Local Governing Bodies in Maharashtra

In Maharashtra there are around 23 Municipal corporations which maintain the administration at local level.

In Maharashtara there are 33 Zilla Parishads, 355 Panchayat Samiti’s and 28813 Gram Panchyats.

The Indian Administrative System is a three-tier-administrative system where control flows from upward to downward. Policies are formulated at upward level but their implementation flows towards downwards. The government in the centre is the major administrative body which administers the administration in every state.

Any administrative reform before implementation is present by the central government to get its approval from the Lok Sabha after approval from the Lok Sabha all the state governments are asked to implement the reforms in their respective states. This is the second tier of administrative system. The state government then forwards this responsibility to the local governance in each district to implement these reforms.
The local governance is third tier of the administrative set up. This local governance is divided into two tiers urban local government and rural local government.

Unlike several other states of India, the administrative system in Maharashtra is also divided into Urban Local Government and Rural Local Government. The urban government is managed by the Municipal Corporations and Rural Local Government is controlled by the Panchayati Raj System. The Panchayati Raj System is divided at three levels viz.,  Zila Parishad at the district level, Blocks at the middle level and Village Council at the lowest level.

In Maharashtra there are around 23 Municipal corporations which maintain the administration at local level. These Municipal Corporations are namely:

1.    Mumbai
2.    Navi Mumbai
3.    Thane
4.    Mira-Bhayandar
5.    Vasai-Virar
6.    Kalyan-Dombivli
7.    Ulhasnagar
8.    Bhiwandi-Nizampur
9.    Pune
10.    Pimpri-Chinchwad
11.    Kolhapur
12.    Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad
13.    Solapur
14.    Ahmednagar
15.    Nashik
16.    Malegaon
17.    Jalgaon
18.    Dhule
19.    Aurangabad
20.    Nanded-Waghala
21.    Akola
22.    Amravati
23.    Nagpur

The administration in rural areas lies in hands of Panchayati Raj (PR), from PR to Zilla Parishad at the district level, Blocks at the middle level and Village Council at the lowest level.

In Maharashtara there are 33 Zilla Parishads, 355 Panchayat Samiti’s and 28813 Gram Panchyats.

Rural Local Governance

Rural governance in India is based on the Panchayati Raj system. It is a three tier system, with the Zila Parishad at the district level, Blocks at the middle level and Village Council at the lowest level.

Zilla parishad

Zilla Parishad (commonly known as ZP)is a local government body at the district level in India. It looks after the administration of the rural area of the district and its office is located at the district headquarters.
There are 33 Zilla parishad in Maharashtra, one each in every district.

Panchayat samiti

Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the Tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Parishad.
There are 355 panchayat samitis or block panchayat in Maharashtra.

Gram panchayat

Gram panchayats are local government bodies at the village level.

The Gram Panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A Gram Panchayat can be set up in villages with a population of more than five hundred. There is a common Gram Panchayat for two or more villages if the population of these villages is less than five hundred. It is called Group-Gram Panchayat.
There are 28813 gram panchayat in Maharashtra.

Evolution of Panchayat Raj IN MAHARASHTRA

Maharashtra has had a tradition of strong Panchayats even before enactment of the Seventy

Third Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992. It was the Bombay Village Panchayat Act of
1920 which for the first time provided for the functioning of statutory village Panchayats as
wholly elected bodies. Anew law, The Bombay Panchayats Act, 1933 was enacted based on

the recommendation of Hatch Committee (1925). After the reorganization of states in 1956 a

comprehensive legislation of village Panchayats called the Bombay Village Panchayat Act

1958 was passed. This Act defines the duties, responsibilities and powers of the Village

Panchayats. After the setting up of the State of Maharashtra on 1st May 1960, the new

Government of Maharashtra set up a Committee directly under the Chairmanship of the then

Chief Minister, Shri V.P. Naik, on 27th June, 1960 for the strengthening of the Panchayats.

Based on the recommendations of the Committee, the State enacted the Maharashtra Zilla

Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act 1961. The objective of the Act was “to provide for

establishment in rural areas, Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis, to assign to them local

Government functions and to entrust the execution of certain works and development

schemes of the State Five Year Plan to such bodies, and to provide for the decentralization of

powers and functions under certain enactment to these local bodies for the purpose of

promoting the development of democratic institutions and securing a greater measure of

participation by the people in the State Plan and in local Government affairs. (Ministry of

Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, GoM, 2007,)

Maharashtra Bhushan Award

The Maharashtra Bhushan is a highest and prestigious award presented annually by the government of Maharashtra state in India.

