History of Maharashtra

The Chinese pilgrim, Hiun Tsang, visited Maharashtra during AD 640-641 and was very impressed by the prosperity of the country, the efficiency of the administration and the character of the people. He called the land Mo-ho-lo-cha (Moholesh), and was perhaps the first person to discuss the region and its people. He says: "The soil is rich and fertile and it is regularly cultivated and very productive. Men are fond of learning and studying both heretical and orthodox books. The disposition of the people is honest and simple; they are tall in stature and of a stern and vindictive character. To their benefactors, they are grateful; to their enemies, relentless. If they are insulted, they will risk their lives to avenge themselves. If they are asked to help one in distress, they will forget themselves in their haste to render assistance."

The antiquity of this region can be traced to approximately the 3rd century BC, which is when the Maharastri language, a Prakrit version of Sanskrit from which the term 'Maharashtra' is derived, was then in use. Marathi, which evolved from Maharastri-Prakrit, has been the "lingua franca" of the people of this area from the 10th century onwards. And, in the course of time, the term 'Maharashtra' was used to describe a region which consisted of Aparanta, Vidarbha, Mulak, Ashmak and Kuntal. The tribal communities of Nags, Munds and Bhils inhabited this area, also known as Dandakaranya, in ancient times. They were joined by the Aryas, the Shakas and the Huns, who came from the North, as well as by foreigners, who arrived by sea. The Dravidians from the South colonised the land, joining a group which collectively became known as 'Marathas'.

Prehistoric

It was once thought that prehistoric man did not exist in Maharashtra, but recent research has established the presence of man in this region in the Stone Age. Attempts have also been made to reconstruct the climatic sequence and correlate it with cultural phases. As a result, we now have a fair idea of the life of prehistoric man in Maharashtra.

The Hunter-gatherers

Some two or three hundred millennia ago, in the Lower Palaeolithic period, early man wandered through Maharashtra, as he did through other parts of the country. Small groups of people, organised into bands of 20 or 30, occupied the valleys of the Ghod, Bhima, Pravara, Godavari and Wainganga rivers. They led a nomadic existence, and subsisted on wild game, fruit and plants. They forged tools of stone, mostly of basaltic trap, which was abundant in the form of pebbles along the riverbanks. Their basic tool kit consisted of the handaxe, an all-purpose tool for cutting and digging, cleavers for scraping hides, and choppers. They may have used wooden sticks, sharpening the ends into points, for hunting. They hunted animals such as the wild elephant and the wild bull, fossil remains of which have been found at Newasa (Ahmednagar District) and in large numbers at Dhanegaon on the Manjra, a tributary of the Godavari in Osmanabad district.

The climate then was more arid than it is today and the rivers were shallow; the Pravara, near Nevasa, flowed at a level ten to 20 m. higher than at present. The riverbed was pebbles. Later, some one hundred and fifty millennia ago, the beds of the rivers such as the Pravara, Godavari, and Krishna began to deepen because the climate had become humid and the rainfall had increased by approximately 30 per cent.

Nearly one hundred millennia ago, during the Middle Palaeolithic period, people began to develop smaller tools, comprising a variety of scrapers and points. These were made of fine-grained materials, such as chert and jasper, both of which are found throughout Maharashtra. Still smaller tools were used in the Upper Palaeolithic period 25,000 years ago. They consisted of blade and flake tools, mostly of silicaceous stones like chalcedony. An entire range of these tools has been discovered in the excavations at Patne near Chalisgaon (Jalgaon district). It was during this time that man discovered the technique of fishing. The climate was again becoming arid and the rivers shallow. In the Konkan Region, the sea began to recede, which resulted in the emergence of a large land mass, This perhaps is the scientific basis of the Puranic legend according to which Parshurama is supposed to have pushed back the sea along the western coast.

Once again, some 16,000 years ago, a wet phase set in, and with it began the Mesolithic age. Because of the resultant increase in heavy vegetation, the black soil characteristic of Maharashtra was formed. With abundant flora and fauna, subsistence became easier and, consequently, the population increased considerably. This is evident from the presence of numerous Mesolithic sites littered with blade tools of chalcedony made by the race. Mesolithic man hunted small game, assisted by a domesticated dog. It is also likely that the harvesting of wild grains led to a seasonally settled lifestyle.

