pop (2001e) 96 752 000; area 307 762 km²/118 796 sq mi. Large state in W India, bounded W by the Arabian Sea; crossed by several mountain ranges and rivers; ruled by the Mughals, 14th17th-c; heart of the Maratha Empire under Shivaji (17th-c); British control, early 19th-c; became a state in 1960; capital, Mumbai (Bombay); governed by a 78-member Legislative Council and an elected 287-member Legislative Assembly; rice, sugar cane, groundnuts, cotton; textiles, electrical equipment, machinery, chemicals, oil products; industry largely in Mumbai, Pune (Poona), and Thana; coal, chromite, iron ore, bauxite.
| Maharashtra | |
|
Capital - Coordinates |
Mumbai - 18.96° N 72.82° E |
| Largest city | Mumbai |
|
Population (2001) - Density |
96,752,247 (2nd) - 314.42/km² |
|
Area - Districts |
307,713 km² (3rd) - 35 |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
|
Establishment - Governor - Chief Minister - Legislature (seats) |
1960-05-01 - SM Krishna - Vilasrao Deshmukh - Bicameral (289 + 78) |
| Official language(s) | Marathi |
| Abbreviation (ISO) | IN-MH |
| Website: www.maharashtra.gov.in | |
|
Seal of Maharashtra |
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Maharashtra pronunciation (help·info) (Marathi: महाराष्ट्र mahārāṣṭra, English: Great Nation, IPA: [məhaːraːʂʈrə]) is India's third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. Mumbai, India's largest city, is the capital of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra was known as Rashtra in the Rig Veda, Rashtrik in Ashoka's inscriptions, and Maha rashtra afterwards, as attested by Huein-Tsang and other travellers.
History
Medieval history and Islamic rule
Not much is known about Maharashtra's early history, and its recorded history dates back to the 3rd century BC, with the use the Maharastri language, a Prakrit corruption of Sanskrit. Later, Maharashtra became a part of the Magadha empire, ruled by the Buddhist emperor Ashoka. With the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire, a local dynasty called Satavahanas came into prominence in Maharashtra between 230 BC and AD 225.
During the reign of the Vakatakas (AD 250–525), Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra, come under their rule. In 973, the Chalukayas of Badami expelled the Rashtrakutas, and ruled parts of Maharashtra until 1189 when the region came under the hands of the Yadavas of Deogiri.
Maharashtra came under Islamic influence for the first time after the Delhi Sultanate rulers Ala-ud-din Khalji, and later Muhammad bin Tughluq appropriated parts of the Deccan in the 13th century. By the 16th century, central Maharashtra was ruled by numerous autonomous Islamic kingdoms that owed allegiance to the Mughals, while coastal region was annexed by the Portuguese, in their quest to seize control of the spice trade.
Marathas and Peshwas
Peshwas not only ruled Maharashtra, but their empire was also covering Delhi (Panipat)- Gujarat ( Mehsana) - Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior, Indore) and to south till Thanjaur. The Marathas, native to western Maharashtra, were led by Chhatrapati Raje Shivaji Bhosale, who was crowned king in 1674.
In the following four decades, the Peshwas virtually took over central authority in the Maratha state, reducing Shivaji's Bhosale dynasty to figureheads.
The Peshwas, Balaji Vishwanath and his son, Baji Rao I, bureaucratized the Maratha state.
British Rule and Post-Independence
With the arrival and subsequent involvement of the British East India Company in Indian politics, the Marathas and the British fought the three Anglo-Maratha wars between 1777 and 1818, culminating in the annexation of Peshwa-ruled territory in Maharashtra in 1819, which heralded the end of the Maratha empire.
The British governed the region as part of the Bombay Presidency, which spanned an area from Karachi in Pakistan to most of the northern Deccan. The largest princely states in the territory of present-day Maharashtra were Nagpur, Satara and Kolhapur; A large part of present day Maharashtra called Marathwada remained part of the Nizam's Hyderabad state during British rule.The British rule was marked by social reforms, an improvement in infrastructure as well revolts due to their discriminatory policies. In 1942, the Quit India Movement was called by Mahatma Gandhi which was marked by a non-violent civil disobedience movement and strikes.Mumbai is the capital
After India's independence in 1947, the princely states were integrated into the Indian Union, and the Deccan States including Kolhapur were integrated into Bombay State, which was created from the former Bombay Presidency in 1950. In 1956, the States Reorganisation Act reorganized the Indian states along linguistic lines, and Bombay Presidency State was enlarged by the addition the predominantly Marathi-speaking regions of Marathwada (Aurangabad Division) from erstwhile Hyderabad state and Vidarbha region (Amravati and Nagpur divisions) from Madhya Pradesh (formerly the Central Provinces and Berar). On May 1, 1960, Maharashtra came into existence when Bombay Presidency State was split into the new linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Geography
Maharashtra encompasses an area of 308,000 km² (119,000 mi²),and is the third largest state in India after Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra is bordered by the states of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Andhra Pradesh to the southeast, Karnataka to the south, and Goa to the southwest. The various sections of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra are Tamhini Ghat, Varandha Ghat and Sawantwadi Ghat.