 

When the Shivsena- BJP alliance came to power in 1995, it proposed to institute this award.The Mahrashtra Bhushan was first awarded in 1996.

It was initially conferred in every years in the fields of Literature, Art, Sport, and Science. Later the fields of Social Work, Journalism, and Public Administration and Health Services were included. The award is presented for outstanding achievement in their field.

Prize and selection

At present, the award carries a cash prize of 5 lakh (500,000) rupees, a momento and citation. The winners are selected by a committee appointed of the Government of Maharashtra.

Recipients

The recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan award are as follows :-

Year	Name	Field
1996	Pu La Deshpande	Literature
1997	Lata Mangeshkar	Arts, Music
1999	Vijay Bhatkar	Science
2001	Sachin Tendulkar	Sports
2002	Bhimsen Joshi	Arts, Music
2003	Abhay and Rani Bang	Medical Services
2004	Baba Amte	Social Work
2005	Raghunath Anant Mashelkar	Science
2006	Ratan Tata	Public Administration
2007	R K Patil	Social Work
2008	Nana Dharmadhikari	Social Work
2008	Mangesh Padgaonkar	Literature
2009	Sulochana Devi	Art, Cinma

MaHarashtra Cities

PUNE

Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra, is the state's cultural capital, with a population of 2.5 million people. About 170-km from Mumbai by road, Pune was the bastion of the Maratha empire. Under the reign of the Peshwas - key ministers in the Maratha Empire - Pune blossomed into a centre of art and learning. Several far-reaching revenue and judicial reforms were also initiated in the city. The British developed Pune as a military town when they captured it in 1818. Educational institutes there include the College of Military Engineering and the University of Pune, which offers a diverse choice of engineering, agriculture and technical courses. A number of industries were located in Pune after Independence, as the city had well-connected road and rail links and a pool of technical and professional personnel. Bajaj Auto, the world’s largest manufacturer of scooters and three wheelers, TELCO (Tata Electric and Locomotive Company), the manufacturer of India’s primary commercial vehicles and trucks, and the luxury car-maker, Mercedes Benz are located here. Software companies are the newest entrants into Pune's vibrant atmosphere. With the setting up of these new industries, there has been a corresponding increase in both the population and standards of lifestyle; today Pune is rapidly maturing into a prime industrial town, while retaining all its old charm, a unique blend of British and Maratha influences.

NASIK

One of the holy cities of the Hindu tradition, Nashik lies on the banks of the sacred river Godavari and has a population of about 0.725 million people. It is believed that Lord Rama, hero of the great Indian epic, the Ramayana, spent a major part of his exile here. Nashik is also a temple town, with over 200 temples. Nashik is located at a distance of 195 km from Mumbai by road on the Bombay-Agra highway. It is also a major pilgrimage centre. The greatest event in Nashik is the sacred Kumbha Mela, held to commemorate a mythological story. The mela (a religious carnival) occurs every 12 years (equal to one day for the gods) and attracts millions of people from India and abroad. This event is held alternately at Nashik, Hardwar, Ujjain and Allahabad, which are among the major pilgrimage centres in the country.

NAGPUR

The nerve centre of Vidarbha (eastern Maharashtra), Nagpur - the 'orange city' as it is known - is located in the heart of India, with a population of about 1.7 million people. It is dotted with many picturesque sites, including the civil lines and well-laid-out gardens. Nagpur has much to offer by way of relaxation. It was the old capital of the Bhonsale rulers, the former Central Provinces and Berar. The city is noted for its antiquity and is about 868 km from Mumbai by road. Nagpur is a growing industrial centre and the home of several industries, ranging from food products and chemicals to electrical and transports equipment.

AURANGABAD

Malik Ambar, the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam Shah II, and the then ruler of the Deccan (central parts of Southern India), founded Aurangabad in 1610. The city has a population of about 0.593 million people. Aurangabad derives its name from Prince Aurangzeb (who later became a Mughal emperor), who made it his regional capital when he was Viceroy of Deccan. His legacy is reflected in the architecture of the city. Even today, Aurangabad is a hub of culture and history in the Marathwada region. The Bibi-ka-Maqbara is the only example of Mughal architecture in the Deccan plateau; it was built in 1679 as a tribute to Aurangzeb’s wife, Begum Rabia Durani, by his son. Close to the city of Aurangabad are the famous Ajanta and Ellora caves, an architectural marvel. Through the caves, visitors can trace the evolution of three great world religions - Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Aurangabad is famous for Paithani saris, himroo shawls and bidri work (zinc with silver embedding).

