Ahmednagar

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Ahmednagar (अहमदनगर) Nagar (नगर)
—  City  —
Ahmednagar (अहमदनगर)
Coordinates: 19°05′N 74°44′E / 19.08°N 74.73°E / 19.08; 74.73Coordinates: 19°05′N 74°44′E / 19.08°N 74.73°E / 19.08; 74.73
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Ahmednagar
Founder	Ahmed Nizam Shah
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Mayor	Sheela Shinde[1] (Shiv_Sena)
• Municipal Commissioner	Vijay Kulkarni
Area
• Total	39.30 km2 (15.17 sq mi)
Elevation	649 m (2,129 ft)
Population (2011)[2]
• Total	350,905
• Rank	124th
• Density	Bad rounding here8,900/km2 (Bad rounding here23,000/sq mi)
Demonym	Nagarkar / Nagari (Marathi)
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	414001
Telephone code	0241
Vehicle registration	MH 16,17
Website	ahmednagar.gov.in

Ahmednagar  pronunciation (help·info) is a city of Ahmednagar District in the state of Maharashtra, India, on the west bank of the Sina river, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 120 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar is home to 19 sugar factories and is also the birthplace of the cooperative movement^{[citation needed]}. Due to scarce rainfall, Ahmednagar often suffers from drought. Marathi is the primary language for daily-life communication. Hindi is also widely understood and spoken, though of the Dakhani (or Hyderabadi Urdu) dialect, with a lot of grammar and loan words from Marathi. Ahmednagar has recently published a plan of developing the city by year 2031.^[3]

History[edit]

Faria bagh, c. 1880

The town was founded in 1494 by Ahmad Nizam Shah on the site of a more ancient city, Bhingar. With the breakup of the Bahmani Sultanate, Ahmad established a new sultanate in Ahmednagar, also known as Nizam Shahi dynasty.

It was one of the Deccan sultanates, which lasted until its conquest by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1636. Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor, who spent the latter years of his reign, 1681–1707, in the Deccan, died at Khuldabad near Aurangabad in 1707, and a small monument marks the site. Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar was born on May 31, 1725 in Chondi village of Jamkhed taluka in Ahmednagar district. In 1759, the Peshwa of the Marathas obtained possession of the place from Nizam of Hyderabad and in 1790 it was ceded by the Peshwa to the Maratha chief Daulat Rao Sindhia. Ahmednagar was invaded by a British force under General Wellesley and captured. It was afterwards restored to the Marathas, but again came into the possession of the British in 1817, according to the terms of the Treaty of Poona. Numerous Mughal-era buildings dot the environs. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered the second most unimpregnable fort in India, was used by the British to house Jawaharlal Nehru (the first prime minister of India) and other Indian Nationalists before Indian independence. A few rooms there have been converted to a museum. During his confinement by the British at Ahmednagar Fort, Nehru wrote the famous book The Discovery of India.

Military Base[edit]

Ahmednagar is home to the Indian Armoured Corps Centre & School (ACC&S), the Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centre (MIRC), the Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) and the Controllerate of Quality Assurance Vehicles (CQAV). Training and recruitment for the Indian Army Armoured Corps takes place at the ACC&S. Formerly, the city was the Indian base of the British Army's Royal Tank Corps / Indian Armoured Corps, amongst other units. Currently the town houses the second-largest display of military tanks in the world.^[4] The exhibit is open to the public.