The First Farmers

The tremendous increase in population during the Mesolithic period probably led to agricultural development. With more people subsisting on the resources available in a given area, it must have become necessary to increase food supply by artificial means; this could be achieved only by farming. Man must have observed how seeds fallen on the ground sprouted in the next season - he only had to copy nature. The cultivation of cereals began in Maharashtra some 4,000 years ago, if evidence from the Tapi valley is any indication. By 1700 BC, early farming communities of Malwa migrated not only to Khandesh, but also reached the Godavari and Bhima valleys. A heavy concentration of early farming settlements occurred in the Tapi valley; it was less intense in the Pravara-Godavari valleys and quite sporadic in the Bhima valley. A vast majority of these were small, self-sufficient villages with a population of about 100-200 people and in each area there was a large regional centre: Prakash in the Tapi valley (Dhulia district), Daimabad in the Godavari valley (Ahmednagar district) and Inamgaon in the Bhima valley (Pune district). Each of these appears to have supported a population of over 1,000 people.

In the middle of the second millennium (1500) BC, a new culture, named after Jorwe, the site in Ahmednagar district where it was first found, flourished in Maharashtra. As in the preceding culture, it was characterised by a distinct type of painted pottery, a blade-flake industry of chalcedony, as well as tools and ornaments of copper. However, due to the scarcity of the metal, copper was used sparingly. These people colonised almost the entire region of Maharashtra, with the exception of the coastal strip of Konkan and certain parts of Vidarbha. Their mixed economy was based on agriculture, stock-raising, hunting and fishing. They cultivated a variety of crops, including cereals. They practised crop rotation because it gave them the facility of irrigation - clear evidence of that has been unearthed at Inamgaon, near Pune.

The people of Jorwe lived in large rectangular houses with wattle and daub walls and thatched roofs. They stored grain in bins and pit silos, cooked food in two armed chulas (hearths) inside the house and roasted animals in a large fire pit in the courtyard. They worshipped a mother goddess associated with fertility and another headless deity, who was probably connected with the welfare of children. They believed in life after death, and therefore interred the dead inside the house under the floor. Children were buried in two urns that were joined mouth-to-mouth and set horizontally in the pit, while adults were placed in a supine position with the head towards the North. Before the ceremonial burial, the feet were chopped off, possibly because of the fear of the dead turning into ghosts.

Around 1200 BC, the Chalcolithic people organised themselves into chiefdoms. The house of a ruling chief was discovered at Inamgaon. By its side was the public granary, where the grain collected by him as tax was stored as provision for lean years. The chief was also required to organise labour for such public works as digging moats and erecting defence walls. He also supervised the building of embankments and canals for irrigation (as at Inamgaon) and to control distribution of water to fields.

These early farming communities flourished for a millennium but, by c.1000 BC, we find that agricultural activity stopped. The reason for this was a drastic change in the climate, which became increasingly arid, and a sharp decrease in rainfall, which led to large-scale desertion of Chalcolithic settlements in the Tapi and Pravara-Godavari valleys. The people in the Bhima valley continued to survive, but under very inhospitable conditions. Their poverty is reflected in their small round huts and coarse pottery. There was a marked decline in agricultural production and people had to rely more on hunting. As their plight worsened, people resorted to sheep and goat herding and consequently began to lead a semi-nomadic existence. But by 700 BC they, too, had to desert their habitations.top

Megalithic Horsemen

In Maharashtra, the Megalithic culture flourished from c.1000 to 500 BC. The horsemen from southern Deccan were partly responsible for driving away poor Chalcolithic farmers. They could accomplish this expediently because of their superior weapons of iron and their fast-moving horses. Although they flourished all over South India, in Maharashtra their settlements were located mainly in the Vidarbha region, particularly around Nagpur. They buried their dead ceremonially and erected huge stones in a circular fashion around the burial areas (hence 'Megalith'). The corpse was decked with jewels and even the horse, fully ornamented, was buried with its master. A number of iron tools and weapons were deposited in the burial pit.

