Pune is the 9th most populous city in India and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after

the state capital Mumbai. The history of the city is closely related to the rise of the Maratha empire of
the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 18th century, Pune became the political centre of the Indian
subcontinent, as the seat of the Peshwas who were the prime ministers of the Maratha
Empire.[1] After the fall of Peshwa rule in 1818, the new British rulers made the city one of their major
military bases. Prior to British takeover, the city was confined to the East bank of the Mutha river.
Since then the city has grown on both sides of the river.In the 19th and early 20th century, Pune was
considered by the British as the center of political unrest against their rule. The city population and
area grew rapidly after the Indian independence in 1947. The floods of 1961 resulted in loss of
housing on the river bank and the subsequent housing of the homeless into new suburbs.The post-
independence era saw Pune area emerging as a major manufacturing center. The city has also seen
further growth in the higher education sector during this period.

Contents
[hide]

1Early and medieval

2Maratha rule
o 2.1Bhosale family fiefdom (15991714)
o 2.2Peshwa rule (17141818)
3British rule (18181947)
o 3.1City development
o 3.2Center of social reform and nationalism
o 3.3Culture
4Post-Independence (1947)
o 4.1City growth and development
o 4.2Culture
5Footnotes
6Bibliography
7References

Early and medieval[edit]

The circular Nandi Mandapa at the Pataleshwar cave temple, built during the Rashtrakuta dynasty is one of the
oldest man made structures in Pune

The first reference to Pune region is found in two copper plates dated to 758 and 768 A.D. issued
by Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna I. The plates call it "Puny Vishaya" and "Punaka Vishaya" respectively.
The Pataleshwar rock-cut temple complex was built during this time and this area consisted
of Theur, Uruli, Chorachi Alandi, Bhosari etc.[2] In later centuries it was referred to as "Punekavadi"
and "Punevadi" while "Kasabe Pune" in the Islamic era.
Pune was a part of the Yadava Empire of Deogiri from the 9th century. The forces
of Khilji ruled Delhi sultanateoverthrew the Yadavas in 1317. This started three hundred years of
Islamic control of Pune. The Khilji were followed by another Delhi sultanate dynasty, the Tughlaqs. A
governor of the Tughlaq for the Deccan revolted and created the independent Bahamani sultanate
and later the various Deccan sultanates rulers between 1400 and early 1600s. Under Islamic rule,
Pune was a garrison town, on the East bank of the Mutha River, with the Muslim soldiers and few
non-military Muslims living within the town walls. The Brahmins, traders and cultivators lived outside.
The wall was built by Barya Arab, a commander of either the Khiljis or the Tughlaqs in the early
1300s. Traditional accounts state that the temples of Punyeshwar and Narayaneshwar were turned
into the Sufi shrines of Younger Sallah and Elder Sallah respectively.[3][4][2][note 1] The Hindu
saint Namdev (1270-1350) is believed to have visited the Kedareshwar temple. The Bengali
saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited the place during the Nizamshahi rule.[2]

Maratha rule[edit]
Pune first came under Maratha control in the early 1600s. However, control shifted between
the Bhosale family, the Adilshahi and the Mughals for most of the century. In the early 1700s, Pune
and surrounding areas were granted to newly appointed Maratha Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath. It
remained with his family until his great grandson Bajirao II was defeated by the British East India
Company in 1818.

Bhosale family fiefdom (15991714)[edit]

Shaniwar Wada, the palace and administrative headquarters built by Baji Rao I in 1730

A water color painting of Pune from the late Peshwa era as seen from the confluence of the Mula and Mutha
rivers, by British artist Henry Salt. The picture clearly shows the permanent features of the place, namely, the
Mula-mutha river, Parvati Hill and the towering Sinhagad in the background
Vishrambag wada was built for his Residence by Bajirao II in 1811. The building is still in use

In 1595 or 1599, Maloji Bhosle, the grandfather of Shivaji, was given the title of "Raja" by Bahadur
Nizam Shah II, the ruler of the Ahmednagar Sultanate.[5] On the recommendation of
Nizam's Vazir, Malik Ambar, Maloji was granted the jagir (fiefdom) of Pune and Supe parganas,
along with the control of the Shivneri and Chakan forts.
In 1630-31, Murar Jagdeo Pandit, a general of Adil Shahi of Bijapur attacked Pune and literally
raised it to the ground by using ass-drawn ploughs as symbol of total destruction.[6][note 2] Soon
afterwards, Shahaji, the son of Maloji joined the service of Adil Shahi and got his family's jagir of
Pune back in 1637. He appointed Dadoji Konddeo as administrator of the place. Dadaji slowly rebuilt
the place and got back the prominent families who had left the town during the destruction by Murar
Jaggdeo.[7] Shahaji also selected Pune for the residence of his wife, Jijabai and son, Shivaji, the
future founder of the Maratha empire. The construction of a palace, called Lal Mahal, was completed
in 1640. Jijabai is said to have commissioned the building of the Kasba Ganapati temple herself.
The Ganesh idol consecrated at this temple is regarded as the presiding deity (gramadevata) of the
city.[8] The town changed hands between the Mughalsand the Marathas many times during the rest
of the century.The town remained in Shivaji'spossession for most part of his career, however,he
operated from mountain forts like Rajgad and later Raigad.Shivaji was (crowned Chhatrapati(King) in
1674 of Maratha swaraj) at his mountain capital of Raigad. Recognizing the military potential of the
Pune, the Mughal general Shaista Khan and later, the emperor Aurangzeb further developed areas
around the town.[9]

Peshwa rule (17141818)[edit]

