Deekshabhoomi, the largest hollow stupa or the largest dome shape monument and an important place of buddhist movement, is located in Nagpur. Every year on the day of Vijayadashmi i.e. Dasehara, followers of Ambedkar visit deekshabhoomi. The 14 April, which is birth date of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is celebrated. The most famous Temple in Nagpur is Tekdi Ganesh Mandir, and is said to be one of the Swayambhu (means Self-Manifested) temple in city. Sri Poddareshwar Ram Mandir and Shri Mahalaxmi Devi temple of Koradi are important Hindu temples. Religious events are observed in the city throughout the year. Ram Navami is celebrated in Nagpur with shobha yatra with a procession of floats depicting events from the Ramayana. Processions are also held on important festivals of other religions such as Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din, Vijayadashami, Eid E Milad, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Durga puja, Ganesh Chaturthi and Moharram. Like the rest of India, Nagpurkars celebrate major Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi and Dussera with enthusiasm. Celebrations lasting for several days are held on Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja festivals in virtually every small locality in the city. The city also contains a sizeable Muslim population, and famous places of worship for Muslims include the Jama Masjid-Mominpura and Bohri Jamatkhana-Itwari.The most famous Dargah of Hazrat Tajoddin Baba at Taj Baug.The St. Francis De Sales Cathedral is located in Sadar as well as the All Saints Cathedral church.
Human existence around present-day Nagpur city can be traced back 3000 years to 8th century BC. Mehir burial sites at Drugdhamna (near MHADA Colony) indicate that the megalithic culture existed around Nagpur and is still followed. The first reference to the name “Nagpur” is found in a 10th century copper-plate inscription discovered at Devali in the neighbouring Wardha district. The inscription is a record of grant of a village situated in the visaya (district) of Nagpura-Nandivardhana during the time of the Rastrakuta king Krsna III in the Saka year 862 (940 CE). Towards the end of the 3rd century, King Vindhyasakti is known to have ruled the Nagpur region. In the 4th century, the Vakataka Dynasty ruled over the Nagpur region and surrounding areas and had good relations with the Gupta Empire. The Vakataka king Prithvisena I moved his capital to Nagardhan (ancient name Nandivardhana), 28 kilometres (17 mi) from Nagpur. After the Vakatakas, the region came under the rule of the Hindu kingdoms of the Badami Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, and finally the Yadavas. In AD 1296, Allauddin Khilji invaded the Yadava Kingdom after capturing Deogiri, after which the Tughlaq Dynasty came to power in 1317. In the 17th century, the Mughal Empire conquered the region. However, regional administration was carried out by the Gond kingdom of Deogarh-Nagpur in the Chhindwara district of the modern-day state of Madhya Pradesh.
Nagpur is a major education centre in Central India. College of Agriculture, Nagpur is the oldest college in the country founded in 1906 by the then British Government. The college is held at the historic and heritage Victoria Building (built in 1856 for stay of Queen of England Her Highness Victoria at Nagpur) at Maharajbagh, Nagpur. Founded in 1923, Nagpur University is one of the oldest in the country. The name has been officially changed to Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. The city has both municipal schools (run by the NMC) as well as private schools (run by trusts or individuals), which in some cases receive financial aid from the government. The city’s school system follows a 10+2+3/4 plan, students have the option to enroll in Junior college after 10 years of schooling and later degree courses for three or four years depending on the field. The school system has a geographical jurisdiction over the five districts of Nagpur division in addition to giving affiliation to hundreds of colleges.The Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, one of the premiere colleges of science and technology in the country is located in Nagpur. Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur, one of the reputed B-schools of India is located on a sprawling campus on way to Katol.
Maharashtra State road transport Corporation (MSRTC) runs cheaper transport service for intercity, interstate, interstate travel. It has two bus stations in Nagpur: Nagpur Bus Sthanak (CBS-1) at Ganeshpeth and MorBhawan (CBS-2) at Jhansi Rani Square, Sitabuldi. It operates 1600 daily services from CBS-1 to long and short distances within state and to places in other surrounding states. It also operates 750 daily services from CBS-2 to short distances within Vidarbha. Its services include semiluxury 2+2 NEEM AARAAM, Parivartan 2+2, Asiad 2+2, and ordinary ST 2+3.Bus services are available for big cities in and around the states like Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Raipur, Satna, Rewa, Raipur, Panna, Amravati, Raipur, Jagdalpur, Bilaspur, Mandla, Katni, Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik, Mumbai, Nanded, Akola, Jalgaon, Bhusawal, Rajnandgaon, Latur, Buldhana, Washim, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Gondia, Parbhani, Hyderabad, Nijamabad, and Adilabad.