KOLHAPUR

In southern Maharashtra, on the banks of the river Panchganga, Kolhapur is an ancient town known for its exquisite palaces and forts. In 1945, archaeological excavations close to a hill near Kolhapur revealed the existence of an ancient town dating back to the times of the Roman empire. Today, Kolhapur is a modern city with a population of about 0.419 million people and a thriving industrial infrastructure

United Maharashtra Movement

United Maharashtra Movement 

United Maharashtra came into being on 1st May 1960. The State of Maharashtra was created under the framework of reconstruction of States on linguistic criteria. But one hundred and six people had to lay down their lives before it could come into being. Before the creation of Unified Maharashtra, a bilingual State came into being. The Maharashtrians continuously opposed the then Congress government on this issue and a separate State of Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital but without the territory of Karwar and Belgaum, came into being.

Prelude :

The history of Unified Maharashtra movement can be stretched back to 1920s. Lokmanya Tilak coupled national education and freedom together and highlighted the need to impart national education through mother tongue. Around the same time the aims and objectives of the Congress Democratic Party mentioned formation of States along linguistic lines.

The same demand was made in the Party Programme and a declaration was made that a State of Maharashtra be created based on a single language. 

In the 1917 Kolkata (Calcutta) session of the Indian National Congress, Dr. Pattabhi Seetaramayya proposed to create a separate state of Andhra. 

This proposal was opposed by Dr. Annie Besant, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Mahatma Gandhi, while Lokmanya Tilak supported it.

 Mahatma Gandhi changed his opinion later and in 1921 in the Nagpur Session Gandhiji himself proposed recreation of States along the linguistic lines. The Indian National Congress itself was reorganized along linguistic lines. This helped widen the base of Indian National Congress. In 1928 the Workers’ and Farmers’ Party made a presentation before the Motilal Nehru Committee for reorganization of States and demanded a separate State of Maharashtra. The Nehru Committee sanctioned the demand.

In the Marathi Literary Meet held in Mumbai under the chairmanship of Swatantryaveer Sawarkar on 15th October 1938 the phrase ‘Single language State of Maharashtra including Varhad’ was used intentionally.

The reason for using this phrase was the recommendation by Ravishankar Shukla, Chief Minister of Central Provinces (C.P.) and Berar, that Varhad be separated and formed into an independent State. In the 1939 Sahitya Sammelan (Literary Meet) in Ahmednagar, a resolution was passed that a single State be formed of all the regions where the Marathi language is spoken, and named ‘United Maharashtra’.

The term ‘United Maharashtra’ came to be used for the first time in this Meet. Ramrao Deshmukh, the member of C.P. and Berar Legislative Assembly, founded the Sanyukta Maharashtra Sabha (United Maharashtra Assembly) in Mumbai to sustain the demand for independent Varhad. The Council for Unification of Maharashtra was founded in Pune in 1941 under the leadership of Dr. Kedar.

The Literary Meet in Belgaum

In the Belgaum Literary Meet on 13th May, 1946, writer Madkholkar first made a demand for Unified Maharashtra. This Unified Maharashtra was to include Mumbai, Central Provinces, Berar, Marathwada and Gomantak. A Council for the Unification of Maharashtra held its meeting in Mumbai on 28th July 1946 under the chairmanship of Shankarrao Dev. The Jalgaon Session of the Council for the Unification of Maharashtra upheld the demand for United Maharashtra including Mumbai.

Dar Commission and JVP Committee

As the freedom to India became imminent, a commission under the chairmanship of Justice S.K. Dar was appointed by Dr. Rajendra Prasad to judge the feasibility of reorganization of States along linguistic lines. Even as the commission was working Mahatma Gandhi wrote in Harijan that a plan acceptable to all be prepared by Mumbai for reorganization of States.  

Seventeen leaders signed an agreement before the Dar Commission that came to be known as Akola Agreement.

In 1948 The Council for Unification of Maharashtra held its session in Mumbai. Annabhau Sathe presented a programme Mumbai Kunachi (Whom does Bombay belong to). Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar gave his recommendation to the Dar commission emphasizing Maharashtra’s right over Mumbai.

On December 1948 the Dar Commission published its report. Dar Commission refuted the right of Maharashtra over Mumbai. There was a strong reaction against the Dar Commission Report. 

 So a JVP Committee consisting of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabh Bhai Patel and Pattabhi Seetaramayya was formed in the Jaipur session of the Indian National Congress. Even the JVP Committee opposed the idea of Maharashtra along with Mumbai.

