1.
Raigad Fort
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Raigad is a hill fort situated in the Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The fort, which rises 820 metres above sea level, is located in the Sahyadri mountain range, there are approximately 1737 steps leading to the fort, though today Raigad Ropeway, an aerial tramway, exists to reach the top of the fort in 10 minutes. The fort was looted and destroyed by the British after its capture in 1818, Shivaji maharaj had seized the fort in 1656, then the fort of Rairi, from Chandrarrao More, a feudatory of the Sultan of Bijapur. Shivaji renovated and expanded the fort of Rairi and renamed it Raigad and it became the capital of Shivajis kingdom. Pachad and Raigadwadi villages are located at the base of the Raigad and these two were very important villages during the Maratha rule. Actual climb on the top of Raigad starts from Pachad, in Maratha rule 10000 cavalry was always kept as a standby in Pachad village. After capturing Rairi from Chandrarao More, Shivaji also built another fort Lingana which is around 2 miles away from Raigad, where he used to keep prisoners. Its ruins today consist of the quarters, six chambers. The main palace was constructed using wood, of only the bases of pillars remain. The area is now fenced off, the fort also has ruins of the market, and it has such structure that one can shop even while riding on a horse. Maha Darwaja having two very huge bastion on both sides of the door which are approximately 65–70 feet height, the top of the fort is 600 ft higher from the location of this door. Fort was having only once access route which goes through this Maha Darwaja, khubladha Buruj, Nane Darwaja, Hatti Talav, Gangasagar are the famous attractions of the fort. A memorial to Jijabai, Shivajis mother, can be seen at base village of Pachad The fort has a famous wall called Hirakani Buruj constructed over a huge cliff. Its story is that a woman by the name of Hirakani from a nearby village Walsure at the foothills of Raigad had come to sell milk to the living in the fort. She was inside the fort when the gates were locked by sunset, the love for her infant son back at her village gave her the courage to climb down the cliff in the dark. She repeated the feat in front of King Shivaji, and was rewarded for it, in appreciation of her courage, Shivaji arranged for a wall built at this location. Even today we can see it standing, the kings public court has a replica of the original throne that faces the main doorway called the Nagarkhana Darwaja. This enclosure had been designed to aid hearing from the doorway to the throne
2.
Pune district
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Pune is situated in Maharashtra state of India. Pune city is the district headquarters, in the most recent census on 2011, the total population of the district was 9,426,959, making it the fourth most populous district in India. Urban population comprises 58. 08% of the total population, the current population of Pune urban agglomerate is over 5 million. The territory was formed into a district or sarkar, with sub-divisions called paragana. From such records as are available it appears that the collection was mostly farmed amongst the important chieftains who were henchmen of the Nizamshahi. Ahmednagar king had to bear the brunt of a attack from the Mughal armies which converged on the capital in 1595. Amongst the chieftains so favoured was Maloji Bhosale, who was made a Rana in 1595, Maloji Bhosale was also given charge of the forts of Shivneri and Chakan, which have played a very important part in the early political history of the Pune territory. Even before his coming into the title of Raja, Maloji had several watans as patil for a number of villages, Maloji had married Dipabai, sister of Jagpalrao Naik Nimbalkar, the deshmukh of Phaltan. In the year 1600, Ahmednagar was captured by the Mughals, thus, at the commencement of the seventeenth century, the suzerainty over the possessions of the Ahmednagar kingdom, including the Pune territory, passed to the Mughals. Malik Ambar, the minister of Nizam Shah, raised Murtaza II to the Nizamshahi throne with its temporary headquarters at Junnar. By the time Malik Ambar died in 1626, the system of the Pune area had been put on a sound. He, therefore, in 1629 broke with Nizam Shah and retired to Pune. But with a view perhaps to securing his own jagirs which would be endangered, he offered his allegiance to the Mughals, who besides confirming his jagirs conferred on him the command of 5,000 horses. In fact, in 1632 Shahaji forsook the Mughals and accepted the friendship of the Adilshahi rulers of Bijapur, after this success of the Mughals, the Ahmednagar kingdom ceased to exist, its territory being divided between the Adil Shah of Bijapur and the Mughals. In this scheme of division Pune fell to Bijapur, Shahaji for some time refused to surrender Junnar, which was the very seat of the foundation of the Nizamshahi dynasty. But this he had ultimately to surrender, Shahaji, however, seems to have enjoyed sufficient importance with the hostile powers to be called upon even in defeat to play an important part in the administration of the new regime. It was in this connection that when Shahaji went on his Karnatak expeditions that he left had passed under the control of Bijapur, the Fasli year was also officially introduced at this time. In so far as Shivaji had any official residence in Pune this was the place which he inhabited, Dadaji died in 1647, and Shivaji almost naturally took charge of all the responsibility that devolved on him as deputy of his father
3.