First Urbanisation

The Iron Age, C.500 BC, was the precursor of urbanisation. The iron plough made cultivation of black cotton soil possible. The exploitation of iron, increased agricultural production and the development of arts and crafts, led to the formation of an exchange network with neighbouring regions. Already, in the time of the Buddha, Sopara, Near Bombay (Ancient Shurparaka), was becoming an important port and a gateway settlement. Whether Sopara was the Ophir of the Old Testament or not, there is little doubt that it was as important for commerce as Mumbai is today. Perhaps this induced Ashoka to install his edicts there.

One of the 16 great republics (Mahajanapadas), Ashmaka (the region around Ahmednagar and Aurangabad districts), was prospering in Maharashtra and, possibly at the same time, Tagara (Ter in Osmanabad district) was becoming a city state. With the inclusion of Maharashtra in the Mauryan empire, communication with North India increased. Two main trade routes connected Maharashtra with North India. One linked Sopara to Ujjain via Nasik, Pitalkhora, Ajanta and Maheshwar; the other joined Paithan, the capital city, to Ujjain, through Aurangabad, Bhokardhan, Ajanta, Ghatotkach and Maheshwar.

Within Maharashtra, the location of early rock-cut caves situated along ancient roads provides a fair idea of trade routes. Thus, the road from Paithan to Kolhapur can be traced through Nevasa, Junnar, Shelarwadi, Shirwal and Karad. Similarly, from Sopara, the coastal route to Kolhapur ran through Kalyan, Mahad, Khed and Karad.

Mauryas to Yadavas: c.220 BC to AD 1310

The Mauryan empire expanded southwards to include the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The policies of the rulers led to flourishing trade and the development of Buddhist learning in that region. With the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire, Maharashtra came under the rule of the Satavahanas.

The first well-known rulers of Maharashtra were the Satavahanas (c.230 BC to AD 225), with Pratishthana (Paithan) as their capital. The dynasty, founded by Simmuk Satavahan, represents a significant phase in the political, cultural and social history of Maharashtra. Hala, the seventh ruler of the Satavahanas, composed the famous Gatha-Saptashati, a Maharastri-Prakrit kavya (poem). The Satavahanas inaugurated the Shalivahana Shaka of the Hindus. The empire crumbled because of internal feuds among its vassals.

The Vakatakas (AD 250 to 525) brought the Vidarbha region under their rule and, during that period, Maharashtra witnessed an overall development in the fields of learning, the arts and religion with their munificent patronage. The best-known of the Ajanta caves - 16, 17, and 19 - belong to the Vakataka period. Fresco painting reached its high-level mark during this time.

After the Vakatakas, there was a brief interlude when the Kalachuri dynasty ruled over parts of this region in the 6th century, from the dynastic capital at Mahishmati.

The next important dynasty of Maharashtra was that of the Chalukyas, from AD 550-760 and then again from AD 973-1180. Jai Sinha, the founder of the dynasty, made Badami (Bijapur District, Karnataka) his capital. Pulakesin II, the master of three Maharashtras and the greatest ruler of the Chalukyas, ruled from Nasik. The Chalukyas were devout Hindus, who extensively sponsored temple construction.

Dantidurga, the chief of the Rashtrakutas, defeated the Chalukyas by AD 753 and established his dynasty with Manyakheta (Karnataka) as his capital. Rashtrakuta rule came to an end in AD 973, when Tailap Chalukya of the Kalyani branch wrested power and restored Chalukyan supremacy for the second time. The famous Kailash cave-temple (Ellora, in Aurangabad district) was built under the patronage of the Rashtrakuta ruler, Krishna I. The Chalukyas of Kalyani continued to rule parts of Maharashtra up to AD 1189, when the Yadavas of Deogiri took over; their supremacy lasted till AD 1310. The Kadambas of Goa and the Shilaharas of South and North Konkan and Kolhapur served as vassals of the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas, who were finally overthrown by the Yadavas.

The Yadavas extended their authority over a large territory, practised religious tolerance, patronised the Marathi language -- which received the status of a court-language -- and included in their clan the great saint-poet Dnyaneshwar, the pioneer of the Bhakti devotional movement in Maharashtra. In the 9th century, the Yadavas had their capital at Chandor (Nasik district); this was later transferred to Deogiri by Bhillam c.AD 1187.

