| Type: | state |
| State Name: | Maharashtra |
| Native Name: | Maharashtra |
| Other Name: | महाराष्ट्र |
| Capital: | Mumbai |
| Latd: | 18.96 |
| Longd: | 72.82 |
| Base Map Label: | no |
| Largest City: | Mumbai |
| Abbreviation: | IN-MH |
| Official Languages: | Marathi[1] |
| Legislature Type: | Bicameral |
| Legislature Strength: | 289 + 78 |
| Leader Title 1: | Governor |
| Leader Name 1: | S C Jamir |
| Leader Title 2: | Chief Minister |
| Leader Name 2: | Ashok Chavan |
| Established Date: | 1 May 1960 |
| Area Total: | 307713 |
| Area Total Cite: | [2] |
| Area Magnitude: | 11 |
| Area Rank: | 3rd |
| Area: | 307,731 sq. km |
| Population Year: | 2001 |
| Population Total: | 96752247 |
| Population Rank: | 2nd |
| Population Density: | 314.42 |
| Districts: | 35 |
| Website: | maharashtra.gov.in |
Maharashtra (Marathi: Marathi: [[:mr:महाराष्ट्र|महाराष्ट्र]] , IPA ) is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population.
Maharashtra is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Gujarat and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the northwest, Madhya Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Karnataka to the south, Andhra Pradesh to the southeast, and Goa to the southwest. The state covers an area of 3077310NaN0 or 9.84% of the total geographical area of India. Mumbai, the capital city of the state, is India's largest city and the financial capital of the nation. Marathi is the official and most widely spoken language.
In the 17th Century, the Marathas rose under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji against the Mughals who were ruling a large part of India. After the third Anglo-Maratha war, the empire ended and most of Maharashtra became part of Bombay state under a British Raj. After Indian independence, Maharashtra Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti demanded unification of all Marathi speaking regions under one state. The first state reorganization committee created the current Maharashtra state on May 1, 1960 (known as Maharashtra Day). The Marathi-speaking areas of Bombay state, Deccan states and Vidarbha (which was part of Central Provinces and Berar) united to form the current state.
Maharashtra is the richest state in India, contributing to 15% of the country's industrial output and 13.2% of its GDP in year 2005-06.[3] [4] [5] [6]
See also: History of Maharashtra.
The Nāsik Gazetteer states that in 246 B.C. Maharashtra is mentioned as one of the places to which Asoka sent an embassy, and Mahārashtraka is recorded in a Chālukyan inscription of A.D. 580 as including three provinces and 99,000 villages.[7] [8] The name Maharashtra also appeared in a 7th century inscription and in the account of a Chinese traveler, Hiuen-Tsang. In 90 A.D. Vedishri,[9] son of the Satavahana king Satakarni, the "Lord of Dakshinapatha, wielder of the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty", made Junnar, thirty miles north of Pune, the capital of his kingdom. In the early fourteenth century the Devgiri Yadavs were overthrown by the northern Muslim powers. Then on, the region was administered by various kingdoms called Deccan Sultanates.[10]
See also: Satavahana. Not much is known about Maharashtra's early history, and its recorded history dates back to the 3rd century B.C.E., with the use of Maharashtri Prakrit, one of the Prakrits derived from Sanskrit. Later,