INDIA - A MEGA DIVERSE NATION
India is a beautiful country that is most importantly known for its Unity in Diversity, Maharashtra among those holy places where Unity is in their history.
It outstands as a mega diverse nation that possesses a variety of abundant resources, cultures, languages, and religions, as no other country in the world has such a unique feature of binding 28 states together and the fact that all the states are not interconnected by their customs, culture, language, and food alone amazes many foreigners of other countries to learn more about the history and geography of the country as well as to experience the attractive festivals, celebrations along with acknowledging the warm welcome of the people.
The people of various states may practice different ethics and cultures but in the end, they stand together in unity as one nation 'India'.
As we all know there are 28 states in India and each state holds different characteristics based on its resources, ethical values, customs, and traditions. Every state is unique by its nature or its cultural background.
Therefore in this article, we are going to be highlighting the most astounding features and the ancient history behind the formation of the state of Maharashtra.
INTRODUCTION OF MAHARASHTRA STATE
Maharashtra is one of the states in India located in the western peninsular region occupying a portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is said to be the second most populous state in India because of its large population compared to the other states. The language Marathi is the official language of the state and is found to be generally spoken by the people of Maharashtra.
The capital of Maharashtra is Mumbai, the richest city in India no wonder why it is called the 'City of Dreams', just like how they say New York the city that never sleeps, Mumbai can also be quoted as the city that never sleeps because it acts as the center of finance through its Industrial economy.
In addition to being the backbone of India's entertainment industry it has captivated almost all of the hearts of people through its blockbuster movie hits and the Bollywood songs, therefore, it is also stated to be the most Industrialized state in India which has played a remarkable role in the improvement and the development of the state through its agricultural, industrial production and its trade, transport, and education that has ranked the state fifteenth in the human development index.
People of Maharashtra acquire a strong culture and heritage starting from their beautiful Indian attire where the men wear on dhotis and kurtas while the women wear on cholis although it may not be followed by many in the recent days yet it's still being worn by the people living in rural areas of the state while moving onto the food might make our mouths water as they range from sweet to spicy like the vada pav, pav bhaji, pooran pori, Shrikhand are some of the dishes that have become famous all over the world coming from Maharashtra.
The traditional folk music and dances of the state are Koli, Powada, Banjara, they were originally driven from the fishermen community.
The climate of the state is usually warm with an average temperature of 33 degrees centigrade, As the state never gets much rainfall, the humidity seems a little high in August.
HISTORY ON THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
When discussed the history of Maharashtra, in the early periods Maharashtra was ruled by the Muslim dynasties which were later turned into chaos as they eventually started fighting endlessly to be the ruler of the state, while this went on a great leader named Shivaji was born in the year 1627, he found the large Maratha empire that almost put every Mughal ruler in shock,
However in the 16th century British started to invade the state and finally gained control over Bombay Island in 1661 they started to capture almost all the areas to spread out their administration which was known as the Bombay Presidency,
The British East India Company controlled Mumbai beginning in the 17th century, and they slowly started to expand their rule throughout the state.
However British ruled the state for more than a century which brought lots of changes and influenced the people living in the region to greater level, soon in the 20th century, The struggle for independence started taking place which led to the Indians winning over the British and finally the power and the independence were passed onto the Indians gaining their victory.
Once India gained its independence in the year 1947, the princely states were all joined together into forming a new state in which most of the people speaking Gujarati lived in the South while the people speaking Marathi lived in the North.
In the year 1956, there was a major rearrangement by the political parties known as the States Reorganisation Act in which the Marathis protested against their right to have an individual state by keeping Mumbai as its capital Similarly the Mahagujarat movements demanded having a separate state for the many Gujarati areas as it was divided this way.
In the year 1960, During the governance of Nehru the state Gujarat was formed separately in the North leaving the South which gave birth to the state Maharashtra with the new name and Mumbai becoming its capital in the 1990s yet they still seem to have a dispute with Karnataka for its region Belgaum and Karwar.
AMAZING FACTS ON MAHARASHTRA
The following are some of the super exciting and amazing facts regarding the state of Maharashtra:
- Did you know that Maharashtra is the only state to have the largest road network in India? Yes Maharashtra has a large road network that goes up to the length of 2,67,500 kilometers.
- It had the highest Per Capita Income of Rs.134,081 in the year 2014-15 because of its industrialization.
- Compared to the other states in India, Maharashtra is said to have the highest proportion of loyal taxpayers.
- One of the most unique characteristics of Maharashtra is the people leave their doors open, they have a belief that if anybody enters and steals things their eyesight will be taken away by their God Shani.
- There is a village named Sheptal in Maharashtra that welcomes poisonous cobras to their homes treating them as their family, and the snakes also move freely without harming the people of that area.
- The best time to visit Maharashtra will be from June to August as it mesmerizes the people with its beauty just like the Himalayas. There are so many places to visit during that time they are, Panchgani, Chikaldhara, Amboli, and Lonawala. To visit deep forests with waterfalls, you may visit the Matheran, Kalsubai, and Rajmachi.
- If you didn't know the entire gold assets of India are kept at a city named Nagpur in Maharashtra.
- The first-ever train in entire Asia was started in Maharashtra between Mumbai and Thane in the year 1853.
- The local trains of Mumbai are said to carry over six million people every day then try to imagine the total population of people in the state alone.
- Maharashtra had the most prominent freedom fighters like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vinayak Savarkar, Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Ferozeshah Mehta, and Dadabhai Naoroji.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, Maharashtra is the second most populous and the richest state in India due to its large population and its financial administration that has given employment opportunities and shelter to millions of people as we may have heard about the Mumbai Dharavi which is said to be one of the largest slums of Asia where many people of other states are also found to be living in there yet there is still no proper sanitization which may be a threat to lots of people despite this Maharashtra is always known for its natural beauty and its huge historical background.
If you are on a tour and would like to visit each state in India you have to check out Maharashtra especially for its strong heritage as it has many tourist centers and historical monuments such as the Mumbai Gateway of India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Shaniwar Wada, Agakhan Palace, and Deekshabhoomi.