The Muslim interlude

Ala-ud-din Khalji was the first Muslim sultan of the North who penetrated the Deccan in AD 1296, defeated the Yadavas and impoverished the dynasty by carrying away a huge booty. Malik Kafur, his lieutenant, completed his missions and, by 1310, Yadava rule came to an end.

Muhammad Tughluq (1324-1350), who extended his authority up to Madurai in the South, emulated Ala-ud-din Khalji’s example. However, his experiment of transferring his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad was a failure. The fall of the Tughluqs gave rise to a new Muslim power in the Deccan under the leadership of Sultan Ala-ud-din Hasan Bahamani in 1347, and the Bahamani dynasty lasted nearly 150 years. Deogiri, or Daulatabad, was for a while the capital of the Bahamanis. By the 16th century, the Bahamani kingdom was parcelled out into five independent regions - Qutb Shah (Golkonda), Nizam Shah (Admednagar), Imad Shah (Varhad), Adil Shah (Bijapur) and Barid Shah (Bidar), which included parts of Maharashtra. In order to preserve political authority, these Deccani Muslim rulers had to employ the local people in civil, military and diplomatic services. The Mughals annexed the provinces by the end of the 17th century.

The Marathas

The Marathas dominated the political scene in Maharashtra from the middle of the 17th century to the early 19th century. Although for historical purposes the term 'Maratha' is used in a comprehensive sense to include all Marathi speaking people, actually the word signifies the distinct community which has dominated the political scene of Maharashtra since medieval times.

Who were these Marathas? The origin of the Marathi-speaking community of Maharashtra cannot be identified with certainty. Whether the term itself is derived from Maharashtra or whether the land assumes the name from its dwellers is difficult to say. Although Risley's theory of the Scytho-Dravindian origin of the Marathas is now discarded, it cannot be denied that there exists a great admixture of aboriginal tribal elements in the Marathas, of all grades. Several Maratha clans are totemic: Khandoba (sword father) and Bhavani (mother goddess), the two chief deities of the Marathas, are aboriginal in character.

References to the Marathas and their country are found in accounts by the Arab geographer, Al Biruni (1030 AD), Friar Jordanus (c.1326) and Ibn Batuta (1340), the African traveller. The Marathas came into political prominence only in the 17th century under Shivaji. Historians such as Grant Duff attribute their rise to fortuitous circumstances - "like a conflagration in the forests of Sahyadri mountains" - while Justice Ranade ascribes it to genuine efforts made by Maratha chiefs serving under the Deccani sultans.

Several Maratha chiefs - such as the Bhonsales, Jadhavs, Nimbalkars, Mores, Manes, Ghatges, Dafleys, Sawants, Shirkes, Mahadiks and the Mohites - serving under the Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar and Adil Shah of Bijapur received excellent training in arms and administration. Maloji Bhonsale (c.1552-1606) the patil (headman), joined Nizam Shah with a small band of cavalry. His son, Shahaji (1599-1664) served under Nizam Shah and Adil Shah, and came to prominence as a leading Maratha.

Chhatrapati Shivaji

Shivaji was an able administrator and established a government that included such modern concepts as cabinet (Ashtapradhan mandal), foreign affairs (Dabir) and internal intelligence. [4] Shivaji established an effective civil and military administration. He also built a powerful navy and erected new forts like Sindhudurg and strengthened old ones like Vijayadurg on the west coast. The Maratha navy held its own against the British, Portuguese and Dutch till Maratha internal conflict brought their downfall in 1756.

Shivaji is well known for his fatherly attitude towards his subjects. He believed that the state belonged to the people. He encouraged all socio-economic groups to participate in the ongoing political changes. To this day he is remembered as a just and welfare-minded king. He brought revolutionary changes in military, fort architecture, society and politics.Because of his struggle against an imperial power, Shivaji became an icon of freedom fighters (along with the Rani of Jhansi) in the Indian independence struggle that followed two centuries later. He is remembered as a just and wise king and his rule is called one of the six golden pages in Indian history.