In 1803 Raghoji II joined the Peshwa against the British in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, but the British prevailed. After Raghoji II’s death in 1816, his son Parsaji was deposed and murdered by Mudhoji II. Despite the fact that he had entered into a treaty with the British in the same year, Mudhoji joined the Peshwa in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1817 against the British but suffered a defeat at Sitabuldi in present-day Nagpur city. The fierce battle was a turning point as it laid the foundations of the downfall of the Bhonsles and paved the way for the British acquisition of Nagpur city. Mudhoji was deposed after a temporary restoration to the throne, after which the British placed Raghoji III, the grandchild of Raghoji II, on the throne. During the rule of Raghoji III(which lasted till 1840), the region was administered by a British resident. In 1853, the British took control of Nagpur after Raghoji III died without leaving an heir.
The government of Maharashtra formed a special-purpose entity in the name of Maharashtra Airport Development Company for development of MIHAN. The project is financed by multiple Indian banks with total loan amount of INR 3,000 million along with investment from state government and Airports Authority of India. With a projected target of serving 14 million passengers and handling 0.87 million tones of cargo this is one of largest aviation project in India. The estimated capital cost of the project is INR 2581 crores (by year 2035) and is supposed to generate revenues INR 5280 crores.Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), india’s largest IT company is constructing its development centre in MIHAN and is to be operational by 2014. Boeing has also constructed its MRO in MIHAN.Lupin, a pharmaceutical company is constructing its new R&D division here. IT majors like Wipro, Infosys, Mahindra Satyam and HCL have acquired lands in MIHAN.
Recent history ascribes the founding of Nagpur to Bakht Buland, a prince of the kingdom of Deogarh-Nagpur. The next Raja (king) of Deogarh was Chand Sultan, who resided principally in the country below the hills, fixing his capital at Nagpur, which he turned into a walled town. On Chand Sultan’s death in 1739, Wali Shah, an illegitimate son of Bakht Buland, usurped the throne and Chand Sultan’s widow invoked the aid of the Maratha leader Raghuji Bhonsle of Berar in the interest of her sons Akbar Shah and Burhan Shah. The usurper was put to death and the rightful heirs placed on the throne. After 1743, a series of Maratha rulers came to power, starting with Raghoji Bhonsle, who conquered the territories of Deogarh, Chanda and Chhattisgarh by 1751.
The Hingna industrial estate on the western fringes of the city is made up of around 900 small and medium industrial units. The major ones among them are tractor manufacturing plant of Mahindra and Mahindra, casting units of NECO Ltd. (the country’s largest casting group), units of International Combustion, Bajaj Auto group, Candico (the second largest confectionery manufacturing plant in India), Ajanta toothbrushes, and Sanvijay Group (largest steel rolling group of companies for long products in Central India). Nagpur is home to ice-cream manufacturer Dinshaws, Indian dry food manufacturer Haldiram’s, Indian Ready to Cook food manufacturer Actchawa and Ayurvedic product company Vicco and Baidnath.
The Vidharbha region has its own distinctive cuisine known as the Varhadi cuisine or Saoji cuisine. Saoji or Savji cuisine was popularised by the Savji community. This traditional food is famous for its spicy taste. The special spices used in the gravy include black pepper, dry coriander, bay leaves, grey cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and ample use of poppy seeds (khus-khus). Non-vegetarian food especially chicken and mutton are commonly eaten in Saoji joints at Nagpur. There are a line of Savji bhojanalays in Nagpur that are very popular in Maharashtra. So much so that the Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor once featured Savji mutton on one of his shows and its recipe is listed on his website.
As Nagpur is located at the centre of the Indian peninsula, far from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, it has tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification) with dry conditions prevailing for most of the year. It receives an annual rainfall of 1,205 mm (47.44 inches) from monsoon rains during June to September. The highest recorded daily rainfall was 304 mm on 14 July 1994. Summers are extremely hot, lasting from March to June, with May being the hottest month. Winter lasts from November to January, during which temperatures can drop below 10 °C (50 °F). The highest recorded temperature in the city was 48.6 °C on 29 May 2012, while the lowest was 3.9 °C.
After Indian Independence in 1947, Central Provinces and Berar became a province of India and in 1950 became the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, again with Nagpur as its capital. When the Indian states were reorganised along the linguistic lines in 1956, Nagpur and Berar regions were transferred to Bombay state, which in 1960 was split between the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. At a formal public ceremony on 14 October 1956 in Nagpur B. R. Ambedkar with his supporters converted to Buddhism starting Dalit Buddhist movement which is still active. In 1994, the city witnessed its most violent day in modern times in form of Gowari stampede deaths.
