Ahmednagar: In another move reminiscent of vote bank politics, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Wednesday said that the name of Ahmednagar district shall be changed to "Ahilyadevi Holkar Nagar" in memory of the great queen of Malwa state who ruled from 1767-1795.
The announcement came on her 298 birth anniversary celebrations at Chaundi, the village where Ahilyadevi was born on May 31, 1725, which was attended by Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
"We have taken a decision to change the name of Ahmednagar after Ahilyadevi Holkar... It's the desire of all the people here," Shinde said, as the large crowd roared its approval.
Shinde said he was fortunate to earlier change the name of Aurangabad to 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar' and Osmanabad as 'Dharashiv', and now Ahmednagar will become 'Ahilyadevi Holkar Nagar' on the birth anniversary of the great queen.
Shinde said that Ahilyadevi's name is as tall as the Himalayas, and she did a lot for the farmers and workers of her kingdom, adding that this would be a fitting honour on her birth anniversary celebrations.
A ruler of the Maratha Empire, Queen Ahilyadevi Holkar ascended the Malwa state throne after the deaths of her husband Khanderao Holkar, her father-in-law Malharrao Holkar and her son Malerao Holkar, aged barely 22.
During her 28-year long reign (1767-1795), considered as the golden period of the Maratha Empire - she did a lot for the tillers and ordinary folks, built or restored temples, defended the state, its people, even led battles against the Mughals with her trusted team headed by her nephew Tukoji Holkar, to carved her own niche in history.
Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 on the site of a battlefield that he won against superior Bahamani forces. The Bahamani kingdom was divided into five independent kingdoms after the death of Mohamed Gawan. Ahmednagar was one of them. Later, Ahmad NizamShah I established a new sultanate in Ahmednagar, also known as Nizam Shahi dynasty.
Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impregnable, was used by the British to house Jawaharlal Nehru (First Prime Minister of India), Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (First Education Minister of India) and other nationalist leaders before Indian independence. A few rooms there have been converted to a museum.
During their confinement by the British at Ahmednagar Fort in 1944, Nehru wrote book "The Discovery of India", and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad wrote the masterpiece "Ghubar e Khatir".
Ahmednagar is also home to the Indian Armoured Corps Centre & School (ACC&S), the Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centre (MIRC), the Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) and the Controllerate of Quality Assurance Vehicles (CQAV). Training and recruitment for the Indian Army Armoured Corps also takes place at the ACC&S.
Interestingly, the Shinde government announced the renaming of Ahmednagar even as the decision to rename Aurangabad has been stayed by court after thousands of local residents registered their protest.
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