Maharashtra
| Particulars | Description |
|---|---|
 Area | 3,07,713 sq. km |
 Population | 96,752,247 |
 Capital | Mumbai |
 Principal Languages | Marathi |
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History and Geography
The first well-known rulers of Maharashtra were the Satavahanas (230 B.C. 225 A.D.), who were the founders of Maharashtra, and have left a plethora of literary, epigraphic, artistic and archaeological evidence. This epoch marks tremendous development in every field of human endeavour.
Then came the Vakatakas, who established a pan-Indian empire. Under them, Maharashtra witnessed an all-sided development in the fields of learning, arts and religion. Some of the Ajanta Caves and fresco paintings reached the high-level mark during their rule. After the Vakatakas and after a brief interlude of the Kalachuri dynasty, the most important rulers were the Chalukyas, followed by the Rashtrakutas and the Yadavas, apart from the Shilaharas on the coast. The Yadavas, with Marathi as their court language extended their authority over large parts of the Deccan.
While the Bahamani rule brought a degree of cohesion to the land and its culture, a uniquely homogeneous evolution of Maharashtra as an entity became a reality under the able leadership of Shivaji. A new sense of Swaraj and nationalism was evolved by Shivaji. His noble and glorious power stalled the Mughal advances in this part of India. The Peshwas established the Maratha supremacy from the Deccan Plateau to Attock in Punjab.
Maharashtra was in the forefront of the freedom struggle, and it was here that the Indian National Congress was born. A galaxy of leaders from Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra led the Congress movement under the guidance of Tilak, and later Mahatma Gandhi. Maharashtra was the home of Gandhiji's movement, while Sevagram was the capital of nationalistic India during the Gandhian era.
The administrative evolution of the state of Maharashtra is the outcome of the linguistic reorganisation of the States of India, effected on 1 May, 1960. The State was formed by bringing together all contiguous Marathi-speaking areas, which previously belonged to four different administrative hegemonies - the district between Daman and Goa that formed part of the original British Bombay Province; five districts of the Nizam's dominion of Hyderabad; eight districts in the south of the Central Provinces (Madhya Pradesh) and a sizeable number of petty native-ruled state enclaves lying enclosed within the above areas, which later merged with adjoining districts.
Located in the north centre of Peninsular India, with the 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. Maharashtra is a plateau of plateaus, its western upturned rims rising to form the Sahyadri Range parallel to the sea-coast, and its slopes gently descending towards the east and south-east. Satpuda ranges cover northern part of the State, while Ajanta and Satmala ranges run through central part of the State. Arabian Sea guards the western boundary of Maharashtra, while Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are on the northern side. Chhattisgarh covers the eastern boundary of the State. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are on its southern side.
Agriculture
About 65 per cent of the total workers in the State depend on agriculture and allied activities. Principal crops grown in the State are rice, jowar, bajra, wheat, tur, mung, urad, gram and other pulses. The State is a major producer of oilseeds. Groundnut, sunflower, soyabean are major oil seed crops. Important cash crops are cotton, sugarcane, turmeric and vegetables. The State has an area of 12.90 lakh hectares under various fruit crops like mango, banana, orange, grape, cashewnut, etc.
Industry
The State has been identified as the country's powerhouse and Mumbai, its capital as the centre point of India's financial and commercial markets. Industrial sector occupies a prominent position in the economy of Maharashtra. Food products, breweries, tobacco and related products, cotton textiles, textile products, paper and paper products, printing and publishing, rubber, plastic, chemical and chemical products, machinery, electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and transport equipment and parts contribute substantially to the industrial production in the state.
Irrigation and Power
By the end of June-2005, 32 major, 178 medium and about 2,274 state sector minor irrigation projects had been completed. Another 21 major and 39 medium irrigation projects are under construction. The gross irrigated area in 2004-2005 was 36.36 lakh hectares.
Maharashtra had an installed capacity of 12,909 MW in 2004-2005. The PLF in the State was 81.6 per cent and power generation was 68,507 million KWH.
Transport
Roads:Total length of roads in the State as in March 2005 was 2.29 lakh km consisting of 4,367 kms of national highways, 33,406 kms of state highways, 48,824 kms of major district roads, 44,792 kms of other district roads, and 97,913 kms of village roads.
Railways: Maharashtra has 5,527 kms of railway routes of which 78.6 per cent are broad gauge, 7.8 per cent meter gauge and 13.6 per cent narrow gauge.
Aviation: Maharashtra has a total of twenty-four Air fields/airports. Of these 17 are under the control of the State government, four are managed and controlled by the International Airports Authority/Airports Authority of India and three by the Ministry of Defence. The Airfields under the control of the State government have no facilities for the operation of commercial flights at present.
Ports: Mumbai is a major port. There are two major and 48 notified minor ports in the State.
Tourist Centres
Maharashtra Ellora Caves
Some important tourist centres are: Ajanta, Ellora, Elephanta, Kanheri and Karla caves, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran and Panchgani, Jawhar, Malshejghat, Amboli, Chikaldara, Panhala Hill stations and religious places at Pandharpur, Nasik, Shirdi, Nanded, Audhanagnath, Trimbakeshwar, Tuljapur, Ganpatipule, Bhimashanker, Harihareshwar, Shegaon, Kolhapur, Jejuri and Ambajogai.