Climate[edit]

Demographics[edit]

As of 2011 Indian census,^[5] Ahmednagar had a population of 347,549. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Ahmednagar has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national urban average of 79.9%.^[6] 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Notable residents[edit]

• Anna Hazare Right to Information Act (RTI) Activist.
• Chand Bibi Chand Bibi aka Chand Sultana defended Ahmednagar/Fort against the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar.
• Ahilyabai Holkar, born in Chondi village of Jamkhed taluka in Ahmednagar district.
• Anna Leonowens, educator, feminist, author of The English Governess at the Siamese Court (1870)^{[citation needed]}
• Pramod Kamble, the famous painter
• Michael J. S. Dewar, a theoretical chemist^[7]
• Sadashiv Amrapurkar living at village amarapur,shevgaon.
• Zaheer Khan famous Indian cricketer
• Shahu Modak Famous marathi actor
• Shree Ghansham Sharma well known astrologer,vaastu consultant

Places of interest[edit]

Ahmednagar fort entrance

• Chand Bibi Palace - The place has Salabat Khan Tomb, it is a three-storey structure made of solid stone. It is 13 km from Ahmednagar city. Situated on the top of a hill, it has a view of the city lights at night. It is visible from almost anywhere in Ahmednagar City.
  

  

  Salabat Khan's Dome
• Ahmednagar Fort - The fort was built by Ahmed Nizam Shah. India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote a book The Discovery of India in this fort when he was detained by the British in 1942.
• Renuka/Durga Goddess Temple - This temple is located in Kedgaon (around 3 km from Ahmednagar Railway Station, 5 km from Ahmednagar ST bus-stand) which is near Nagar-Pune highway. Navaratri (nine nights) festival is a celebration of nine nights of battle between the Goddess Durga and demon-king Mahishasura. Eventually Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura on the ninth night and thus the festival signifies the triumph of good over evil.
• Alamagir - Alamgir is situated near Bhingar on Pathardi road. Aurangzeb died at the age of 91 at the very same place, his body was taken to Khultabad, near Aurangabad and buried there. This historical place also houses a Masjid & Baradari where meetings used to take place. The library near the masjid has rare Qurans, dating back to the time of emperor Aurangzeb. One of the Qurans here was written by the emperor himself.
• Vishal Ganpati Mandir - This Ganeshji temple is located in Maliwada area in Ahmednagar City. This temple has a great importance to the people of Ahmednagar.
• Rehekuri Blackbuck Sanctuary: This is situated in Karjat taluka in Ahmednagar district. The area of the sanctuary is 2.17 km².^[8]
• Siddhatek Siddhivinayak - Temple of God Ganesh.
• Shirdi - home to the late Sai Baba, revered by Hindus and Muslims alike, about 83 km from Ahmednagar City.
  

  

  Samadhi of Meher Baba
• Meherabad, where the samadhi (tomb) of the spiritual master Meher Baba is a place of pilgrimage, visited by thousands each year, particularly on the anniversary of his death, Amartithi. His later residence was at Meherazad (near Pimpalgaon village), approximately nine miles north of Ahmednagar.
• Ralegan Siddhi - a village which is a model for environmental conservation. Social activist Anna Hazare is from Ralegan Siddhi.
• Shingnapur - Shingnapur is known for Shani (planet Saturn) temple and all houses with absolutely no door. This is probably the only village in world where you do not need locks.
• Harishchandragarh - a hilly fort.
• Avhane, Shevgaon - Temple of Ganesh (Nidrista/Sleeping).
• Pimpalner - Samadhi Temple of Shri Sant Nilobaraya, in Parner Taluka, 2 km west of Ralegan Sindhi, Parner Taluka. Also called Prati Pandharpur. Every Ekadashi, thousands of devotees visit this place chanting Abhangas.
• Pedgaon - Baleshwar Temple, Temple of Laxmi Narayan
• Trimbakji Dengale's Wada : Nimgaojali, a small village in Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar district, came into limelight in the last phase of the Maratha empire. Trimbakji's spacious wada has now lost its former glory. Some of the portions of this two-centuries old structure are in dilapidated condition. The seventh or the eighth generation descendants of Trimbakji are now residing in this Wada.
• Haregaon - Place in Ahmednagar where majority of people is Catholic and the feast of Mother Mary Celebrates every year by the local Church.
• Jamgaon- Place in parner taluka where a historical palace built by Shri. Mahadaji shinde around 375 years back.
• Bhingar- Radha Krishna Temple built by Shri. Narayan Prasad Tiwari with the help of local people in 1942. Post independence, this temple was taken over by Indian Army.
• Shri Datta Devasthan Trust, Vedantnagar- Sadguru Shri Ramakrishna Saraswati Swamiji founded Shri Datta Devasthan Trust in 1974 at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, with a view to protect and preserve the Vedic Traditions and Vedic culture. The trust runs a gurukul university for vedic education called "Vedant Vidyapeetham".