Nagpur is an important city for the Indian armed forces. The city is the headquarters of Maintenance Command of Indian Air Force. The Indian Army’s ordnance factory and staff college are in the western part of the city. Nagpur’s suburb Kamptee has cantonment of regimental center of Indian Army’s Brigade made up of National Cadet Corps’ Officers’ Training School, Institute of Military Law and other establishments. Nagpur’s National Civil Defense College provides civil defence and disaster management training to pupils from all over India and abroad. Indian Air Force’s giant IL-76 transport planes nicknamed “Gajraj” are also based in Nagpur.
Nagpur lies on the Deccan plateau of the Indian Peninsula and has a mean altitude of 310.5 meters above sea level. The underlying rock strata are covered with alluvial deposits resulting from the flood plain of the Kanhan River. In some places these give rise to granular sandy soil. In low-lying areas, which are poorly drained, the soil is alluvial clay with poor permeability characteristics. In the eastern part of the city, crystalline metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, schist and granites are found, while in the northern part yellowish sand stones and clays of the lower Gondwana formations are found.
Nagpur’s economy is currently recovering from past slowdowns and the city has attracted Rupees 5,000 crore in investment in 2004. It was ranked the 11th most competitive city in the country by the Institute for Competitiveness in its 2012 report. The city is important for the banking sector as it hosts the regional office of Reserve Bank of India, which was opened on 10 September 1956. The Reserve Bank of India has two branches in Nagpur in which one of it houses India’s entire gold assets. Sitabuldi market in central Nagpur, known as the Heart of the city, is the major commercial market area.
Nagpur is an emerging metropolis. In 2004, it was ranked the fastest growing city in India in terms of the number of households with an annual income of Rs 1 crore (10 million) or more. Nagpur has been the main center of commerce in the Vidarbha region since its early days and is an important trading location. However, Nagpur’s economic importance had gradually declined relative to Mumbai and Pune after the merging of Vidarbha into the Maharashtra because of a period of neglect by the state government. During the slowdown, state and central government offices were a major source of employment.
Three brothers Ghulam Ali (Kotwal), Mohammad Saaduddin (Subedar) and Mohammad Saladuddin (Minister and Kotwal) from Jhajjar are remembered as great scholars of Urdu and Persian during the reign of Maharaja Senasaheb Subha Chhatrapati Raghuji Bapusaheb Bhonsle III. They founded ‘Jhajjar Bagh’ at Hansapuri (Now Mominpura). In this location, they built their residence ‘Aina-e Mahal’, a well and a Masjid (now Masjid Ahle Hadith). ‘Jhajjar Bagh’ also known as ‘Subedar ka Bada’ was located where nowadays Mohammad Ali Road at Mominpura, Jamia Masjid, Mohammad Ali Sarai and Furqania Madrasa are located.
Nagpur (Nagpur) ( pronunciation (help·info)) also known as Nagpore is the winter capital of the state of Maharashtra. It is a fast-growing metropolis and the third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune and third most industrialized city after Mumbai and Pune. With a population of 2,405,421 (2011 census figures) Nagpur Metropolitan Area is the 13th largest urban agglomeration in India. According to a survey by ABP News-Ipsos, Nagpur has been identified as the best city in India by topping the liveability, greenery, public transport, and health care indices.
From 1853 to 1861, the Nagpur Province (which consisted of the present Nagpur region, Chhindwara, and Chhatisgarh) became part of the Central Provinces and Berar and came under the administration of a commissioner under the British central government, with Nagpur as its capital. Berar was added in 1903. Tata group started the country’s first textile mill at Nagpur formally known as Central India Spinning and Weaving Company Ltd. The company was popularly known as “Empress Mills” as it was inaugurated on 1 January 1877, the day queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.
The city contains people from other Indian states as well as people belonging to the world’s major faiths, and yet is known for staying calm during communal conflicts in India. Nagpur plays host to cultural events throughout the year. Cultural and literary societies in Nagpur include Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh (for development of Marathi), Vidarbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti (promotion and spreading Hindi) and Vidarbha Hindi Sahitya Sammelan (for promoting Hindi). Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the conference on Marathi Literature were held twice in Nagpur city.
Nagpur Mahanagar Parivahan Ltd (NMPL) is the company formed with elected municipal corporators on board that caters to the city public transport. It has contracted Vansh Nimay Infraprojects (VNIL) to run city buses. It has a fleet of 470 Low-floor StarBuses that serve around 2.5Lakh citizens daily in the urban, suburban, metro areas. Of the total fleet 88 are low floor MiniBuses, and 382 are low floor 50 seater StarBuses as shown in the picture below. 240 buses are acquired under JNNURM and 230 are acquired under purchase-run-transfer basis by VNIL.