MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said that the Ahmednagar district will be renamed as ‘Ahilya Nagar.’ Making the announcement, CM Shinde said the Ahmednagar district in western Maharashtra will be renamed after Ahilyadevi Holkar, the legendary 18th-century queen of the Maratha Empire. The 18th-century Holkar Queen of the Maratha Malwa kingdom is known for building temples and ‘dharamashalas’ (public rest houses), throughout India.
CM Shinde made this announcement while speaking at a function at Choundi village in the district, the birthplace of Ahilyadevi (also known as Ahilya Bai), to mark her 298th birth anniversary.
Ahilya Nagar will be dedicated to Ahilyabai Holkar who was the hereditary queen of the Maratha Empire and was born in Choundi village of Ahmednagar district, the CM said. “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) after Ahilyadevi Holkar,” CM Shinde said in his speech.
Besides CM Shinde, the event was attended by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar and many others.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently said that he would urge the Chief Minister to change the name of Ahmednagar to ‘Ahilya Nagar’. It may be noted that several ruling side legislators had been demanding the government to rename Ahmednagar city to ‘Ahilya Nagar’. BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar in February this year demanded the name to be changed following the renaming of Aurangabad.
“Ahmednagar city’s name must be changed to Ahilya Nagar. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have changed the name of Aurangabad and Osmanabad after a demand raised by everyone. Following that people are also demanding of changing the name of Ahmednagar to Ahilya Nagar,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government renamed Aurangabad to ‘Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’ and Osmanabad to ‘Dharashiv’. The renaming of the two cities was done after the Centre approved a proposal by the Maharashtra government to change the names of Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv respectively.
The Ahmadnagar Sultanate was established by Malik Ahmed Shah Bahri after defeating the Bahmani Army led by Jahangir Khan on May 28, 1490.