History of Nagpur

History of Nagpur

 History of the city of Nagpur, popularly known as the Orange City goes back to 3^rd 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 4^th 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 17^th 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.