In 1714, the Maratha ruler Shahu appointed Balaji Vishwanath, a Chitpavan Brahmin, as his
Peshwa. Around the same period, Balaji was gifted the area around Pune by the grateful mother of
one of Shahu's ministers, the Pantsachiv, for saving the latter's life.[10] In 1720, Baji Rao I, was
appointed Peshwa, as a successor to his father by Shahu.[11] Bajirao moved his administration
from Saswad to Pune in 1728 and, in the process, laid the foundation for turning what was
a kasbah into a large city.[12][13] Before Bajirao I made Pune his headquarters, the town already had
six "Peths" or wards namely, Kasba, Shaniwar Raviwar, Somwar, Mangalwar and
Budhwar.[14] Bajirao also started construction of a palace called Shaniwar Wada on the east bank of
the Mutha River. The construction was completed in 1730, ushering in the era of Peshwa control of
the city. The city grew in size and influence as the Maratha rule extended in the subsequent
decades.
The city further gained influence under the rule of Bajirao I 's son, Balaji Bajirao or Nanasaheb. After
the disastrous Battle of Panipat in 1761, Maratha influence was reduced. At that time the Nizam of
Hyderabad looted the city. The city and the empire recovered during the brief reign of Peshwa
Madhavrao. The rest of the Peshwa era was full of family intrigue and political machinations. The
leading role in this was played by the ambitious Raghunathrao, the younger brother of Nanasaheb
who wanted power at the expense of his nephews, Madhavrao I and Narayanrao. Following the
murder of Narayanrao on the orders of Raghunathrao's wife, in 1775, power was exercised in the
name of the son of Narayan rao, Madhavrao II by a regency council led by Nana Fadnavis for almost
the rest of the century.[15] For most part, the Peshwa rule saw the city elites coming from the
Chitpavan Brahmin community. They were the military commanders, the bureaucrats and the
bankers and had ties to each other through marriage alliances.[16]
Nanasaheb constructed a lake at Katraj on the outskirts of the city and an underground aqueduct,
which is still operational, to bring water from the lake to Shaniwar Wada.[17] The city got an
underground sewage system in 1782 that ultimately discharged into the river.[7][18] Pune prospered as
a city during the reign of Nanasaheb. On the southern fringe of the city, he built a palace on
the Parvati Hill, developed a garden called Heera Baug, and dug a lake close to Parvati hill with a
Ganesh temple on an island in the middle of it. He also developed new commercial, trading, and
residential localities called Sadashiv Peth, Narayan Peth, Rasta Peth and Nana Peth. The city in the
1790s had a population of 600,000. In 1781, after a city census, household tax called Gharpatti was
levied on the more affluent which was one fifth to one sixth of the property value.[19]
In Peshwa Pune, law and order was exercised by the office of the Kotwal. The Kotwal was both the
Police chief, magistrate as well as municipal commissioner. His duties included investigating, levying
and collecting of fines for various offences. The Kotwal was assisted by police officers who manned
the chavdi or the police station, and the clerks collected the fines and the paid informants who
provided the necessary intelligence for charging people with misdemeanor. The crimes included illicit
affairs, violence and murder. Sometimes even in case of murder, only a fine was imposed. Intercaste
or inter-religious affairs were also settled with fines.[20] The salary of the Kotwal was as high as 9000
rupees a month but that included the expense of employing officers mainly from
the Ramoshicaste.[21] The most famous Kotwal of Pune during Peshwa rule was Ghashiram
Kotwal.The police force during this era was admired by European visitors to the city[22]
The patronage of the Brahmin Peshwas resulted in great expansion of Pune with the construction of
around 250 temples and bridges in the city, including the Lakdi Pul and the temples on Parvati
Hill.[23] Many of the Maruti, Vithoba, Vishnu, Mahadeo, Rama, Krishna and Ganesh temples were
built during this era.The patronage also extended to 164 schools or pathshalas in the city that taught
Hindu holy texts or Shastras.The schools were,however,open to men from the brahmin castes
only [24]The city also conducted many public festivals. The main festivals were Holi, the Deccan New
year or Gudi padwa, Ganeshotsav, Dasaraand Dakshina. Holi at the Peshwa court used to be
celebrated over a five-day period. The Dakshina festival celebrated in the Hindu month of Shravan,
when millions of rupees were distributed, attracted Brahmins from all over India to Pune.[25][26] The
festivals, the building of temples and the rituals conducted at temples, led to religion being
responsible for about 15% of the city's economy during this period.[27][28][29]
The Peshwa rulers and the knights residing in the city also had their own hobbies and interests. For
example, Madhavrao II had a private collection of exotic animals such as lions and rhinoceros close
to where the later Peshwe park zoo was situated,.[30] The last Peshwa Bajirao II was a physical
strength and wrestling enthusiast. The sport of pole gymnastics or Malkhamb was developed in
Pune under his patronage by Balambhat Deodhar.[31] Many Peshwas and the courtiers were patrons
of Lavani, the Maharashtrian dance. A number of composers of it such as Ram Joshi, Anant Phandi,
Prabhakar and Honaji Bala come from this period. The dancers used to come from the castes such
as Mang and Mahar.[32][33] Lavani used to be essential part of Holi celebrations in the region's Peshwa
courts.[34]
The Peshwa's influence in India declined after the defeat of Maratha forces in the Battle of
Panipat but Pune remained the seat of power. The city's fortunes declined rapidly after the
accession of Bajirao II to power in 1795. In 1802, Pune was captured by Yashwantrao Holkar in
the Battle of Pune, directly precipitating the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 18031805. The Peshwa
rule ended with the defeat of Bajirao II by the British East India Company under the leadership
of Mountstuart Elphinstone in 1818.
British rule (18181947)[edit]

The Aga Khan Palace was constructed by Aga Khan III in 1892.