Maharashtra
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Four Maharashtra is a state in the western region of India and is Indias second-most populous state and third-largest state by area. It is the wealthiest Indian state and it is also the worlds second-most populous sub-national entity. It has over 112 million inhabitants and its capital, Mumbai, has a population of approximately 18 million, Nagpur is Maharashtras second capital as well as its winter capital. Maharashtras business opportunities along with its potential to offer a standard of living attract migrants from all over India. Ancient and medieval Maharashtra included the empires of the Satavahana dynasty, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Western Chalukyas, Mughals, the major rivers of the state are Godavari, and Krishna. The Narmada and Tapti Rivers flow near the border between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, Maharashtra is the second most urbanised state in India. The state has several popular Hindu places of pilgrimage including Pandharpur, Dehu and Alandi, other places that attract pilgrims from other parts of India and beyond include Hazur Sahib Gurudwara at Nanded, Sai Baba shrine at Shirdi and Dikshabhumi at Nagpur. Maharashtra is the wealthiest and one of the most developed states in India, as of 2011, the state had a per capita income of ₹1.0035 lakh, more than the national average of ₹0.73 lakh. Its GDP per capita crossed the ₹1.20 lakh threshold for the first time in 2013, however, as of 2014, the GDP per capita reduced to ₹1.03 lakh Agriculture and industries are the largest parts of the states economy. Major industries include chemical products, electrical and non-electrical machinery, textiles, petroleum, Jai Maharashtra The modern Marathi language developed from the Maharashtri Prakrit, and the word Mahratta is found in the Jain Maharashtri literature. The terms Maharashtra, Maharashtri, Marathi and Maratha may have derived from the same root, however, their exact etymology is uncertain. But the Marathas as a people do not seem to be mentioned before the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the most widely accepted theory among the linguistic scholars is that the words Maratha and Maharashtra ultimately derived from a combination of Maha and rashtrika. The word rashtrika is a Sanskritized form of Ratta, the name of a tribe or dynasty of petty chiefs ruling in the Deccan region. Another theory is that the term is derived from Maha and ratha / rathi, an alternative theory states that the term derives from the word Maha and Rashtra. However, this theory has not found acceptance among scholars who believe it to be the Sanskritised interpretation of later writers. Maharashtra was ruled by the Maurya Empire in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, around 230 BCE Maharashtra came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty for 400 years. The greatest ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty was Gautamiputra Satakarni, in 90 CE Vedishri, son of the Satavahana king Satakarni, the Lord of Dakshinapatha, wielder of the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty, made Junnar, thirty miles north of Pune, the capital of his kingdom. The state was ruled by Western Satraps, Gupta Empire, Gurjara-Pratihara, Vakataka, Kadambas, Chalukya Empire, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, and Western Chalukya before finally
4.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
5.