After the report of this committee became public, Ramrao Deshmukh gave up the demand for separate Berar and asked for the C. P. and Berar to be amalgamated with Maharashtra. Nobody dared oppose Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabh Bhai Patel. The Unified Maharashtra Movement was getting moribund when Senapati Bapat came forward and gave it a new lease of life. On 29th November 1949 Acharya Atre and R.D. Bhandare moved a resolution in Mumbai Municipal Corporation for Unified Maharashtra.

While the agitation was on in Maharashtra, the demand for separate Andhra State also gathered strength, for which Potti Ramalu laid down his life. In 1952 the separate State of Andhra came into being. Pandit Nehru appointed the Fazal Ali Commission to review the situation for reorganizing States along linguistic lines. The Sanyukta Maharashtra Parishad (Council for the unification of Maharashtra) made a presentation before the commission. The commission recommended a bilingual State, a separate State of Vidharbha (Berar) and Mumbai State including entire Gujarati speaking region and Marathwada. Morarji Desai, the then Chief Minister of Mumbai, declared that Mumbai would not be unified with Maharashtra ‘for the next five thousand years’(!)

Public contribution to the movement

The Bill for creation of three such States was going to be discussed in the Legislative Assembly. The people of Maharashtra took to the streets, protesting against the Bill. The roads leading to the Legislative Assembly were blocked. The mob became unruly and fifteen people died in the police fire that ensued. Senapati Bapat, leader of the demonstration was arrested.

These fifteen were the first of hundred and sixteen martyrs to the cause of Unified Maharashtra. P.V. Gadgil, the editor of newspaper Lokmanya, resigned his membership of the Legislative Assembly. The Bill could not be passed due to the strong public opinion against it.

 Bilingual State formed

On 16th January 1956 Pt. Nehru declared that Mumbai would remain under the central government and proposed two linguistic States instead of three States: Maharashtra including Vidharbha for Marathi speakers and Gujarat including Kutch and Saurashtra for Gujarati speakers. The public opinion went against this decision. Sixty seven people died in police firings between January 16 and 22. Jayaprakash Narayan demanded Mumbai to be given to the Maharashtra State. The Congress Party in Hyderabad Legislative Assembly also endorsed this view. In the parliament Feroze Gandhi also recommended Mumbai to be given to Maharashtra. C.D. Deshmukh, the famous Economist and minister, resigned from the cabinet on the Mumbai issue. In June 1956, Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti was formed in London, U.K.

In August 1956, a suggestion was made in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the parliament, that a common State including Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidharbha, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Kutch and Mumbai be formed. This suggestion was immediately accepted by the government. In October 1956, Morarji Desai went to the central cabinet and Yashawantrao Chavan became the new Chief Minister. Mumbai became the capital of this new State.

 United Maharashtra finally established

In order to oppose Indian National Congress on this issue, a new political party, Sanyukta Maharashtra Vidhansabha Paksha came into being. The party won majority in the Mumbai municipal corporation elections and Acharya Donde became the mayor. In 1959 Indira Gandhi became the president of Indian National Congress. She reviewed the situation in Maharashtra and came to the conclusion that such a bilingual State is not sustainable. She appointed a nine members committee to study the issue. This committee recommended dismantling of the bilingual State and creation of separate Gujarat state. Indira Gandhi accepted that Mumbai be given to Maharashtra.

The parliament passed a resolution on 1st May 1960 creating a separate State of Maharashtra consisting of twenty six districts and two hundred and twenty nine taluka.