Map of poona from 1914

Fergusson College, founded in 1885 during the British Raj, the first privately governed college in India.[35]
Ohel David Synagogue or the Red temple(Lal Deval). A red brick and trap stone building in English-
Gothic style, The synagogue was built by David Sassoon in 1867.

Mahatma Phule Mandai - The market was built by the Poona Municipality and opened in 1886.The market at
that time was called Reay Market and also served as Municipality office.[36]
Summer residence of the British Governor of Bombay presidency at Ganesh Khind. The building is now the
flagship building of Savitribai Phule Pune University

In 1818, Pune and the rest of the Peshwa territories came under the control of the British East India
Company. The company rule came to an end when in 1858, under the terms of Proclamation issued
by Queen Victoria, the Bombay Presidency, along with Pune and the rest of British India, came
under the direct rule of the British crown.[37]

City development[edit]
British rule over more than a century saw huge changes that were seen in all spheres, social,
economic and others as well. The British built a large military cantonment to the east of the city.[note
3]
The settlement of the regiments of the 17 Poona Horse cavalry, the Lancashire Fusiliers,
the Maratha Light Infantry and the others, led to an increase in the population. Due to its milder
weather the city became the "Monsoon capital" of the Governor of Bombay thus, making it, one of
the most important cities of the Bombay Presidency. The old city and the cantonment areas followed
different pattern of development with the latter being developed more on European lines to cater for
the needs of the British military class. The old city had narrow lanes and areas segregated by caste
and religion.[39] For many decades, Pune was the center of Social reform and at the turn of the
century, the center of Indian Nationalism. British era also saw development on the West bank of the
Mutha river in the vicinity of the village of Bhamburde.
The population of the city was previously decreasing with the declining fortunes of the Peshwa rule.
The population at the beginning of British rule was estimated at around 100,000 and declined further
as the city lost its stature as the seat of a major power. At the 1851 census the population of the old
city (excluding cantonment) was down to 70,000. It increased following the introduction of railways to
80,000 in 1864, 90,000 in 1872 and 100,000 in 1881. The population of greater Poona (including
Cantonment, Khadki and surrounding villages like Ghorpadi) in 1881 was 144,000. By 1931 it had
increased to 250,000. In the 1890s there was loss of population during the bubonic plague due to
mortality from the disease as well as people leaving the city to escape the disease. The population
bounced back in the following decades due to introduction and acceptance of vaccination by the
Indian population of the city. During the British era, the vast majority of the old city was Marathi
speaking Hindus. Other significant minorities were Muslims, Parsis, Jews, Gujaratis
and Marwadis.[4][40] The city population was heavily segregated by caste and economic status during
this period.[41]
The Poona Municipality was established in 1858. The cantonment area had its own separate
administration from the beginning and is governed separately even today. Unlike the Bombay
Municipal council, the Poona Municipality had two-third members elected. In case of Bombay it was
only half the members. Due to the colonial government of the Presidency setting up property and
educational qualifications to hold office, the majority of seats on the corporation were held by
Maharashtrian Brahmins who accounted for 20% of the city's population in the late 1800s. A
significant number of seats were also held by non-Maharashtrian Hindus (Gujarati, south Indian etc.)
and Parsis.[42] Social reformer Jyotirao Phule was appointed to the council in the
1870s.[43] The District Collector position was created by the East India company early during its rule
and has been retained after Independence. Pune and the Pune district also had a collector who had
broad administrative power of revenue collection and judicial duties. When Pune and the Peshwa
territories came under the company rule, Governor of Bombay Presidency, Mountstewart
Elphinstone wanted to retain many practices of the old order including justice.[44] He continued the
practice of Panchayat (a jury of local elders) to adjudicate in civil cases, however, the litigants
preferred the parallel courts modelled on English justice system.[45][46]Trial by jury was introduced in
Pune in 1867[47]
For most part of the British era, Pune remained a poor cousin of Mumbai when it came to
industrialization. There were, however, a few industrial concerns active at the turn of the 20th
century such as a paper mill, metal forge works, and a cotton mill. An ammunitions factory was set
up in Khadki in 1869.[48] Printing had been a big part of the city's economy due to large number of
education establishments in the city. To a major extent, manufacturing was a small scale business.
Cotton and silk weaving were major industries that grew in the 19th century. The same was true of
brass and copper ware.[49] The latter actually developed after the advent of railways made
importation of sheet metal easier.[4][50]Other small industries included jewelry, bidi making, leather
works and food processing. Towards the end of the British era, movie making had become a
significant business with eminent studios like the Prabhat Film Company located in the city.[51] In the
early years of the British rule, an open air vegetable market used to be held outside the Shanwar
wada. This shifted to an indoor place built by the Poona Municipality and opened in 1886.
The Market was named after the then Governor of Bombay, Lord Reay, and served as retail and
wholesale market in addition to being the Municipal office. There was also an older market district
called Tulshi Baug close to the vegetable market that sold a variety of household items[52]
During the first and second Anglo-Maratha wars, it used to take 45 weeks to move materials from
Mumbai to Pune. A military road constructed by the company in 1804 reduced the journey to 45
days. The company later built a Macademized road between the two cities in 1830 that allowed mail
cart service to begin between the two cities.[53]Railway line from Bombay and run by the Great Indian
Peninsula Railway (GIPR) reached the city in 1858.[54][55] In the following decades the line was
extended places further east and south of the city. In the east, GIPR extended its line to Raichur in
1871 where it met the line of Madras Railway and thereby connected Poona to Madras.[56] The Pune
- Mirajline was completed in 1886. The completion of the Metre gauge Miraj line turned the city into
an important railway junction. The Bombay-Poona line was electrified in the 1920s. This cut the
travel time between the cities to three hours and made it possible to make day trips between the
cities for business or leisure such as Bombay rich coming down to see the Poona races.[57] Although
railways came to Pune in the middle of the 19th century, public bus service took nearly ninety years
to follow suit. Unlike Mumbai, Pune never had a tram service. The first bus service was introduced in
Pune in 1941 by the Silver bus company. This caused huge uproar amongst the Tanga carriers
