Maharashtra has no navigable main rivers, hence there is no river transportation in the state. In the public sector, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) offers affordable and dependable passenger road transport services. Most of the population prefers to travel in these buses, often known as ST (State Transport). Metered taxis and auto-rickshaws, which frequently travel routes in cities, are examples of hired modes of transportation. Villages can access other district and village roads to suit their social needs, and they can use these roads to transfer their agricultural products to adjacent markets. Major district roads serve the supplementary purpose of connecting major routes with rural roads. In Maharashtra, about 98% of villages are connected by either modern roads or motorways.
The biggest airport in the state is Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly Bombay International Airport). Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur and Pune International Airport are the other two international airports. Domestic airports in the state include Aurangabad Airport, Kolhapur Airport, Jalgaon Airport, and Nanded Airport. While Reliance Airport Developers (RADPL) now manages five non-metro airports at Latur, Nanded, Baramati, Osmanabad, and Yavatmal under a 95-year lease, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages the majority of the State’s airfields. To develop airports in the state that are not under the control of the AAI or the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) was established in 2002. (MIDC). When it comes to designing and carrying out the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project, MADC is taking the lead.
Every year, a sizable number of Hindu worshippers visit a variety of temples, including Trimbakeshwar, Bhavani of Tuljapur, Shani Shingnapur, Jyotiba Temple, Ashtavinayaka Ganapati temples, and Lord Pandurang temple in Pandharpur. In the Jejuri Khandoba Temple in the Pune district, devotees come from across Maharashtra to offer Bhandar to one another. An average of 25,000 pilgrims visit the Saibaba temple in Shirdi each day, and during religious holidays, this number might increase to 300,000. The locations affiliated with the Warkari sect, such as Pandharpur, Dehu, and Alandi, are well-known all year long and can draw large crowds from over the state during religious observances. One of the five takhts in Sikhism is the Sikh Gurudwara of Hazur Sahib in Nanded, also known as Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib. The UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Ajanta and Ellora caves, the Daulatabad Fort, and the Bibi Ka Maqbara are just a few of the numerous historic buildings in Aurangabad.
With large-scale movies, television shows, books, and other media being set there, Maharashtra is a key destination for the Indian entertainment industry. Mumbai is home to many film studios and production facilities. Maharashtra is home to several mainstream Hindi movies, particularly in the cities. A third of all Indian films are made in Mumbai, which is the country’s major center for film and television production. There, multi-million-dollar Bollywood productions are filmed, with the most expensive going for up to 1.5 billion (US$19 million). The Marathi film industry, which was formerly based in Kolhapur, has expanded to include all of Mumbai. The Marathi film industry, which was formerly based in Kolhapur, has expanded to include all of Mumbai. Dada Kondke is the most well-known name in Marathi films. The early Marathi film industry was well known for its art films and featured acclaimed directors like Dadasaheb Phalke and V. Shantaram. The Government of India annually bestows the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest cinematic honor, in recognition of an individual’s lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.
Top 13 Interesting Facts About The State
Maharashtra has the largest road network in India. The total road length is 2,67,500 Kilometers.
The mysterious Lonar lake is the only saline soda lake on earth that was created when a meteor hit earth almost 52,000 years ago.
The houses in Shani Shingnapur have no doors. People believe that whoever tries to steal anything will face the wrath of God Shane Maharaj.
Maharashtra has the largest proportion of taxpayers in India.
Each house in shetpal village has a resting place for live cobras in the rafters of their ceiling; there has been no case of cobra bite in that village to date.
Mumbai locals were designed to hold 1700 passengers, but they often carry three times that number in that rush hour.
Maharashtra is known as the Land of Saints. Some renewed saints of Maharashtra are saint Tukaram, Shree Swami Samarth, Shree Sai Baba, and Shree Gajanan Maharaj.
India’s first: The concept of the Navy was introduced by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. His admiral Kanhoji Angre is regarded as the father of the Indian Navy.
Aurangabad is known as the city of gates. A total of 52 gates were built around the city in the Medieval era, of which only 13 survive today.
It is believed that Badminton was invented in Pune during British rule. It was called Poona or Poonah, after the town.
Our country’s entire gold assets are kept in the reserve bank of RBI in Nagpur.
The first train started in Maharashtra between Mumbai and thane on 16 April 1853
Nav Mumbai is the largest planned city in the world. It was built to overcome the problems of Mumbai.
