March 12, 2012
History of
Nagpur
History of the city of
Nagpur, popularly known as the Orange City goes back to 3rd century
when the region was under the rule of Rashtrakutas. Vakataka Dynasty which was
on good terms with Gupta Dynasty took over the region of Nagpur in 4th
century. Prithvisena the first of Vakataka dynasty transferred his capital to
Nagardhan which is just 28 km away from Nagpur. There after the region was
ruled by Badami Chlukyas and Yadavas kingdom till 1296 when Alludding Khilji
attacked the Yadavas dynasty. In 1317 Nagpur
region came under the control of Tughlaq dynasty which ruled it for long.
It was in 17th century that Mughal Empire captured
the region. However, the administration of the region was being managed by Gond
Kingdom of Deogarh- Nagpur of Chindwara on the behalf of the Mughal. Chindwara
district is presently situated in Madhya Pradesh state. Bakth –Buland of
Deogarh-Nagpur kingdom is believed to be the founder of Nagpur city. Chand
Sultan was the successor of Deoghar dynasty. He made Nagpur his capital and
made Nagpur a walled town. After the death of Chand Sultan in 1739, Wali Shah
who was an illegitimate son of Bakth Buland captured the throne. After that the
widow of Chand sultan with help of Maratha leader Raghuji Bosale of Berar killed
the Wali Shah and established the rightful heir on the throne. Later on the
region was ruled by many Maratha rulers. Maratha was defeated by British in the
battle of 1817 at Sitabuldi which presently falls in Nagpur city. The defeat of
Maratha laid the way for British to rule Nagpur.
From 1853 to 1861 Nagpur province which consisted of
Chinchwada and Chhattisgarh became the part of central province which was
administered by commissioner of British central government in India. Nagpur was
made the capital of the province. In 1877 Nagpur the saw the county first
textile mill being set up by the Tata Group.
The city of Nagpur witnessed the Hindu-Muslim riot which left deep
impression on the minds of many people. Among them was K B Hedgewar who founded
the RSS with aim of creating a Hindu nation. The organization soon spread to
other part of India and is still working in different parts of the country.
Nagpur houses the head quarter of RSS. The city of Nagpur witnessed another
major event on 14 October 1956 when Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as a part of his
social reform converted to Buddhism with his lakhs of his dalit followers. In memory of this event a large memorial
(which is now counted as the largest Buddhist Stupa in India) has been built
there. The place of the memorial is popularly called as Deeksha Bhoomi.
After the Independence of India, Nagpur remained capital city
of central province known as Madhya Pradesh. It was in 1956 when it was
attached to Bombay Province. In 1960 Bombay province was divided into two
states Maharashtra and Gujarat with Maharashtra retaining Nagpur as its part.
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