Ahmednagar TOURISM

Ahmednagar is a city in the state of Maharashtra, on the west bank of the Sina river, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 120 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar is the largest district of Maharashtra. Sugar, milk and bank co-operatives thrive here. Ahmednagar is home to a large number of sugar factories and is the birthplace of the cooperative movement. Due to scarce rainfall, Ahmednagar suffers from drought often. Though citizens learn multilingual (e.g. English, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu) education in schools, Marathi is the primary language for daily-life communication. Ahmednagar has recently published a plan of developing city by year 2031.

The town was founded in 1494 by Ahmad Nizam Shah on the site of a ancient city, Bhingar. With the breakup of the Bahmani Sultanate, Ahmad established a new sultanate in Ahmednagar, known as the Nizam Shahi dynasty. It was one of the Deccan sultanates, which lasted until its conquest by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1636. Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor, who spent the latter years of his reign, 1681-1707, in the Deccan, died there in 1707, and a small monument marks the site.

In 1759 the Peshwa of the Marathas obtained possession of the place by bribing the Muslim commander, and in 1790 it was ceded by the Peshwa to the Maratha chief Daulat Rao Sindhia.

Ahmednagar was invaded by a British force under General Wellesley and captured. It was afterwards restored to the Marathas, but again came into the possession of the British in 1817, according to the terms of the Treaty of Poona.

Numerous Mughal-era buildings dot the environs. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered the second most unimpregnable fort in India, was used by the British to house Jawaharlal Nehru (first prime minister of India) and other Indian Nationalists before Indian independence. A few rooms there have been converted to a museum. During his confinement by the British at Ahmednagar Fort Nehru wrote the famous book The Discovery of India.

Ahmednagar is 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 Armoured Corps takes place at the ACC&S.

Formerly the Indian base of the British Army's Royal Tank Corps, amongst other units, the town houses the second-largest display of military tanks in the world. The exhibit is open to the public.

Chand Bibi, an Indian Muslim woman warrior who defended Ahmednagar from a Mughal Emperor: Sant Dnyaneshwar who wrote the Dnyaneshwari: Anna Hazare, a Social Leader and Anti Corruption Movement Activist; Razia Sultan who in 1595, fought against the mighty Mughal emperor Akbar at Ahmednagar Fort; Terence Alan Miligan - Spike Milligan the Irish comic genius who worked on 'Those Crazy People' - later named as The Goon Show weekly radio show with Peter Sellers, that ran for 11 series; Cynthia Ferrar the missionary: Michael James Stuart Dewar - well known for his contributions to theoretical chemistry: Ram Nagarkar a writer/actor in Marathi language: Rachel Manija Brown the writer of a book "All the Fishes Come Home to Roost": Shahu Modak - a Marathi/Hindi movie actor; Shri Ramakrishna Saraswati Kshirsagar Swamiji who worked for the rejuvenation and revival of Vedas, Vedic Hindu traditions and Vedic ideology; Sant Nilobaraya - the last known saint in Sant parampara; Sai Baba of Shirdi - the famous Saint; Meher Baba a religious figure who proclaimed himself to be the Avatar Vishnu; Bapusaheb Bhapkar (Prabhakar Kondaji Bhapkar aka Hiraprabha) - a Great Social Worker; Sadashiv Amrapurkar, etc.

Chand bibi Palace
- The place has Salabat Khan Tomb, it is a three-storey structure made of solid stone. It is 13 km from Ahmednagar city. Situated on the top of a hill, it has a view of the city lights at night. It is visible from almost anywhere in Ahmednagar City.

Ahmednagar Fort
The fort was built by Ahmed Nizam Shah. India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote a book The Discovery of India in this fort when he was detained by the British in 1942.

Renuka/Durga Goddess Temple
This temple is located in Kedgaon. Navaratri (nine nights) festival is a celebration of battle between the Goddess Durga and demon-king Mahishasura. Eventually Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura on the ninth night and thus the festival signifies the triumph of good over evil.

Alamagir
Alamgir is situated near Bhingar. Aurangzeb died here at the age of 91 and his body was taken to Khultabad, near Aurangabad & buried there. This historical place also houses a Masjid & Baradari where meetings used to take place. The library near the masjid has rare Qurans, dating back to the time of emperor Aurangzeb. One of the Qurans here was written by the emperor himself.

Vishal Ganpati Mandir
This Ganeshji temple is located in Maliwada area in Ahmednagar City.

Ralegaon Siddhi
A village which is a model for environmental conservation.

Harishchandragarh -
a hilly fort. Temple of Ganesh (Nidrista/Sleeping).

Pimpalner
Samadhi Temple of Shri Sant Nilobaraya, also called Prati Pandharpur.

Pedgaon
Baleshwar Temple, Temple of Laxmi Narayan

Trimbakji Dengale's Wada
Nimgaojali, a small village in Sangamner taluka of Ahmednagar district, came into limelight in the last phase of the Maratha empire. Trimbakji's spacious wada has now lost its former glory. Some of the portions of this two-centuries old structure are in dilapidated condition. The seventh or the eighth generation descendants of Trimbakji are now residing in this Wada.