(horse-drawn carriage) who went on strike in protest.[58] Tangas were the common mode of public
transport well into the 1950s. Bicycles were choice of vehicle for private use in the 1930s.[59]
Given the importance of Pune as a major Military base, the British were quick to install the instant
communication system of Telegraph to the city in 1858.[60] The Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency:
Poona (2 pts) from 1885 reports that in 1885, the city had its own telegraph office in addition to
the GIPR Railway company's telegraph service. In 1928 a beam relay station was installed in Khadki
to beam radio telegraph signals for Imperial Wireless Chain system. The town in 1885 was a post
distribution hub for the district. There were two post offices in the city that in addition to mailing
services offered money order and savings bank services. [8]
Areas east of Pune receives much less rainfall than the areas in the west of city adjacent to the
Sahyadri mountains. To minimize risk of drought in the area, a masonry dam was built on the Mutha
river at Khadakwasla in 1878. At that time the dam was considered one of the largest in the world.
Two canals were dug on each bank of the river for irrigating lands to the east of the city. The canals
also supplied drinking water to the city and the cantonment.[61] In 1890 Poona Municipality spent Rs.
200,000 to install water filtration works.[62]
Electricity was first introduced to the city in 1920.[63] In the early part of the 20th century, hydroelectric
plants were installed in the western ghats between Pune and Mumbai. The Poona electric supply
company, a Tata concern received power from Khopoli on the Mumbai side of the ghats
and Bhivpuri plants near the Mulshi dam.[64] The power was used for the electric trains running
between Mumbai and Pune, for industry and home use.
To cater for the religious and educational needs of the Christian British soldiers and officers, the
early colonial period saw the building of many Protestant churches and schools such as The
Bishop's School (Pune), Hutchings High School, and St. Mary's School, Pune. St. Vincent's High
School was another school founded in the 1800s to cater for the Catholic community.[65]
In the 1820s, the company government set up a Hindoo college to impart education in Sanskrit. In
the 1840s, the college started offering a more contemporary curriculum. The college was then
renamed Poona College and later Deccan College.[66] The 1800s also witnessed tremendous activity
in setting up schools and colleges by early nationalists. For example, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one
of the founder of the Deccan Education Society.[67] The society set up the New English school as well
as the renowned Fergusson College. Another nationalist Vasudev Balwant Phadke was co-founder
of the Maharashtra education society. Both the Deccan and Maharashtra education society still run
numerous schools and colleges in Pune and in other cities such as Abasaheb Garware College.
The Shikshan Prasarak Mandali society was responsible for setting up The Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya
school for boys in 1883 the SP College for higher education in 1916 respectively. The colonial era
also saw the opening of schools for girls and the Untouchable castes. The pioneers in this task were
the husband and wife duo of Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule who set up the first girls' school in
Pune in 1848.[68] Later in the century in 1885, justice Mahadev Govind Ranade and R. G.
Bhandarkar founded the first and renowned girls' high school in Pune called Huzurpaga.[69] SNDT
Women's University, the first University for women in India, was founded in Pune by Dhondo Keshav
Karve in 1916.[70] Early during British rule in the 1830s, the "Poona Engineering Class and
Mechanical School" was established to train subordinate officers for carrying out public works like
buildings, dams, canals, railways and bridges.[71][72][73][74][75][76] Later on, in the year 1864, the school
became the "Poona Civil Engineering College". The number of courses were increased to include
forestry and agricultural subjects, which led to its name being changed to Poona College of Science.
All non-engineering courses were stopped by 1911 and the name was changed to the Government
College of Engineering, Poona. One of the few industrial museums in colonial times called The Lord
Reay Industrial Museum was established in Pune in 1890.[77] Western Medical education started in
Pune with the establishment of the BJ Medical school in 1871. The Sassoon Hospital was also
started around the same time with the help of the philanthropist Sassoon family in 1868.[78] A regional
mental asylum at Yerwada was established in the late 1800s[79]
Poona was a very important military base with a large cantonment during this era. The cantonment
had a significant European population of soldiers, officers and their families. A number public health
initiatives were undertaken during this period ostensibly to protect the Indian population but mainly to
keep Europeans safe from the periodic epidemics of diseases like Cholera, bubonic plague, small
pox etc. The action took form in vaccinating the population and better sanitary arrangements. The
Imperial Bacteriological laboratory was first opened in Pune in 1890 but later moved to Muktesar in
the hills of Kumaon [80] Given the vast cultural differences, and at times the arrogance of colonial
officers, the measures led to great public anger. The most famous case of the public anger was in
1897 during the bubonic plague epidemic in the city. By the end of February 1897, the epidemic was
raging with a mortality rate twice the norm and half the city's population had fled. A Special Plague
Committee was formed under the chairmanship of W.C. Rand, an Indian Civil Services officer. He
brought European troops to deal with the emergency. The heavy handed measures he employed
included forcibly entering peoples' homes at times in the middle of the night and removing infected
people and digging up floors where it was believed in those days that the plague bacillus bacteria
resided.[81] These measures were deeply unpopular. Tilak fulminated against the measures in his
papers (Kesari and Maratha).[82] The resentment culminated in Rand and his military escort being
shot dead by the Chapekar brothers on 22 June 1897. A memorial to the Chapekar brothers exists
at the spot on Ganesh Khind Road. The assassination led to a rethink of public health
policies.[83] This led even Tilak to support vaccination efforts later in 1906. In the early 20th century
the Poona Municipality ran clinics dispensing Ayurvedic and regular "English" medicine. Plans to
close the former in 1916 led to protest and the municipality backing down. Later in the century,
Ayurvedic medicine was recognized by the government and a training hospital called Ayurvedic
Mahavidyalaya with 80 beds was established in the city.[84] The Seva sadan institute led by Ramabai
Ranade was instrumental in starting training in Nursing and Midwifery at the Sassoon Hospital. A
maternity ward was established at the KEM hospital in 1912.[85][86] Availability of midwives and better
medical facilities was not enough for high infant mortality rates. Pune had particular high rate of 876
infant deaths per 1000 births in 1921.[87]