School texts in Maharashtra glorify Shivaji's period and he is considered the founder of the modern Marathi nation; his policies were instrumental in forging a distinct Maharashtrian identity. Indeed, Marathi Hindus, Dalits, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists, all consider him as a hero. [8] A popular quotation,

"Maratha tituka milavava
Maharashtra Dharma vadhavava"

translates as, "Bring as many people into Maratha domain as possible and grow the Maharashtra Nation".

The Peshwas

Under Shahu, the Bhat family of Shrivardhan (Raigad) came to prominence and the Chitpavan Brahman Balaji Vishwanath Bhat (1713-1720), who had helped Shahu to strengthen his position, became his Peshwa (prime minister) and brought in the "sanads" (deeds) of "swaraj", "chauth" and "sardeshmukhi" from the Mughals. His son, Peshwa Bajirao I (1720-1740), attempted to break the narrow limits of Maharashtra by adopting a forward policy and building Maratha power on the ruins of the Mughal empire. He installed the Maratha sardars in the North, who later developed the Maratha confederacy. Gujarat, Malwa, and Bundelkhand came under Maratha control and a new band of sardars such as Shinde, Holkar, Gaikwad and Pawar came to prominence.

Historians regard Bajirao I as the founder of Greater Maharashtra, because it was under his reign that Maharashtra became the centre of Indian politics. During his short career, he established Marathi supremacy in the Deccan and political hegemony in the North. His son, Balaji Bajirao (1740-1761) succeeded him and expanded the Maratha borders to Attock (Punjab). When Shahu died in 1749 his adopted son, Ramraja, although incompetent, remained a titular Chhatrapati. The Peshwas thus became the "de facto" rulers of Maharashtra, and Pune became the centre of Maratha politics. The tragic disaster of the Marathas at Panipat (1761) at the hands of the Afghan ruler, Ahmad Shah Abdali, temporarily weakened their power but did not destroy it. Madhavrao I (1745-1772), a noble Peshwa, restored Maratha prestige by defeating the enemies and introducing efficient administration. His premature death was a great destabiliser of Maratha power. Grant Duff says, "The plains of Panipat were not more fatal to the Maratha empire than the early end of this excellent prince."

Internal struggles for power ensued, leading to the murder of the next Peshwa leader, Narayanrao (1773). His posthumous child, Madhavrao II (1773-1795), managed the affairs of state with the help of the Barbhai council, of which Nana Phadnis and Mahadji Shinde were prominent members. Power thus shifted from the Peshwas to the Karbharis (managers). The English gradually began to intrude into Maratha territory. They were humbled in 1781, but the last Peshwa, Bajirao II (1795-1818) succumbed, and surrendered power in 1818. Mountstuart Elphinstone, the liquidator of Maratha power, then created a Maratha state at Satara by installing Pratap Singh (1793-1847), a descendant of Shahu, on the throne as Raja to win the sympathies of the Marathas. He was deposed in 1839, and his brother Shahaji became Raja. The state lapsed to the English in 1849. Thus the hegemony of the Marathas -- who had dominated the political scene of Indian history for over two centuries -- came to an end.

The contribution of the Marathas to Indian history can be summed up in the words of Jadunath Sarkar, who says, "The Marathas have an historic advantage of unique importance in India today. Their ancestors had faced death in a hundred battle fields, had led armies and debated in the chamber of diplomacy; had managed the finances of kingdoms and grappled with the problems of empire; they had helped to make Indian history in the immediate and not forgotten past. The memory of these things is a priceless asset to their race."

The British

In the 17th century, the British East India Company struggled to secure commercial monopoly on the West coast and regarded the growing power of Shivaji as a potential danger. Shivaji shrewdly guessed of British intentions of territorial acquisition under the guise of trade and commerce. But the Peshwas did not anticipate the opportunist British mentality; Peshwa Nanasahab invited them to crush the Angres of Kolaba in 1754. The Maratha thus dug their own grave. In the Madras Military consultations of April 17, 1770, it was recorded that, "It has always been allowed and that too with reason, that nothing can reduce the Maratha power but dissension among themselves, and it is fortunate for the other powers in Hindustan that the Maratha chiefs were always ready to take every advantage of each other."