Pune
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Pune is the second largest city in the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ninth most populous city in the country. In the 18th century, Pune was the centre of the Indian subcontinent. Considered to be the capital of Maharashtra, Pune is known as Oxford of the East due to the presence of several well-known educational institutions in the city. The city has emerged as an educational hub in recent decades. Since the 1950s and 1960s, Pune has had a traditional old-economic base as most of the old industries continue to grow, a few college in the Europe have also actively engaged in Student-exchange programs with several colleges in Pune. Pune is also one of the fastest growing cities in the Asia-Pacific region, the ‘Mercer 2015 Quality of Living rankings’ evaluated local living conditions in more than 440 cities around the world where Pune ranked at 145, second in India after Hyderabad. It also highlights Pune among evolving business centres and emerging nine cities around the world with citation Hosts IT, the oldest reference to the place is found inscribed on a Rashtrakuta Dynasty copper plate dated AD937, which refers to the town as Punya-Vishaya meaning Sacred News. By the 13th century, it had come to be known as Punawadi, copper plates dated 858 AD and 868 AD show that by the 8th century an agricultural settlement known as Punnaka existed where Pune is today. The plates indicate that this region was ruled by the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Pataleshwar rock-cut temple complex was built during this era. Pune was part of the territory ruled by Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri from the 9th century to 1327, in 1595, Maloji Raje Bhosale was granted the jagirdari of Pune by the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Pune was ruled by the Ahmadnagar Sultanate until it was annexed by the Mughals in the 17th century, Pune was part of the Jagir granted to Maloji Bhosale in 1599 for his services to the Nizamshahi of Ahmadnagar. His grandson, Shivaji, the founder of Maratha Empire, was born in Shivneri fort not far from Pune, Shivaji was brought up by his mother in Pune. Pune changed hands several times between the Mughals and the Marathas in the period between 1660 and 1705 and he stabilised the revenue collection and administrative systems of areas around Pune and in neighbouring area of the Maval region. In addition, he developed methods to manage disputes and to enforce law. Construction on the Lal Mahal began in 1631 AD, the Lal Mahal was completed in 1640 AD. Jijabai is said to have commissioned the building of the Kasba Ganapati temple, the Ganesha idol consecrated at this temple has been regarded as the presiding deity of the city. Shivaji encouraged the development of dams in the Parvati and Kondhwa regions of Pune for agricultural purposes, Pune and its surrounding villages were the major recruitment areas for Shivajis army between 1645 AD and 1680 AD. Between 1660 AD and 1670 AD the town was captured by Mughal General Shahista Khan, Shivaji often used Pune as his transit base during his major campaigns such as Varhad-Karanja, AhemadaNagar District, Karnataka, and Jalna
6.
Maratha Empire
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The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian power that existed from 1674 to 1818 and ruled over much of the Indian sub-continent. The Marathas are credited to an extent for ending the Mughal rule in India. The Marathas are Hindu warrior group from the western Deccan Plateau that rose to prominence by establishing a Hindavi Swarajya, known for their mobility, the Marathas were able to consolidate their territory during the Mughal–Maratha Wars and later controlled a large part of India. Chhattrapati Shahu, grandson of Shivaji, was released by Mughals after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, following a brief struggle with his aunt Tarabai, Shahu became ruler and appointed Balaji Vishwanath and later, his descendants, as the peshwas or prime ministers of the empire. Balaji and his descendants played a key role in expansion of Maratha rule, the empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south to Peshawar in the north, and Bengal and Andaman Islands in the east. In 1761, the Maratha Army lost the Third Battle of Panipat to Ahmad Shah Abdali of the Afghan Durrani Empire which halted their imperial expansion into Afghanistan, ten years after Panipat, the young Peshwa Madhavrao Is Maratha Resurrection reinstated Maratha authority over North India. In a bid to manage the large empire, Madhavrao I gave semi-autonomy to the strongest of the knights. They became known as the Gaekwads of Baroda, the Holkars of Indore and Malwa, the Scindias of Gwalior and Ujjain, the Bhonsales of the Nagpur and the Puars of Dhar and Dewas. In 1775, the East India Company intervened in a Peshwa family succession struggle in Pune, the Marathas remained the preeminent power in India until their defeat in the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha Wars which left the East India Company in control of most of India. A large portion of the Maratha empire was coastline, which had secured by the potent Maratha Navy under commanders such as Kanhoji Angre. He was very successful at keeping foreign naval ships, particularly of the Portuguese and British, securing the coastal areas and building land-based fortifications were crucial aspects of the Marathas defensive strategy and regional military history. The Maratha Empire is also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, the historian Barbara Ramusack says that the former is a designation preferred by Indian nationalists, while the latter was that used by British historians. Maratha power was fragmented among several discrete fragments, although at present, the word Maratha refers to a particular caste of warriors and peasants, in the past the word has been used to describe Marathi people, including Marathas themselves. Shivaji was a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhosle clan who is considered to be the founder of the Maratha empire. Shivaji led a resistance to free the Maratha people from the Sultanate of Bijapur and he created an independent Maratha kingdom with Raigad as its capital and successfully fought against the Mughals to defend his kingdom. He was crowned as Chhatrapati of the new Maratha kingdom in 1674, the state Shivaji founded was a Maratha kingdom comprising about 4. 1% of the subcontinent, but spread over large tracts. At the time of his death is was dotted with about 300 forts, about 40,000 cavalry,50,000 foot soldiers and naval establishments all over the west coast. Over time, the kingdom would increase in size and heterogeneity, Shivaji had two sons, Sambhaji and Rajaram
