3 min readMumbaiMar 21, 2024 04:37 PM IST
First published on: Mar 14, 2024 at 06:53 PM IST
The Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday decided to rename Ahmednagar as Ahilyanagar after Ahilyabai Holkar.
Over the last few months the state government has gone about renaming towns and cities in the state in an effort to give these places an indigenous name. Since July 2023, the state has renamed three cities— Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Osmanabad as Dharashiv and Ahmednagar as Ahilyanagar.
While previous names of these cities are now a thing of the past, the Mughals, Adilshahi and Nizamshahi rulers after whom these cities were previously named have left a substantial legacy of their name across various towns and villages in the state.
Of 44,661 cities, towns and villages of Maharashtra, around 80 carry the name of Mughals, Adilshahi and Nizamshahi rulers who governed various parts of the state.
The ruler after whom the maximum number of place—32 towns and villages— are named is Aurangzeb, followed by Jahangir who has 21 villages named after him. The state also has three villages named after Babar and 11 after Shahjahan. Amongst other Muslim rulers, 11 villages are named after Ahmed Nizam Shah and three villages after Asaf Jahi dynasty.
Many of these rulers, now deemed invaders, are inseparably entwined with Maharashtra’s history and culture. Apart from the historical monuments they left behind, the most visible legacy of their rule is in the various towns and villages across India that bear their names.
Interestingly Aurangzeb, who is amongst the most reviled Mughal rulers in Maharashtra, has left a significant imprint on the state having villages named after him in 13 of the state’s 36 districts. Despite the state government renaming Aurangabad as Chattrapati Sambhaji Nagar, there are still two other villages in the recently renamed Ahmednagar district that are called Aurangabad. Most of the other villages are called Aurangpur.
While there are a substantial number of standalone names after these monarchs, most of the names are more syncretic like Mahuli Jahangir, Shahjahanpur Chakla and Aurangapur Chawka.
Maharashtra also has a large number of villages which showcase their links to Muslim history. It has 11 Islampurs spread over nine districts, and a handful of Azampur’s, Jafrabad, Fatehabad Mirzapur and Rahimpurs.
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