Lord Dattatreya from Devgad, Newasa, Ahmednagar

• Saint Mahipati Maharaj Temple, Taharabad, Rahuri- Saint Mahipati Maharaj in 1700 century has written Histories of nearly 285 Indian saints, which is now the only ref. to study taken by many phillosopers and Justine E Abbott having his book "Stories of Indian Saints" from Sant Mahipati's Bhaktivijay Book.
• Shree Kshetra Korthan Khandoba Devastan very popular temple of Lord Khandoba.

• Buhranagar -In Buhranagar, there is a Goddess Temple (Goddess named AMBABAI). It is near about 5 km from Ahmednagar city. Buhranagar is also called as AMBIKANAGAR. This temple is of great importance to people from Ahmednagar.

• Dargah Daira - This Holy place is near Ahmednagar city (03 km) where the Tomb of Sufi Saint Hazrat Shah Sharif is situated. Hazarat Shah Sharif is well known & mentioned in the history for his miracles. Shahaji, Father of Shivaji Maharaj was born after seeking the blessings from Saint Shah Sharif & in the honor of the Peer Shah Sharif, Maloji named his sons as Shahji and Sharifji.

• Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri : Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth is an agricultural university at Rahuri. It is named after Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, an activist and social reformer of 19th century. The basic mandate assigned to this University are advancement in teaching, research and imparting extension education to the farmers of the State. There are four Agricultural Universities in the State, catering the similar services in their locality. The jurisdiction of Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri extends over Western Maharashtra covering ten districts.
• Deogad is beautiful temple of Lord Dattatreya in Devgad ^[9] of Ahmednagar district. Many people visit this temple to take blessings of Lord Dattatreya and Kisangiri Maharaj. For more information, you can visit Deogad.com

Dongergan = old temple of lord shiva in mountains 8 km away from ahmednagar city, very good place famous for waterfalls

Transport[edit]

Rail[edit]

Ahmednagar railway station (station code:ANG) is an important station which belongs to Solapur Division of Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Ahmednagar has rail connectivity with Pune, Manmad, Shirdi, Daund, Goa, Nasik.and metros New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad There is still a demand for direct rail connectivity to other major cities of India. Total 41 Express Trains Stops at this Station.

Road[edit]

Ahmednagar is well connected by roads with various major cities of Maharashtra and other states. National Highway 222 from Kalyan to Nirmal near Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh passes through the city. Ahmednagar has 4 lane road connectivity to Aurangabad, Pune, Nashik, Beed, Solapur

Local transport

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and numerous other private bus operators provide bus service connecting the city to all parts of the state. Prasanna Purple Ltd. operates an intra-city bus service called AMT Bus Service which connects different parts of the city together along with connecting the city to its nearby suburbs.

Media and communication[edit]

• Newspapers: Lokmat, Sakaal, Punyanagri, Samana, Loksatta, Nava Maratha, Nagar Times, Divya Marathi, Maharashtra Times, Samachar
• Radio: AIR Nagar FM, Radio City, Dhamaal 24, Radio Nagar FM
• Internet: Internet facilities are provided by several suppliers

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Travel to Ahmednagar All about interesting places (including historical/archaeological) to visit in Ahmednagar.
• Pictures of Ahmednagar
• Click here to see Ahmednagar Map in English & Marathi
• Very good resource for sights in and around Ahmednagar
• Ahmadnagar entry in Encyclopædia Iranica
• Ahmednagar Directory
• Ahmednagar travel guide from Wikivoyage