Center of social reform and nationalism[edit]

Jyotirao Phule, Social reformer

The city was an important centre in the social and religious reform movements as well as the
nationalist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Notable Civil society bodies founded
or active in the city during 19th century include the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, the Prarthana samaj,
the Arya Mahila Samaj and the Satya Shodhak Samaj.The Sarvajanik sabha took active part in relief
efforts during the famine of 1875-76. The Sabha is considered the forerunner of the Indian National
Congress established in 1885.[88][89] The most prominent personalities of Indian Nationalism in the late
19th and early 20th century, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Bal Gangadhar Tilak on opposite side of
political spectrum both called Pune their home. The city was also a centre for social reform led
by Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Justice Ranade, feminist Tarabai Shinde, Dhondo Keshav Karve, Vitthal
Ramji Shinde, and Pandita Ramabai.[90] Most of the early Social reform and Nationalist leaders of
stature in Pune were from the Brahmin caste who belonged to the Congress party or affiliated
groups.The non-Brahmins in the city started organizing in the early 1920s under the leadership
of Keshavrao Jedhe and Baburao javalkar. Both belonged to the Non-Brahmin party.Capturing the
Ganpati and Shivaji festivals from Brahmin domination were their early goals.[91] They combined
nationalism with anti-casteism as the party's aims[92]. Later on in the 1930s, Jedhe merged the non-
Brahmin party with the Congress party and changed that party from an upper-caste dominated body
to a more broadly based but also Maratha-dominated party in Pune and other parts of
Maharashtra.[93]
Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned at Yerwada Central Jail several times. The historic Poona
Pact between B.R. Ambedkar and Gandhi on reserved seats for the Untouchable castes was signed
in 1932.[94][95][96] Gandhi was placed under house arrest at the Aga Khan Palace in 194244, where
both his wife and aide Mahadev Desai died.

Culture[edit]

Lokmanya Tilak, a major figure in the Indian independence movement

The social reformers and nationalist leaders in the city were greatly aided by the availability of
printing presses. Notable printing press based in Pune in the 19th century were the Chitrashala
press and the Aryabhushan press of Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar.[97] The first Marathi newspapers
published from the city were Mitrodaya in 1844 and Dnyanprakashin 1849, respectively. Christian
missionaries based in Bombay and Pune started a journal called Dnyanodaya in the 1840s to
criticise Hindu social customs as well to impart knowledge on secular subjects such as science and
medicine. In reply to the missionary criticism, Krishna Shastri Chiplunkar and Vishnu Bhikaji Gokhale
started Vicharlahari and Vartaman Dipika in 1852 respectively. Later in the 19th century, Tilak
and Agarkar started the English newspaper Mahratta and the Marathi paper, Kesari, respectively.
These papers were printed at the Aryabhushan press[98] After ideological differences with Tilak,
Agarkar left Kesari and started his own reformist paper, Sudharak. Most of the above papers were
either run by Brahmins or catered to the upper castes. The Bombay
journals, Deenbandhu and Vitalwidhvansak, established in 1877 and 1886 respectively, catered for
non-Brahmin castes and especially propagated the anti-caste philosophy of Mahatma Phule. In the
early 20th century, a number of newspapers were established or had a special Pune edition.
The Prabhat in the 1940s was the first one anna newspaper that catered for low income classes.
The Sakal started by Nanasaheb Parulekar in 1931 is the most popular Marathi daily in the city to
this day.[99]
The public Ganeshotsav festival popular in many parts of India in modern times was started in Pune
in 1892 by a group of militant young Hindu men.[100] However, it was Nationalist leader, Tilak who
transformed the annual domestic festival into a large, well-organised public event.[101] Tilak
recognized Ganesha's appeal as "the god for everybody",[102][103]popularising Ganesha Chaturthi as a
national festival to "bridge the gap between Brahmins and 'non-Brahmins' and find a context in which
to build a new grassroots unity between them", generating nationalistic fervour in the Maharashtrian
people to oppose British colonial rule.[104][105][106] Until then Hindus in Pune participated in the Shia
Muslim festival of Muharram by making donations and making the Tazia.[107] There were about 100
public Ganpati installed in the late 1800s. This increased to about 300 at the end of British
rule.[108] Encouraged by Tilak, Ganesh Chaturthi facilitated community participation when the British
discouraged social and political gatherings to control unrest by the Indian population. The festival
allowed public entertainment in the form of intellectual discourse, poetry recitals, plays, concerts,
and folk dances.[109]
In 1895, Lokmanya Tilak also took a lead in public celebration of the birthday of Shivaji, the founder
of Maratha empire.[110] Justice Ranade started the spring lecture series called Vasant
Vyakhyanmala in 1875.[111][112]
During the long period of British rule, many different forms of entertainment became popular and
faded in Pune. In 1840s plays based on stories from the Hindu epics such
as Ramayana and Mahabharat were made popular by the traveling troupes of Vishnudas Bhave. For
the next forty years plays by the traveling troupes, and performed in tents or even private dwellings,
were extremely popular among the Marathi speaking population of the city.[113] The Marathi musical
theater of the later period was built on the foundation of the travelling theatre. Another art form
popular in this era was Lavani danced centered Tamasha folk theater at the Aryabhushan theater.[114]
The city was a pioneer in the Movie business with Companies like Prabhat studios producing quality
movies. The first movie theatre in Pune was called Aryan theatre. After the advent of Talkies in the
1930s, the word (Talkies) was used to denote a cinema hall. Most of the early halls had Western
names such as Minerva, Globe, Liberty etc.[115]

