Wardha: Difference between revisions

| population_footnotes            = <ref>http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=558544</ref>

'''Wardha''' {{audio|Wardha.ogg|pronunciation}} is a [[city]] and a [[municipal council]] in [[Wardha district]] in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Maharashtra]]. It is the administrative headquarters of Wardha district. Wardha gets its name from the [[Wardha River]] which flows at the north, west and south boundaries of district. Founded in 1866, the town is now an important center for the [[cotton]] trade. It was an important part of '''Gandhian Era.'''

Wardha was included in the empire of the [[Maurya]]s, [[Shunga Empire|Shungas]], [[Satavahana]]s and [[Vakataka]]s. Pravarapura, modern Pavnar, was once the capital of the [[Vakataka dynasty]]. Vakatakas were contemporaries of the Imperial Guptas. [[Prabhavatigupta]], the daughter of [[Chandragupta II]] (Vikramaditya), was married to the Vakataka ruler [[Rudrasena I (Vakataka king)|Rudrasena]]. The period of the Vakatakas was from the 2nd to the 5th century [[Common Era|CE]]. The empire stretched from the Arabian Sea in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east, and from the [[Narmada River]] in the north to the Krishna-Godavari delta in south.

During the 1850s Wardha district, (then a part of [[Nagpur district]]) fell into the hands of the British who included Wardha in the Central Province. In 1862 it was separated for convenient administrative purposes and Kawatha near [[Pulgaon]] was the district headquarters. In 1866, the district headquarters moved at Palakwadi village. The huts in the village were destroyed and a new city was constructed by English town-planner Sir Bachelor and Sir [[Reginald Craddock]]. This new city was named Wardha after the river Wardha which flows through the district.

Wardha has an adjacent city [[Sevagram]] and both were major centers for the [[Indian Independence Movement]], especially as the location for an annual meeting of the [[Indian National Congress]] in 1934, and [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s Ashram.

Wardha was one of the pre-planned cities of British India. The town-planners were Sir Reginald Craddock and Sir Bachelor. In Craddock's memory, his name was given to the district's biggest school and an important road was named after Sir Bachelor in the British period. The Craddock School was renamed Mahatma Gandhi School. The District Hospital was named King George Hospital, but was renamed later on. The stone in which the old name was carved was at main gate for more than century. It was hidden by a new name board reading District Hospital. There are many buildings of the British period in the city which include Z.P. old building, the Central Jail, the Church at Bajajwadi, the Christian cemetery etc.

The owners of powale group and dhandre group belong to wardha.

Wardha is the second-largest city in the Wardha district after Hinganghat.

The population of Wardha city constitutes Hindus and Buddhists with a small percentage of Muslims, Christians, Jains and Sikhs. The main spoken language is [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[other languages include: [[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[Marwari language|Marwari]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] and [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]].

There are many temples, [[vihara]]s, [[gurdwara]]s, Jain temples, [[mosque]]s and [[Church (building)|church]]es of which Laxminarayan Temple (Bachchhraj Road), Lingi [[Mandir]] (Mahadeo Mandir) near Dr. Raosaheb Gade Bhavan, Vitthal Mandir (Hawaldwarpura), Ganesh Mandir (Main Road), Gajanan Maharaj Mandir, Sai mandir (M.G. Road), Digambar and Shwetambar Jain temples (mahadeopura), Shanti Stupa (Gopuri), Gurudwara (Samtanagar) are important. There is a church named St. Thomas Church in Wardha which was built by the British in 1874 and it was a part of Church of England in India earlier, and later after the Indian Church Act of 1927 was passed and it became part of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon. It is the Anglican church where Sir Bachelor and Sir Reginald Craddock used to worship. It was a civil church, transferred to the Church of North India in 1970. CNI Church in Wardha is the main Presbyterian church before the formation of the Church of North India in 1970. CNI later established Christ Church in Sewagram.

[[Marathi Sahitya Sammelan|In 1969, Marathi Sahitya Sammelan]], the conference on Marathi Literature was held in Wardha city. It was presided over by the president of the Conference [[Purushottam Shivram Rege]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}}

Wardha city is well connected by roads to the other cities of Maharashtra. National Highway No.361 (Nagpur-Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded-Latur-Tuljapur) passes through the city. Nagpur-Aurangabad-Mumbai Express Highway also passes through it. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' dream project Samruddhi Mahamarg or Nagpur-Mumbai Communication Super Expressway will also pass from the outskirts of the city.

Wardha city is well connected to most of the parts of India by railways. [[Wardha railway station]] is an important [[rail junction]] on the [[Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line]]. The town is also connected to the southern part of the country through [[Sevagram railway station]]. Traffic on the Mumbai-Kolkata route is mainly dealt with at Wardha Station, and traffic on the Delhi-Chennai route is dealt with at [[Sewagram Junction railway station|Sewagram Station]] (formerly Wardha East station).{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}} A new [[Wardha–Nanded line]] via [[Yavatmal]], [[Pusad]], [[Deoli, Maharashtra|Deoli]] etc... is being constructed. Both the Delhi-Chennai and the Mumbai-Kolkata railway routes are already carrying heavy traffic and both routes are actually one between Sewagram and Nagpur stations. A new third and fourth line is under construction between Sewagram and Nagpur stations to cater to the heavy traffic.

Many institutions are encouraging farmers to go natural or organic but the lack of support systems either with the availability of techniques or the marketability of this produce is preventing the spread of this movement.

The Kelzar Ganpati Mandir is about {{convert|26|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Wardha on the Nagpur Road. This temple is on a hill and is surrounded by the scenic beauty of forests and hills near the Bor National Tiger Reserve and Bird Sanctuary. . It is a historical place and its history goes back to Vashishtha Purana.

The place is also mentioned in ''[[Mahabharata]]'' as Ekchakranagari. According to myth, Pandavas lived here during agyatvas. Bhima killed Bakasura at this place and threw him down this hill. An ancient cave where Bakasura lived is at foot of the hill and his famous well is also nearby. This well has sculptured stones on its inner wall and stairs. Remains of an old fort are also seen here. Finding sculptures during digging for any purpose is common. Sculptures relating to Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism have been found,  the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is not paying attention to this. Many sculptures have been ruined due to lack of proper care. Some sculptures can be seen in this temple, on a nearby hillock, the [[gram panchayat]] office, the Buddha Vihar.

Dahegaonaa(gosavi)<ref>dahegaon(gosavi) had political presence of dhandre Family.</ref> is 5&nbsp;km away from kelzar where tuljapur raiway station connect to nagpur and wardha.