The Western Ghats form the source of several major rivers of Maharashtra, notable among them being Godavari River and the Krishna River. To the north of the state, the Tapti River and River Narmada flow westwards into the Arabian Sea, irrigating most of northern Maharashtra.
Protected areas of Maharashtra
Several wildlife sanctuaries, national parks and Project Tiger reserves have been created in Maharashtra, with the aim of conserving the rich bio-diversity of the region. As of May 2004, India has 92 national parks, of which 5 are located in Maharashtra. Much of Maharashtra's forests and consequently the wildlife are in Vidarbha region.
Apart from these, Maharashtra has 35 wild life sanctuaries spread all over the state, listed here.
Economy
Macro-economic trend
This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Maharashtra at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year | Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 166,310 |
| 1985 | 296,160 |
| 1990 | 644,330 |
| 1995 | 1,578,180 |
| 2000 | 2,386,720 |
Favourable economic policies in the 1970s led to Maharashtra becoming India's leading industrial state. However, regions within Maharashtra show wide disparity in development. Apart from Mumbai, western Maharashtra is the most advanced. There is a movement in Vidarbha now to separate from Maharashtra and become a separate state largely owing to lack of development and perceived sense of injustice.
Maharashtra's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $106 billion in current prices.
Maharashtra's is India's leading industrial state contributing 13% of national industrial output. Major industries in Maharashtra include chemical and allied products, electrical and non-electrical machinery, textiles, petroleum and allied products.
Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra houses the headquarters of almost all major banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and mutual funds. After successes in the information technology in the neighbouring states, Maharashtra has set up software parks in Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, and Nasik.
Maharashtra ranks first nationwide in coal-based thermal electricity as well as nuclear electricity generation with national market shares of over 13% and 17% respectively.
Maharashtra is also becoming in Jatropha cultivation and has started a project for the identification of suitable sites for Jatropha plantations.
Over 41% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Maharashtra.
See also: List of conglomerates in MaharashtraGovernment
Like all states in India, the head of state is the governor, appointed by the Central government. Maharashtra's capital is Mumbai, home to the Vidhan Sabha – the state assembly and Mantralaya, the administrative offices of the government. It is also home to the Bombay High Court which has jurisdiction over Maharashtra, Goa, and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu.
Maharashtra's legislature is bicameral, one of the few states in India to have a bicameral type. Maharashtra is allocated nineteen seats in the Rajya Sabha and forty-eight in the Lok Sabha, India's national parliament.
After India's independence, most of Maharashtra's political history was dominated by the Congress party. Maharashtra became a bastion of the Congress party producing stalwarts such as Y.B.
See also: :Category:Indian political parties-MaharashtraRevenues of Government
This is a chart of trend of own tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Maharashtra assessed by the Finance Commissions from time to time with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year | Own Tax Revenues |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 198,821 |
| 2005 | 332,476 |
This is a chart of trend of own non-tax revenues (excluding the shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Maharashtra assessed by the Finance Commissions from time to time with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year | Own Non-tax Revenues |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 26,030 |
| 2005 | 30,536 |
Demographics
A person native to the state is called a Maharashtrian. As per the 2001 census, Maharashtra has a population of 96,752,247 inhabitants making it the second most populous state in India, and the second most populous subnational entity in existence.
Marathi is the official state language.
The state has a Hindu majority of 80.2% with minorities of Muslims 10.6%, Buddhists 6%, Jains 1.3% and Christians 1%.
Divisions
Maharashtra is divided into thirty-five districts, which are grouped into six divisions: Aurangabad Division, Amravati Division, Konkan Division, Nagpur Division, Nashik Division, and Pune Division. These are official revenue divisions of government of Maharashtra.
Geographically, historically and according to political sentiments Maharashtra has five main regions: Vidarbha or Berar (Nagpur and Amravati divisions), Marathwada (Aurangabad Division), Khandesh and Northern Maharashtra (Nashik Division), Desh or Western Maharashtra (Pune Division), and Konkan (Konkan Division).
Transport
The Indian Railways covers most of the Maharashtra and is the preferred mode of transport over long distances. Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses, popularly called ST or MSRTC, link most of the towns and villages and have a large network of operation.
Mumbai has the biggest international airport in Maharashtra. Maharashtra has a large highway network and recently built the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the first controlled-access toll road project in India. Maharashtra has three major ports at Mumbai (operated by the Mumbai Port Trust), the JNPT lying across the Mumbai harbour in Nhava Sheva, and in Ratnagiri, which handles the export of ores mined in the Maharastra hinterland.
Festivals
Ganesh Chathurthi is the biggest festival of Maharashtra which is celebrated with much reverence and festivity throughout the state and has since some time become popular all over the country.The festival which continues over ten days is in honour of Ganesha the God of learning and knowledge.In addition to the traditional importance of first offering prayers (Pooja)to this God before undertaking any task the present information technology age has further endeared people to this God as if by almost divine design "mooshak" ie a mouse which is the Lords vehicle has also become the computers navigator.The Indian sucess story in the area has further enhanced the importance of this festival.
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