Cricketer Palwankar Baloo

The British rulers of India loved the outdoors and sports and built facilities for their leisure.[116] British
rule in Pune saw both the introduction of British sports such as cricket, and the development of the
new game of Badminton.[117] The building of a low dam at Bund gardens, financed by Parsi
businessman Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy in 1860 allowed boating on the Mula-mutha river for
recreation.[118] The cantonment area of the city had a race course which still hosts horse racing. The
British also built a golf course which is still operational as Poona Golf club in a, now, sub-urban
setting. For Cricket, by the end of the 19th century there were exclusively white clubs such as Poona
Europeans and clubs based on religion such as Poona Parsees and Poona Hindu Gymkhana. The
latter club was dominated by the educated Brahmin caste of the city. However, two lower caste
brothers from the city became stars of Indian cricket in the early part of the century. They
were Palwankar Baloo and his brother, Vithal Palwankar. Vithal was appointed the captain of the
Hindus in a quadrilateral cricket tournament between the Hindus, Parsees, Muslims and
Europeans,.[119][120] British rule also saw a parallel development of indigenous sports at the traditional
akhara or talim. However, the 1897 assassination of Rand by the Chapekar brothers who ran a talim
in Pune called Gophan, led to these venues being viewed with suspicion by the colonial authorities
for being potential centers of extremist views.[121] The committee to set rules for Kho-kho was
established in the city in 1914.[122] The Deccan Gymkhana sports club formed in the early 20th
century was instrumental in organizing the first Indian delegation to an Olympic meeting at Antwerp
in 1920[123]
The Maharashtra Mandal club formed in the early part of the twentieth century took the lead in
promoting physical culture and education. The club promoted both indigenous as well as western
sports.[124]

Post-Independence (1947)[edit]

The Mutha river between Onkareshwar temple and Shivaji bridge in the 1980s

The period between 1947 and the present day saw Pune turning from a mid-size city to a large
metropolis. This period saw a huge influx of people to the city due to opportunities offered by the
boom in manufacturing industry and lately in the software field. The influx has been from other areas
of Maharashtra as well as from outside the state. The Indian Government embarked on a period of
economic liberalization in 1991 that had a tremendous influence on the growth of the city and
therefore the post-independence period should be divided into two periods of 1947-1991 and 1991
present.
On India gaining independence from British rule in 1947, Pune became part of the Bombay state.
Very early in this period in 1948 saw the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram
Godse and most of his fellow conspirators were from Pune.[125] In 1950s Pune became at the
forefront of the struggle for a unified state Maharashtra for Marathi speakers.Many leaders of
the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti such as Keshavrao Jedhe S.M. Joshi, Shripad Amrit
Dange, Nanasaheb Gore, Prahlad Keshav Atre were based in Pune.After the spectacular success of
the Samiti in Marathi speaking areas, the Congress party government at the center agreed to merge
Marathi speaking areas into the newly created state of Maharashtra in 1960 with Pune as one of its
leading cities.,.[126][127][128] The city has been part of the Pune Lok sabha constituency since
independence. Since independence, the city has more often than not, elected candidates from the
Congress party such as Vithalrao Gadgil and in recent past, Suresh Kalmadi who was charged with
corruption. The city elected opposition candidates in times of crisis such as Nanasaheb Gore during
the struggle for united Maharashtra in 1957 or Mohan Dharia after the lifting the Emergency in
1977.The city and surrounding areas have six single member constituencies to Maharashtra
Vidhansabha.Once again,the Congress party or the breakaway factions such as NCP have
historically dominated elections to this body.