Maharashtra - - Geographically Speaking

	The word Maharashtra, the land of the Marathi speaking people, appears to be derived from Maharashtri, an old form of Prakrit. Some believe that the word indicates that it was the land of the Mahars and the Rattas, while others consider it to be a corruption of the term 'Maha Kantara' (the Great Forest), a synonym for 'Dandakaranya'. Located in the north centre of Peninsular India, with a command of the Arabian Sea through its port of Mumbai, Maharashtra has a remarkable physical homogeneity, enforced by its underlying geology. The dominant physical trait of the state is its plateau character. The Maharashtra Desh is a plateau of plateaux, its western upturned rims rising to form the Sahyadri Range and its slopes gently descending towards the east and southeast. The major rivers and their master tributaries have carved the plateaux into alternating broad-river valleys and intervening higher lever interfluves, such as the Ahmednagar, Buldana, and Yavatmal plateaux. The Sahyadri Range is the physical backbone of Maharashtra. Rising on an average to an elevation of 1000m. it falls in steep cliffs, to the Konkan on the west. Eastwards, the hill country falls in steps through a transitional area known as Mawal to the plateau level. The series of crowning plateaux on the crest forms a distinctive feature of the Sahyadri Range. The Konkan, lying between the Arabian Sea and the Sahyadri Range is narrow coastal lowland, barely 50 km. wide. Though mostly below 200 m., it is far from being a plain country. Highly dissected and broken, the Konkan alternates between narrow, steep-sided valleys and low laterite plateaux. The Satpudas, hills along the northern border, and the Bhamragad-Chiroli-Gaikhuri Ranges on the eastern border form physical barriers preventing easy movement, but also serve as natural limits to the state. Except around Mumbai, and along the eastern limits, the State of Maharashtra presents a monotonously uniform, flat-topped skyline. This topography of the state is the outcome of its geological structure. The state area, barring the extreme eastern Vidarbha region, parts of Kolhapur and Sindhudurg, is practically co-terminous with the Deccan Traps. Roughly 60 to 90 million years ago, the outpouring of basic lava through fissures formed horizontally bedded basalt over large areas. Variations in their composition and structure have resulted in massive, well-jointed steel-grey cliff faces alternating with structural benches of vesicular amygdaloid lava and ash layers, all of which contribute to the pyramida-shaped hills and crest-level plateaux or mesas. Earth sculpturing under the tropical climate completed the panorama-sharply defining the landform features in the semi-arid conditions, and rounding the hilltops under wetter condition. Fluvial action by the Krishna, Bhima, Godavari, Tapi-Purna and Wardha-Wainganga river systems has further aided in the compartmentalisation of the Desh into broad, open river valleys, alternating with plateau interfluves, that form the ribs of the Sahyadrian backbone. In sharp contrast, the hill torrents of the Konkan, barely a 100 km. long, tumble down as roaring streams which flow in deeply entrenched valleys to terminate in tidal estuaries. top The state enjoys a tropical monsoon climate; the hot scorching summer from March onwards yields to the rainy monsoon in early June. The rich green cover of the monsoon season persists during the mild winter that follows through an unpleasant October transition, but turns into a dusty, barren brown as the summer sets in again. The seasonal rains from the western sea-clouds are very heavy and the rainfall is over 400 cm., on the Sahyadrian crests. The Konkan on the windward side is also endowed with heavy rainfall, declining northwards. East of the Sahyadri, the rainfall diminishes to a meagre 70 cm. in the western plateau districts, with Solapur-Ahmednagar lying in the heart of the dry zone. The rains increase slightly, later in the season, eastwards in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions. The highly pulsatory character of the monsoon, with its short spells of rainy weather and long dry breaks, floods, as well as droughts add much to the discomfort of the rural economy. Forests comprising only 17% of the state area cover the eastern region and the Sahyadri Range, while open scrub jungle dots the plateaux. If Maharashtra represented the Maha Kantara in the historic past, today little of it is left; vast sections have been denuded and stripped of the vegetal cover. The soils of Maharashtra are residual, derived from the underlying basalts. In the semi-dry plateau, the regur (black-cotton soil) is clayey, rich in iron, but poor in nitrogen and organic matter; it is moisture-retentive. Where redeposited along the river valleys, those kali soils are deeper and heavier, better suited for rabi crops. Farther away, with a better mixture of lime, the morand soils form the ideal Kharif zone. The higher plateau areas have pather soils, which contain more gravel. In the rainy Konkan, and the Sahyadri Range, the same basalts give rise to the brick-red laterites productive under a forest-cover, but readily stripped into a sterile varkas when the vegetation is removed. By and large, soils of Maharashtra are shallow and somewhat poor. Water is the most precious natural resource of the state, greatly in the demand, and most unevenly distributed. A large number of villages lack drinking water, especially during the summer months, even in the wet Konkan. Barely 11% of the net sown area is irrigated. Perched water tables in the basalt aquifers have contributed to increased well irrigation, which accounts for approximately 55% of the irrigable water. The granitic-gneissic terrain in the eastern hilly area of Vidarbha accounts for all tank irrigation. Tube-wells in the Tapi-Purna alluvium and shallow wells in the coastal sands are the other main sources of water. The mineral-bearing zones of Maharashtra lie beyond the area of the basalts in eastern Vidarbha, southern Kolhapur and the Sindhudurg area. The Chandrapur, Gadchirali, Bhandara and Nagpur Districts form the main mineral belt, with coal and manganese as the major minerals and iron ore and limestone as potential wealth. The Ratnagiri coast contains sizeable deposits of illimenite.

