Ahmednagar to be renamed in honour of Ahilyabai Holkar: Who was the Maratha queen?

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Aurangabad, Osmanabad and now Ahmednagar. What do these three cities in Maharashtra have in common? For starters, they have all undergone a name change in this year. After the first two cities, Aurangabad and Osmanabad, underwent a change in name earlier this year – they are now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv – the Maharashtra government announced that Ahmednagar will be renamed Ahilyanagar.

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday announced at a function, “Our government works keeping in mind the ideal of governance set by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Ahilyadevi Holkar. Therefore, as per the wish of all of you, we have decided to rename (the district) for Ahilyadevi Holkar.”

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he would request CM Shinde to rename Ahmednagar city as Ahilyanagar, after the Maratha warrior queen Ahilyabai Holkar. He further added that had Ahilyadevi Holkar not been there, “there would not have been Kashi, temples of Lord Shiva.”

We examine who she was and why the Maharashtra government has decided to rename Ahmednagar.

The great Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar

India’s history and the strides made in women’s education and empowerment is incomplete without the mention of Ahilyabai Holkar, the hereditary noble Queen of the Maratha Empire.

Ahilyabai was born in 1725 in the village of Chondi near Jamkhed, Ahmednagar, into an ordinary family of Indore. Despite the fact that women’s education was a far-fetched idea in those days and especially in the village, Ahilyabai’s father, Mankoji Rao Shinde home-schooled her to read and write.

She entered royal life when Malhar Rao Holkar, army commander to Peshwa Bajirao, saw her at a temple service when she was eight years old. Taken aback by her dedication, devotion and character, he decided to get his son, Khande Rao, married to her.

Her married life was short-lived as Khande Rao was killed in the Battle of Kumbher in 1754. However, she didn’t commit sati – where a widow lies on her husband’s funeral pyre. She was dealt another blow when she lost her sons in the following years. It was then that she decided to take matters into her own hands and took up the kingdom of Malwa. She also petitioned the Peshwa to become the ruler, backed by the support of her army.

Ahilyabai was born in Chondi village of Ahmednagar to the village head Mankoji Shinde. Wikimedia Commons

While there was a section of the kingdom that objected to her assumption to the throne, her army of Holkars stood by her and supported their queen’s leadership.

Within a year of taking up the throne, Malwa was encircled by invaders. However, she was determined to protect her land and led her soldiers into battle. A fearless warrior, who was skilled in archery, sword fighting and horseback riding, she led her army to victory.

First Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in his book of Ahilyabai, saying that she had a rule of 30 years. “The reign was almost legendary as a period during which perfect order and good government prevailed and the people prospered. She was a very able ruler and organiser, highly respected during her lifetime,” Nehru wrote.

Such was her time that even British historian John Keay wrote in her favour, “Ahilyabai Holkar, the philosopher-queen of Malwa, had evidently been an acute observer of the wider political scene. Along with being a fierce queen and skilled ruler, Malwa’s Queen was also a learned politician. Even when the Maratha Peshwa had failed to understand the British and their objectives, she cautioned him against them.”

History shows that in 1772, she had warned the Peshwa of the British, writing: “Other beasts, like tigers, can be killed by might or contrivance, but to kill a bear it is very difficult. It will die only if you kill it straight in the face, Or else, once caught in its powerful hold; the bear will kill its prey by tickling. Such is the way of the English. And given this, it is difficult to triumph over them.”

Ahilyabai is today also remembered for constructing multiple forts and roads in Malwa, as well as for supporting festivals and donating to numerous Hindu temples. Ahilyabai is famous for rebuilding Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

She also welcomed intellectuals such as Marathi poet Moropant, Shahir Anantaphandi, and Sanskrit scholar Khushali Ram into her city. Moreover, the queen went on to create a textile industry in the city as well; she introduced the tradition of the Maheshwari sarees. In her lifetime, she strove hard to end the practice of sati.

As Annie Besant wrote of her, “Far and wide the roads were planted with shady trees, and wells were made, and rest-houses for travellers. The poor, the homeless, the orphaned were all helped according to their needs. The Bhils, who had long been the torment of all caravans, were routed from their mountain fastnesses and persuaded to settle down as honest farmers. Hindu and Musalman alike revered the famous Queen and prayed for her long life.”

The queen died at the age of 70 and was succeeded by her commander-in-chief, Tukoji Rao Holkar I.

In 1996, the government issued a commemorative stamp in the honour of Ahilyabai Holkar. Wikimedia Commons

Renaming of cities in Maharashtra

A name change for a city or town is not new in India and there’s been a growing movement to rename areas in Maharashtra.

It was in 2022 that then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray just before stepping down from his post announced the decision to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv. Thackeray’s announcement was in line with his father’s demand.

On 8 May 1988, Sena supremo Bal Thackeray announced the renaming of the city to Sambhajinagar after Sambhaji Maharaj.

Also read: Aurangabad is now Sambhajinagar, Osmanabad is Dharashiv: How cities get new names

In 1995, the Aurangabad Corporation passed a resolution to do so, and the then Sena-led government in the state issued a notification seeking suggestions and objections from people on this. The notification was challenged in the high court by then Ahmednagar Municipal corporator Mushtaq Ahmed. The decision to rename the city was put off then.

Finally, on 16 July 2022, the Eknath Shinde government approved the proposal to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv and it got the go-ahead from the Centre in February this year.

With inputs from agencies

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