City growth and development[edit]

The population of the city grew rapidly after independence from nearly 0.5 million to 0.8 million in
1968 and 1.5 million in 1976.[129] By 1996, the population had increased to 2.5 million people.[130] By
2001 the population had increased to 3.76 million making Pune one of the twenty most populous
cities in India.[131] The city until the 1970s was referred to as "Pensioners' Paradise" since many
government officers, civil engineers and Army personnel preferred to settle down in Pune after their
retirement[132]
The status of Pune was elevated from town to city when the Municipality was converted into Pune
Mahanagar Palika or the Pune Municipal Corporation(PMC) in the year 1950.[133] In order to integrate
planning, The Pune Metropolitan Region covering the area under PMC, the Pimpri-Chinchwad
Municipal Corporation, the three cantonments and the surrounding villages was defined in 1967[134]
Industrial developments started in the 1950s in the outlining areas of the city such
as Hadapsar, Bhosari, Pimpri, and later around Parvati. The first big operation to set up shop was
the government run Hindustan Antibiotics in Pimpri in 1954.[135] The area around Bhosri was set
aside for industrial development by the newly created MIDC in the early 1960s. MIDc provided the
necessary infrastructure for new businesses to set up operations.[136] Telco (now Tata Motors) started
operations in 1961, which gave a huge boost to the automobile sector. After 1970, Pune emerged as
the leading engineering city of the country with Telco, Bajaj, Kinetic, Bharat Forge, Alfa Laval, Atlas
Copco, Sandvik and Thermax expanding their infrastructure. This allowed the city to vie
with Chennai for the title of "Detroit of India" at that time[137] The growth in the Pimpri Chinchwad and
Bhosri areas allowed these areas to incorporate as the separate city of Pimpri-Chinchwad. In light of
the rapid growth, the Pune metropolitan area was defined in 1967. it includes Pune, the three
cantonment areas and villages on the fringe. Some of the villages included in the metropolitan area
have now grown into fully fledged suburbs such as Kothrud, Katraj, Hadapsar, Hinjawadi,
and Baner[138]After the 1991 economic liberalization, Pune began to attract foreign capital, particularly
in the information technology and engineering industries; new businesses like floriculture and food
processing begin to take root in and around the city[citation needed]. In the three years before 2000 Pune
saw huge development in the Information Technology sector, and IT Parks formed
in Aundh, Hinjawadi and Nagar road[139] By 2005 Pune overtook both Mumbai and Chennai to have
more than 200,000 IT professionals[citation needed].In the year 2008, many Multinational automobile
companies like General Motors, Volkswagenand Fiat set up facilities near Pune in
the Chakan and Talegaon areas respectively.

A crowded street in Pune in 2004

Public transport in form of bus service was introduced just before independence using a private
provider. The city took over the service after independence as Poona Municipal transport or PMT. In
the 1990s the PMT and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Transport (PCMT),the bus company running
the service in Pimpri-Chinchwad had a combined fleet of over a thousand buses. Because the
municipal transport was patchy, a number of employers from the Industrial belt near Pimpri -
Chinchwad and Hadapsar respectively also offered private bus service to their employees.[140] The
number of buses belonging to these companies was many times more than the number of Municipal
buses.[140] The two bus companies merged in 2007 to form the PMML. In 2006, PMC started BRT
(Bus Rapid Transit System) project first among all Indian cities but due to narrow roads of the city it
did not work properly.In 2008 the Commonwealth Youth Games took place in the city, which
encouraged additional development in the north-west region of the city and added a fleet of buses
running on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to the city roads.Pune was also connected to other
towns and cities in Maharashtra by Maharashtra State Transport buses that began operating in
1951. These buses also served villages that have now become part of the outer fringe of the City.
From the 1960s onward, the horse drawn Tanga was gradually replaced by the motorized three
wheeler Autorickshawfor intermediate public transport. Their number grew from 200 in 1960 to over
20,000 in 1996. From the 1930s, Pune was known as cycle city of India.However, the cycle was
replaced by motorized two wheelers from the 1970s onwards. For example, the number of two
wheelers increased from 5 per 1000 people to 118 per 1000 in the period between 1965 and
1995.[140] In 1989, Dehu Road-Katraj bypass (Western bypass) was completed, reducing traffic
congestion in the inner city but also leading to growth in Industry as well as housing along the
bypass in the decades following the opening of the road.In 1998, work on the six-lane Mumbai-Pune
expressway began and completed in 2001. This toll road significantly reduced the journey time
between the two cities.In 1951, a number of Railway companies including GIPR merged to form
the Central Railway zone with Pune as an important railway junction.The pace of laying down new
rail tracks had been slow in the initial post-independence era. Nevertheless,one of the major
infrastructure project in this period was conversion of the Pune-Miraj railway from metre gauge to the
wider broad-gauge in 1972. Pune has been an important base for armed forces. The airport
established by the British at Lohgaon in 1939 was further developed by the Indian air force. The
airport was used for internal short haul passenger flights until 2005 when the airport was upgraded
to international airport with flights to Dubai, Singapore and Frankfurt.,[141][142] In 200405, Pune Airport
handled about 165 passengers a day. It increased to 250 passengers a day in 200506. There was
a sharp rise in 200607 when passengers reached 4,309. In 2010 2011, the passenger number hit
about 8,000 a day.[143]

Expansion of Pune

In 1961 the Panshet Dam, then under construction failed. The breach released a tremendous
volume of water that also damaged the downstream dam of Khadakwasla. The resulting flood
damaged or destroyed a lot of old housing close to the river bank in the Narayan, Shanwar and
Kasba peth areas of the city. The damage spurred development of new suburbs and housing
complexes of the city such as Maharshinagar, Sahakarnagar, Gokhalenagar and
Lokmanyanagar.[144] The damaged dams were repaired and continue to provide water for the city.
The rapid rise in the city population in the last few decades meant that the sewage treatment plants
in 2008 were treating just over half of the sewage and discharging the rest in the local Mutha and
Mula rivers that severely polluted these rivers.[145] The rapid industrialization led to huge influx of new
people to the city with housing supply not keeping pace with demand and therefore there was a
great increase in slum dwellings in this period[146] In the post-Panshet period new housing was mainly
in the form of bungalows and apartment buildings. In the 1980s, however, due to heavy demand for
housing there was a trend towards knocking down bungalows and converting them into apartment
buildings with consequent increase in population density and increased demand for utilities such as
water supply.[147] Since the 1990s,a number of integrated townships[148] have come into being on the
outskirts of the city on former agriculture land such as Magarpatta, Nanded, Amanora, Blue Ridge,
Life Republic, and Lavasa. Most of these were built by private developers and also managed
privately.[149]
In 1949, University of Poona was established with 18 affiliated colleges in 13 districts of Bombay
state surrounding Pune.[150] The creation of the University was opposed by some groups that had
been running the long established colleges in the city[151] The post-independence period also saw the
establishment of the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla, Film and Television Institute of
India at the former Prabhat studios in 1960,[152] and National Chemical Laboratory at Pashan. Pune
was also made the headquarters of the Southern Command of the Indian Army.[153] Many private
colleges and Universities were set up in the city during the last thirty years after the State
Government under chief minister Vasantdada Patil liberalised the Education Sector in
1982.[154] Politicians and leaders involved in the huge cooperative movement in Maharashtra were
instrumental in setting up the private institutes.[155]