The most successful British statesman in routing out Maratha power was Mountstuart Elphinstone, who occupied the office of Resident (Pune) in 1811. He slowly worked for the fall of the Marathas and when the third and final war broke out with them in 1817, Bajirao II finally submitted to the British on June 3, 1818, and the glory of the Maratha power vanished. Elphinstone then became the Commissioner of the territories conquered from the Peshwas in 1819 and later the Governor of Bombay. He laid the foundation of British administration in Maharashtra without introducing much innovation, completed the work of settlement, initiated an educational policy, and founded Sanskrit College (which later became Deccan College) with the Dakshina funds of the Peshwas.

Resistance to British Rule

The Marathas were never reconciled to the British Raj, and occasionally challenged its officers. In 1826, the Ramoshis of Pune district, under the leadership of Umaji Naik, revolted against the British, who subsequently compromised with them. The" Ramoshis" were absolved of their crimes, absorbed in government service and granted lands in inam. They revolted again. Umaji Naik was captured. Raghu Bhangra of Nasik, Ramji of Nagar and his associate, Govindrao Khare, the killedar of Ratnagiri, also resisted British rule. The Kolis of Pune and Nagar districts also organised themselves against the British. It is really surprising that these unlettered, unequipped residents of the hills had the courage to challenge the British long before intellectuals could start the freedom movement.

In the revolt of 1857, Maharashtra was not an active participant, though leaders such as Tatya Tope and Maharani Laxmibai of Jhansi were Maharashtrians.

In 1875, peasants of some parts of Pune, Satara and Ahmednagar districts revolted against oppressive policies supported by the British, in the Deccan Riots. Vasudeo Balwant Phadke launched his violent compaign against British rule in 1879, aiming to establish an Indian republic by driving them out. However, his armed resistance failed and he was arrested and deported to Aden, where he passed away in 1883. Resentment against the British rule continued unabated and the Chaphekar brothers murdered Mr. Rand and Lt. Ayerst on Jubilee Night on June 22, 1897, in Pune. In his book, "India of Yester Years," published in 1899, GW Stevens explains Maratha resistance to British rule: "Other provinces of India were ceded to us or conquered from alien lords, the Marathas lost all in war, ... The Marathas have never forgotten how high they were less than a hundred years ago, and who it was that brought them low. They lost more than others did and they feel the loss more. For others who were a change of masters; them we brought down from masters to slaves.... His empire, his nationality, his religion, his honour, his beautiful language -- we have taken away his all."

ocial Reform Movement

The social reform movement of 19th century Maharashtra was the result of the impact of Western education on the elite of Mumbai and Pune. Reformists tried to examine critically their social system and religious beliefs and gave priority to social reform as against political freedom.

In their reform efforts, they had to contend with stiff opposition from the conservatives. Foremost among the reformers were Balshastri Jambhekar (1812-1846), who condemned the evil customs of sati and female infanticide, Gopal Hari Deshmukh (1823-1892) who, through his shatpatre (a bunch of letters numbering 100) attacked orthodox Brahmans opposing social and religious reforms and Jotirao Govindrao Phule (1827-1890) who revolted against the unjust caste system, and upheld the cause of untouchables and education of women of lower castes.

Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837-1925) and Justice Ranade (1842-1901) were the pioneers of Prarthana Samaj, an organisation for general, social and religious reform. Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856-1895) gave priority to social reform. Dhondo Keshav Karve (1858-1962) devoted his life to the cause of women's education. Behramji Malbari (1853-1912), a Parsi of Bombay, started Seva Sadan for the care of women of all castes.

Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922) founded the Sharada Sadan in 1890 to help high-class widows. Vithal Ramaji Shinde (1873-1944), a product of Oxford University, fought for the eradication of untouchability through his Depressed Classes Mission. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur (1874-1922) also plunged into this movement and defied the caste system, championed the cause of the untouchables and promoted education in his state. Karmaveer Bhaurao Paigonda Patil (1887-1959), the architect of the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, followed in the footprints of Phule, Shinde and Shahu Maharaj.

Maharashtra will always remain proud of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956), the chief architect of the Indian Constitution and the creator of a social and political awareness among the scheduled castes of India.

