Maharashtra is the second most populous state in India and third-largest by area. Spread over an area of 307,713 km 2 (118,809 sq mi), it is bordered by the Arabian Sea in the west, the Indian states of Karnataka, Goa in the south, Telangana in the southeast, Chhattisgarh in the east, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in the north. Indian Union Territories Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman, and Diu are located in the North West.
Maharashtra was constituted on May 1, 1960, by the State Reorganization Act, combining Bombay State, Berar, Vidarbha State, North-Western Provinces of Hyderabad State and Partition Saurashtra (in present-day Gujarat). Mumbai, India’s most populous city (with over 112 million inhabitants), is the capital of Maharashtra.
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History of Maharashtra in a Brief
The name Maharashtra first appears in a 7th-century inscription and the Chinese traveler Xuanzang. According to one commentary, the name is derived from the word Maharati (best chariot driver), which refers to a skilled northern fighting force who migrated to the south. At that early stage, the region was divided among several Hindu deities: Satavahana, Vakataka, Kalakuri, Rashtrakuta, Chalukya, and Yadava.
After 1305, it was ruled by Muslim dynasties, but by the 16th century, it was divided among several Muslim rulers. It was in the midst of all this trouble that a great leader, Shivaji, was born in 1627. Shivaji showed remarkable ability by establishing a large Maratha Empire that shook the Delhi-based Mughal rule to its very foundation.
In the 18th century, the Shivaji Empire collapsed and almost all of western, central India, and large parts of the north and east fell under the Maratha Confederacy. The British took control of the island of Bombay in 1661 and completely occupied the Maratha territory from the beginning of the 19th century.
After India’s independence in 1947, the province was renamed Bombay State. With the reorganization of the state on November 1, 1956, a large part of Madhya Pradesh and the northwestern part of Hyderabad were merged with the state of Bombay.
However, on May 1, 1960, the state of Bombay was reorganized due to the demand for the reorganization of the states on a linguistic basis. The northern part of Gujarati-speaking territory, including the former part of the former Baroda State, became the state of Gujarat. The southern part of the Marathi-speaking state has also become a state of Maharashtra.
People and Language.
As of the 2011 National Census, Maharashtra is the second largest state in India with a population of 112,374,333 (9.28% of India’s population).This represents 58,243,130 males and 54,131,277 females respectively.The sex ratio in Maharashtra is 929 females for every 1000 males. According to the 2011 census, the population density of Maharashtra was 365 inhabitants per km. The literacy rate in the state is 83.2%. The male literacy rate is 89.82% and female literacy is 75.48%.
Bihari, Gujarati, Sindhis, Punjabis, Parsis, Marwari, Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil minorities are scattered throughout the state. According to the 2011 census, SCs and STs made up 11.8 and 8.9 percent of the population, respectively. The Scheduled Castes include the tribals like Thakur, Varli, Konkana, and Halba.
According to the 2011 census, 79.8% of the total population is Hindu and 11.5% is Muslim. Buddhism constitutes 5.8% of the total population of Maharashtra. Sikhs, Christians and Jains accounted for 0.2%, 1.0% and 1.2% respectively.
Language
The official language of Maharashtra is Marathi, the official language spoken by 1.2% of the population. Marathi is spoken by more than 83.1 million people, making it the third most spoken language in India and the 10th most spoken language in the world.
Other languages are Hindi (9.70%), Urdu (6.71%), Gujarati (2.11%), Bhili (2.00%), Khandeshi (1.44%), Telugu (1.18%), Bunjari (1.14%) and others (6.79%). . English is widely used in urban areas of Maharashtra.
Government and Administration of Maharashtra
The governor is the head of constitutional and formal affairs. The Maharashtra government is headed by a chief minister who chooses a party or coalition that carries a majority in the Assembly.
Maharashtra is a parliamentary system with two houses – the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.
The Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) consists of 288 members who are elected for five years. The 78-member Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) replaces one-third of its members every two years. Maharashtra elects 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. The members of the state legislature elect 19 members to the Rajya Sabha upper house of the Indian Parliament.
Official Website:https://maharashtra.gov.in
The Judiciary
The judiciary in the state comprises the High Court (Bombay High Court), the District and Session Courts in each district and the lower courts and judges at the taluk level.
The Maharashtra High Court has local benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Goa’s capital Panaji. On 13 May 2015, the state cabinet passed a resolution in favor of setting up a bench at Bombay High Court in Kolhapur covering the region.
The state is divided into 6 divisions, 36 districts, 109 sub-divisions, and 357 taluks.
List of Districts in Maharashtra Download in PDF
Districts are sub-divisions, which are divided into blocks. One block includes panchayats and town municipalities. District administrations include Zilla Parishat (District Councils), Panchayat Samiti (Township Councils) and Gram Panchayats (Village Councils). There are corporations and municipal councils in cities and towns as elected institutions.
Economy
Maharashtra is the most industrialized state in the country and holds the leading position in the industrial sector of India. The state is at the forefront of small businesses.
Mumbai, the capital city of the state, is also known as the financial capital of India. Mumbai is home to most of the major corporate and financial institutions.
Mumbai, one of India’s most important ports, manages a large amount of foreign trade.
Production, international trade, mass media (television, films, video games, recorded music), aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, apparel, and tourism are all driving the economy of Maharashtra. Pune, another major industrial center, is very close to Mumbai. There are also textile and other agro-based industries in Nagpur and Solapur.
Mumbai is home to major stock exchanges, capital markets and commodity exchanges in India. Maharashtra has the largest number of taxpayers in India which accounts for around 15% of India’s GDP.
Climate
Maharashtra has a tropical climate with three distinct seasons; October to February is the winter, March to May is the hottest month, and June to September is the rainy season. October to February experiences a moderate climate.
The summers (March, April, and May) are very hot, with summer temperatures ranging from 22 ° C to 43 ° C. Usually the rainy season begins in the first week of June. July is the wettest month in Maharashtra and August receives significant rainfall. The rainfall in Maharashtra is different for each region.
Cuisine
Maharashtra cuisine combines light and very spicy dishes. Wheat, rice, jowar, millet, vegetables, legumes, and fruits are the staple in Maharashtra’s diet. Some traditional dishes include Puran poly, yukidae modal, and batata vada. The most popular dishes are Mishaal Pav, Pav Bhaji and Vada Pav in the last 50 years. There are many local varieties of food in Maharashtra including Malwani (Konkani), Kolhapuri and Varahdi.
Tourism
Mumbai, India’s largest and most cosmopolitan city attracts tourists from all over the world. it has many attractions including colonial architecture, beaches, the film industry, shopping, and an active nightlife. Pune, which is called the cultural capital of Maharashtra, attracts many visitors during the annual Ganeshotsav festival.
Mumbai Interesting Places for a 2 Day Visit
The area around Aurangabad has many ancient and medieval sites including the world heritage site of Ajanta and Ellora caves, the fort of Daulatabad and the Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad.
The hill districts of western Maharashtra are filled with ruins of hundreds of hill forts of the Deccan Sultanate and the Maratha Empire respectively. Important hill stations in Western Maharashtra are Mahabaleshwar and Matheran.
Transportation
Mumbai International Airport is the busiest airport in India. The other major airport in Maharashtra is Nagpur Airport. Mumbai is connected to Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Nashik by daily flights.
The extensive rail network is a major component of the state’s transportation system. It is connected to almost all cities within and outside the state. The Chattrapati Shivaji Terminal in Mumbai is also a heritage site. Apart from Mumbai, Wardha and Nagpur are also major railway junctions.
National highways connect the state with almost all cities including Delhi, Kolkata, Allahabad, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.
Mumbai, the most important port in India, is connected to all major ports in the world.