Culture[edit]
A number of newspapers from the British era continued publishing decades after
independence.These included Kesari, Tarun Bharat,Prabhat and Sakal. Kesari after independence
took a more pro-Congress party stance whereas Tarun Bharat was sympathetic towards Hindu
nationalist Bharatiya Jan sangh and its successor the BJP. Sakal under the leadership of
Nanasaheb Parulekar maintained a politically neutral stand.[156] It has remained the most popular
Marathi daily during Parulekar's stewardship and later since the 1980s under the Pawar
family control.[157][158] Kesari is now only published as an online newspaper.Mumbai
based Maharashtra times, Loksatta and Lokmat all introduced Pune based editions in the last fifteen
years.The Mumbai-based popular English newspaper Indian express has a Pune edition. its rival
the times of India introduced a tabloid called Pune mirror in 2008.
The government owned All India radio (AIR) established a station in pune in October 1952.[159] One of
the early notable program produced by the station was Geet Ramayan, a serias of 55 songs created
by the poet Ga Di Madgulkar and composer Sudhir phadke in 1955[160] AIR Doordarshan service
started relaying Black and white Television signals from Bombay TV station to Pune in 1973. A relay
station was built at the fort of Sinhagad to receive signals. Color service was introduced to Pune and
rest of India during the 1982 Asiad games
Since the British era, live theater in form of musical drama had been popular in Pune and other
Marathi speaking areas.In the post-independence era, theater became a minority pursuit and also
saw the decline of the musical drama due to cost.Despite lower attendance, the post-independence
era*- saw the building of many new drama theaters by the Pune Municipal corporation such as
the Bal Gandharva Ranga Mandir in the 1960s, and Yashwantrao Chavan Natya Gruha in the
1990s.[161] Theater companies such as Theatre academy flourished in the 1970s with plays such
as Ghashiram Kotwal and Mahanirvan,.[162][163] The popular entertainment for masses in Pune and in
urban India in the post -independence era was cinema. Theaters showing single films were dotted
around the old city.The early theaters used to be quite basic when it came comfort and technology.In
the 1970s new theaters were built that were fully air-conditioned with some of them such as Rahul
theater having a screen for showing 70 mm film.The theaters used to show mostly Hindi films, and a
few Marathi and English ones respectively.The post 1991 liberalization period saw the rise of
multiplex cinemas and decline of the old theaters.[115]
For a city of its size, Pune has had very few public parks.The Bund Garden, and the Empress
Gardens were developed during the British era in the Cantonment area In the post-independence
era,the Peshwe park and zoo was started in 1953 by the Municipal corporation in 1953 close to
Parvati hill and at the same location where Sawai Madhavrao had is own collection of
animals.[164] The Peshwa era lake next to the park with a Ganesh temple was drained and turned into
a garden in the 1960s and named Saras Baug.The hills of Parvati and Taljai behind it were turned
into a protected nature reserve called Pachgaon hill in the 1980s. The reserve contains area under
forest, and is a stop for migratory birds.[165][166]
Maharashtra cricket association was formed in the 1930s and has been based in Pune since then. In
1969, the headquarters of the club were moved to 25,000 capacity Nehru stadium.With the
introduction of the limited over game and low capacity of the stadium, the club built a new bigger
capacity stadium on the outer fringes of the city. In the 1970s, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Stadium was
built in the mangalwar peth area of the city to host wrestling and other traditional sports. The
1994 National games were hosted by the city.A new sports venue called Shree Shiv Chhatrapati
Sports Complex was built at Balewadi for this purpose. The complex was also used for
2008 Commonwealth youth games.
Hindu Maharashtrian society until the early 20th century was fairly conservative with regard to food
and there were few conventional restaurants in Pune. The early restaurants in the city, mainly in the
cantonment area were established by Parsis and Iranians. Lucky and Cafe Good luck were the first
Irani restaurants ones in the Deccan Gymkhana area close to the Ferguson college area. For many
young men from orthodox Hindu vegetarian families, ordering Omelette at these restaurants was
considered quite daring.[167] The first family restaurant in Deccan Gymkhana area called Cafe Unique
was started by a Mr. Bhave in the 1930s.[168] In the post-independence area a number of restaurants
were established by immigrants from the coastal Udupi district in Karnataka. These establishments
offered a simple South Indian fare of Dosa and idlis. The early post-independence era also saw
opening of the iconic Chitale bandhu sweet shops that offered Maharashtrian sweet and savory
snacks.[169] The post-1991 market liberalization has seen the city become more cosmopolitan and
opening up of American franchise restaurants such as McDonald's, Pizza hut etc.