Maharashtra: The Incredible State (History)

History Of Incredible Maharashtra

LITERALLY MEANING 'A GREAT STATE' IN THE VERNACULAR, MAHARASHTRA'S NAME ORIGINATED PROBABLY FROM 'RATHI’ MEANING 'A CHARIOT DR|VER', REFERRING TO DRIVERS AND BUILDERS OF CHARIOTS WHO WERE CALLED 'MAHARISHIS' OR 'FIGHTING FORCE'. IT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST STATES IN INDIA, BOTH IN TERMS OF AREA AND POPULATION, SPANNING AN AREA OF 308,000 SQ KM. ITS SHAPE ROUGHLY RESEMBLES A TRIANGLE, WITH A 725 KM WESTERN COASTLINE. THE CAPITAL, MUMBAI, IS AN ISLAND CITY WHICH HAS BEEN CALLED THE GATEWAY OF INDIA. MUMBAI IS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST VIBRANT COMMERCIAL AND CULTURAL CENTERS OF INDIA. MAHARASHTRA IS A REGION OF DISTINCT CULTURE.

ITS ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL HERITAGE IS BEST MANIFESTED IN THE NUMEROUS ANCIENT CAVE PAINTINGS FOUND AT AJANTA AND ELLORA, IN A NUMBER OF MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECES, IN ITS CLASSICAL AND DEVOTIONAL MUSIC AND IN ITS THEATER. COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY IS THE BIGGEST INDUSTRY IN MAHARASHTRA. THE TOURIST CENTERS IN THE STATE INCLUDE'S THE ELEPHANT ISLANDS, CAVES, MAHABALESHWAR, MATHERAN,  MALSHEJ GHAT, AMBOLI GHAT, PANCHGANI, CHIKALDHARA LIKE AND PANHALA HILL RESORTS AND VARIOUS RELIGIOUS PLACES.

History

Maharashtra is one of the famous state in India, recorded history reveals a clear picture of the ruling dynasties that once ruled this region. Shatavahanas (also known as Shalivahanas and Andhras or Andharh hrityas) who had their capital at Paithan on the Godavari, ruled over the region for about three Centuries up to the 2nd century AD. Vakatakas seem to have been a stronger race of rulers with Bhandak as their capital in the Chanda district of today. They ruled for about 300 years, from 300 to 600 AD. Chalukyas had a shorter period to rule for a century and a half, after which the Rashtrakutas got sway over the country. Their capital was at lvlanyakhet (Malkhed). By 970 AD, the Chalukyas again got an upper hand and wrested power from the Rashtrakutas. 

They ruled till about the end of the 12^th century. By that time the Yadavas of Deogiri came to power and they were in saddle till the beginning of the 14th century. The Khiljis from the north wanting to extend their sway far into the Deccan, naturally came into conflict with the Yadavas. ln the fight, the Yadava rule came to an end and this event synchronised with the rise of a new Sultanate, the Brahmins, with its capital at Gulbarga. Their rule lasted for about 140 years and about 12 rulers small and big assumed power in succession. Their Viziers remained more powerful as the Sultans themselves proved incapable of good administration. Luxury and vice kept them occupied and neither military nor civil administration could attract them. Along with the rise of the Brahmin’s, there arose on the banks of the Tungabhadra further south, a powerful kingdom that soon developed into the great empire of Vijayanagar. Clashes between the Brahmins and Vijayanagar were inevitable because of the great riches of the latter.

The expansionist policy of both was also responsible for the conflict. The battle of Talikot (1565) proved decisive and disastrous for the Empire. lt broke into small principalities with their limited regions. These sultanates afforded opportunities for the people of Maharashtra to obtain military assignments and get trained in aggressive and defensive warfare. However, under such a politically unsettled condition, peaceful rule for material growth was not possible. The creator of the modern Maratha nationality was Shivaji, the Chhatrapati (1630-80) and he, as it were, bridges the gulf in the history of the Deccan, between the disappearance of the Ahmednagar Sultanate and the descent of the full imperial power with Aurangzeb in personal command on the Deccan plateau with the avowed object of destroying Maratha power, once and for all. Within two years of the death of Aurangzeb (1707) imperial attempts at subduing the Marathas were given up and the scales were turned in favor of the Maratha's. Maratha support was sought and they were wooed to lend it to Delhi. Shivaji’s greatness lay in the awakening of his people, which he brought about quite effectively and within a short span of time. They were forced out of their stupor, as it were. lt was the bold effort and the successful revolt of Shivaji that won for him some ardent followers, who were prepared to die for him or at his bidding.

This was indeed a great achievement of Shivaji and its greatness can only be imagined. The coronation of Shivaji, which took place on June 6, 1674, was highly signify cant. The establishment of a Hindu Swarajya was a challenge flung at Aurangzeb who had already declared a jihad against Hindus. Shivaji’s Coronation proclaimed to the world the birth of a new Maratha State, which in status, as a sovereign power, was at par with the Mughal Empire. Shivaji's empire extended from Surat in the north to Karwar near Goa in the south. It included Nashik, Satara, Kolhapur and Thanjavur. After his death in 1680, Shivaji was succeeded by his eldest son, Sambhaji. He was not as effective as his father and soon lost the confidence of the Maratha chiefs devoted to Shivaji. He achieved some success against the Portuguese of Goa and the Siddis of Janiira, but never made requisite preparation against the plans of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who was determined to destroy the Maratha power. eventually, Sambhaji was captured and cruelly tortured to death in 1689. The powers of the successors of Shivaji were eclipsed by a new line of rulers known as the Peshwas who came to Control and guide the Maratha's in the eighteenth century. During the times of Shivaji, Peshwa was the chief member of the Ashtapradhan but enjoyed no invincible position, after the death of Shivaii in 1680 the position of the Peshwa started growing stronger under Sambhaji (1680-89), Rajaram (1689-1700), and Tara Bai (1700-07) and particularly under Shahu (1707-49). Shahu appointed Balaji Vishwanath as his Peshwa in 1713, who was succeeded by Baji Rao his son (1720-1740) after whom Balaji Rao came to rule.

Under Balaji Rao (1740-61) the Maratha's extended their frontiers on the north to the Indus and the Himalayas and on the south to near the extremity of the Peninsula: all the territory within these limits, which was not their own, paid tribute. Marathas began to be considered as saviors offering protection from the foreign yoke and their help and assistance was sought by many smaller powers. But the greatest disaster which befell Maratha power and which resulted in the most glorious death and defeat was the Third battle of ' Panipat (1761). Thinking the centre to be weak, without a proper Iliad, the Maratha Sardars began to entertain dreams of independent rule. 

The British, the Nizam and other powers, both in the north and in the south, were wanting to grab the territory over which ran the Maratha writ before. Maharashtra’s tradition of opposing foreign rule was once again activated during the British period. The first meeting of the Indian National Congress was held in Mumbai and many workers from Maharashtra took a leading part in its early development. The Civil Disobedience Movement in Maharashtra spread quite wide. The State stood in the forefront of the freedom struggle till India became independent on August 15, 1947. Today it is the richest state in India, contributing to 15 per cent of the country's industrial output.