The social reform measures brought about a renaissance and social-awakening in Maharashtra. The efforts of DK Karve to improve women's education, of Bhaurao Patil, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh, who championed the downtrodden people, as well as those of Tarabai Modak in Vidarbha and Anutai Wagh in the Adivasi areas, have set an example for other states. The services rendered to victims of leprosy by Dr Shivaji Patwardhan and Baba Amte perhaps have no parallel. Vijay Merchant fought relentlessly for facilities for the physically handicapped. Vinoba Bhave, the spiritual heir of Gandhi, sacrificed his life for sarvodaya.

Thus, the works of the saint-poets, the social reformers and the social constructive workers have made Maharashtra a progressive state.

Maharashtra's role in the freedom movement

The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Maharashtra (Mumbai) in 1885. Justice Ranade provided a theoretical base for the national movement by advocating liberalism and starting several institutions for moulding public opinion on social, economic and political problems. Dadabhoy Naoroji, Pherozshah Mehta and Dinshaw Wachha, prominent Parsis of Mumbai, were leaders of the Indian National Congress. Two outstanding national leaders of Maharashtra between 1890-1920 were Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) and Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915). Tilak drew the masses into national politics through his community festivals in praise of Shivaji and Ganesh. He condemned the moderates' policy of 'mendicancy' and declared that Swaraj was his birthright. He was called the "father of political unrest in India." Gokhale, the true disciple of Justice Ranade and essentially a leader of the elite, adopted the policy of conciliation and compromise.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the founder of the Abhinav Bharat Society became the idol of the youth. Mahatma Gandhi, who regarded Gokhale as his guru and considered Maharashtra the beehive of constructive workers, received support from Maharashtra in his various movements and programmes. It was during this period that the non-Brahman element, under leadership of Keshavrao Jedhe, was brought within the fold of the Congress, mainly through the persuasive efforts of Kakasaheb Gadgil.

The ultimatum to the British to "Quit India" was given in Mumbai, and culminated in the transfer of power and the independence of India in 1947. Raosaheb and Achutrao Patwardhan, Nanasaheb Gore, SM Joshi, Yeshwantrao Chavan, Vasantdada Patil and several others played a prominent role in this struggle. BG Kher was the first Chief Minister of the tri-lingual Bombay Presidency.

Other Great Revolutionary From Maharashtra:
Shivaram Rajguru, Vishwanath Vaishampayan, Ganesh Damodar Savarkar, Dattatray Balwant Karandikar, Dnyaneshwar Deshpande, Gajananrao Potdar, Shriram Balwant Savargaokar

amyukta Maharashtra

The Indian National Congress was pledged to linguistic states, but the States Re-organisation Committee recommended a bi-lingual state for Maharashtra-Gujarat, with Mumbai as its capital. Its inauguration on November 1, 1956, caused a great political stir and, under the leadership of Keshavrao Jedhe, an all-party meeting was held in Pune and Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was founded on February 6, 1956. In the second general election the Samiti defeated the stalwarts of Congress by securing 101 seats out of 133, including 12 from Mumbai. The Congress could form a government only with the support of Gujarat, Marathwada and Vidarbha. Yeshwantrao Chavan became the first Chief Minister of the bi-lingual Bombay State.

SM Joshi, SA Dange, NG Gore and PK Atre fought relentlessly for Samyukta Maharashtra, even at the cost of sacrificing the lives of several people and finally succeeded in convincing Congress leaders that Maharashtra should form a separate state. The resignation of CD Deshmukh, the then Finance Minister of the Nehru Cabinet, had its salutary effect, and on May 1, 1960, the state of Maharashtra, which included western Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Marathwada was born with the blessings of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Thus, in 1960 the historical process of formation of this Marathi State from Mo-ho-lo-cha to Maharashtra was completed. The new Maharashtra conforms to the image recorded by Hiun Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim, more than 1,300 years ago.

References

* http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/community/community_historyShow.php Maharashtra Government's website]
* James Grant Duff, "History of the Mahrattas," 3 vols. London, Longmans, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green (1826) ISBN 8170209560
* Mahadev Govind Ranade, "Rise of the Maratha Power" (1900); reprint (1999) ISBN 8171171818

External links

* [http://www.marathimati.com/Maharashtra/Maharashtra_Past_Present.asp Maharashtra State Past Present & History In Marathi Language]