Ahmednagar district to be renamed as Ahilyanagar

Mumbai: The Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra would be named Ahilyanagar after Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar, the legendary Holkar-queen of the Maratha-Malwa kingdom.

Ahmednagar is the biggest district in this western Indian state in terms of area.  

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and attended by Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar besides their ministerial colleagues.

Ahilyabai Holkar (May 31, 1725 – August 13, 1795), was a great pioneer and involved in several social causes and helped build hundreds of temples and dharamshalas throughout India. 

Ahilyabai Holkar was born Chaundi in Ahmednagar district to a Dhangar family and was married to Khanderao Holkar of the Holkar dynasty of Holkar. 

After the demise of her husband Khanderao Holkar and father-in-law Malhar Rao Holkar, Ahilyabai Holkar herself undertook the affairs of the Holkar dynasty. She defended the Malwa state against intruders and personally led armies into battle.

Ahilyabai Holkar is a prominent and influential  figure of Indian history and is regarded as one of the most visionary female rulers of the country. 

The move follows after the Maharashtra government’s decision and subsequent approval of the Centre to change the name of Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv. 

It may be mentioned, the demand to rename Ahmednagar after Ahilyabai Holkar is quite old and a few months back, BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar made formal requests to the government. 

The Ahmednagar district, which is known for its ‘rural development and co-operation’ and  as ‘land of saints’, is situated in western Maharashtra. 

The district has the distinction of being the largest in Maharashtra in terms of geographical area.

Total geographical area of the district is 17,048 sq. km - which is 5.6 percent of the total area of the state. Ahmednagar district is still known for its identity as a leader in the cooperative sector. India’s first co-operative sugar factory was established in the year 1950 in Pravaranagar. At the end of 2015-16, there were 5295 co-operative societies of all types. Ahmednagar district is in progress in the industrial sector. More than half of the sugar production in Maharashtra is produced in the district alone. At the end of 2016, there were 20 sugar factories in the district.