Bajirao Peshwa

Shrimant Baji Rao Vishwanath Bhatt or Bajirao Peshwa, as the man of action is commonly called, was the son of the first Peshwa of the Maratha Empire in Maharashtra, Balaji Vishwanath. Bajirao was very popular amongst the soldiers as he was never afraid to lead the battalion from the front. 

One of the bravest in the line of Maratha rulers in Maharashtra, Bajirao was responsible for the initiative taken towards territorial expansion.

Bajirao Peshwa was also responsible for the betterment of the government affairs.

Bajirao Peshwa ascended the throne in the year 1721 at the age of 20 and remained on throne till 1740. He is not known to have lost even one battle that he has fought. He took advantage of the weakening of the Mughal Empire after the death of Aurangzeb. His policy of territorial expansion helped the Maratha Empire to grow in size. However, the administration was a little bit neglected due to which there was the gradual penetration of the English. However he was successful in bringing Malwa, Gujarat and Bundelkhand under the Maratha rule in Maharashtra.

As much as he was dedicated towards his work, he was an artistic person as well. 

He built the Shaniwar Wada palace in the capital city of Pune. 

 It is said that Shivaji created the Maratha state and Bajirao transformed the state into an empire. 

He gave the empire a stability which it needed very much. He is one of the great rulers that the state of Maharashtra has seen.

डॉ. भास्करन

जपानने अंतराळात पाठवलेली हयाबुसा ही अंतराळ कुपी ऑस्ट्रेलियातील वूमेरा तळावर उतरली, त्यावेळेस जपान आणि अमेरिकेबरोबरच मुंबईतही जल्लोष साजरा झाला. कारण या अंतराळ कुपीच्या परतण्यामध्ये एका भारतीय वैज्ञानिकाचे यश सामावलेले होते. या वैज्ञानिकाचे नाव डॉ. श्याम भास्करन. ४६ वर्षांचे असलेल्या डॉ. भास्करन यांचा जन्म मुंबईत माटुंगा येथे झाला. बालपण मुंबईतच गेले. हा लहान मुलगा त्याहीवेळेस रात्री आकाशाकडे डोळे लावून बसलेला असायचा, अशी आठवण श्यामचे वडील गोिवदन सांगतात.

Narendra Tidake

संयुक्त महाराष्ट्राच्या स्थापनेनंतर राज्यात झालेल्या विधानसभा निवडणुकीनंतर काँग्रेसचे सरकार येणे काहीसे दुरापास्त झाले होते. काही आमदारांचे संख्याबळ कमी पडत असताना यशवंतराव चव्हाणांना साथ मिळाली ती विदर्भातील काँग्रेसच्या आमदारांची. त्यावेळी विदर्भात कामगार चळवळीत अग्रेसर असलेले काँग्रेसचे नेते नरेंद्र तिडके यांनी पुढाकार घेत २३ आमदारांची ताकद यशवंतरावांच्या पाठीशी उभी केली आणि राज्यात काँग्रेसचे सरकार स्थापन झाले.

MUMBAI history

When Mumbai was still Bombay, it was a cluster of seven Koli islands. Muslim ruler Sultan Muhamed Begada captured the by Hindu inhabited islands.

The Portuguese Occupation of Mumbai

The Portuguese Vasco da Gama found the sea route to Bombay, and several attacks followed. In 1534 the Sultan of Gujarat gave in and handed the islands over to the Portuguese, but the islands turned out not to be of any use to them. When King Charles II married the Portuguese princess Catherine Braganza, the Portuguese decided to give the islands to him in 1661.

Charles II took over the remaining islands a couple years later. The East India Company saw the potential of Bombay as trading port because of its strategic location, and took over the island.

Over the years Bombay became one of the biggest industrial cities in the world, with Gerard Aungier as the "Father of Bombay." He was the one who persuaded businessmen from all over India to come and settle in this central city and so it developed into a great commercial centre.

Why Bombay Changed into Mumbai

England ruled over Bombay until 1947, when India became independent.

In 1960 Bombay State became Maharashtra, with Bombay as its capitol. It took until 1995 before the name Bombay changed into Mumbai. When Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist party, won the elections, they decided to give the city a different name. Since the name Bombay was given to the city by King Charles II, the Shiv Sena party thought this was too English. The party changed the name into Mumbai, based on the name of the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi.