History of Maharashtra: Difference between revisions

{{Copy edit|date=October 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

From the 4th century BC until 875, [[Maharashtri Prakrit]] and its dialects were the dominant languages of the region. The Marathi language, which evolved from Maharashtri Prakrit, has been the common language since the 9th century. The oldest stone inscriptions in the Marathi language date to around 975 AD,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/yO371luBUKFCjhQouRcBCK/Konkani-vs-Marathi-Language-battles-in-golden-Goa.html|title=Konkani vs Marathi: Language battles in golden Goa|last=Venkatesh|first=Karthik|date=2017-08-05|website=LiveMint|language=en|access-date=2019-06-29}}</ref> and can be seen in the [[Jain]] temple at [[Shravanabelagola|Shravanabelgola]] in modern-day [[Karnataka]] at the foot of the [[Gommateshwara statue|Lord Bahubali]] statue.

[[Chalcolithic]] sites belonging to the [[Jorwe culture]] (ca. 1300–700 BCE) have been discovered throughout the state.<ref>[[Upinder Singh]] (2008), [https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC ''A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century''], p.232</ref><ref>[[P. K. Basant]] (2012), [[iarchive:citycountryinear0000basa|''The City and the Country in Early India: A Study of Malwa'']], pp. 92–96</ref> The largest settlement discovered of the [[culture]] is at [[Daimabad]], a [[Late Harappan]] site, which had a mud fortification during this period, as well as an elliptical [[temple]] with fire pits. Some settlements show evidence of planning in the layout of rectangular houses and streets or lanes.<ref name="Lahiri2015">{{cite book|author=Nayanjot Lahiri|title=Ashoka in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJ_XCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|date=5 August 2015|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-05777-7|page=82}}</ref><ref name=singh>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Upinder|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&q=Daimabad&pg=PA229|year=2008|publisher=[[Pearson Education]]|location=[[Delhi]]|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|pages=229–233}}</ref> In the Late Harappan period there was a large migration of people from [[Gujarat]] to northern Maharashtra.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|title=Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002|isbn=0-520-24225-4|pages=87}}</ref>

Maharashtra was historically the name of a region which consisted of [[Aparanta]], [[Vidarbha]], Mulak, [[Assaka]] ([[Asmaka]]) and [[Kuntala country|Kuntala]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} In ancient times [[tribal communities]] of [[Bhil people]] inhabited this area, also known as [[Dandakaranya]].  

Linguists and archeologists believe it is likely Maharashtra was inhabited by [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] speakers during the middle [[Vedic period|Rigvedic period]],<ref>Witzel, Michael (2000). "The Languages of Harappa". In Kenoyer, J.. ''Proceedings of the conference on the Indus civilization.''</ref> which is determined from Dravidian place names in Maharashtra.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=1999|title=Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan (Ṛgvedic, Middle and Late Vedic)|url=https://crossasia-journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/ejvs/article/viewFile/828/806|journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies|volume=5|issue=1|pages=21}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=October 1999|title=Early Sources for South Asian Substrate Languages|url=https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/MT-Substrates.pdf|journal=Mother Tongue|pages=25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India:From the First Modern People to the Present Day|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-19-8829-05-8|pages=26}}</ref> Maharashtra region later became part of the [[Maurya Empire]] with [[Edicts of Ashoka|edicts]] of emperor [[Ashoka]] found in the region. Buddhism flourished during this period. Trade, including international trade with Greeks and later with the Roman empire, also flourished, with traders being the main patrons of Buddhist monasteries.<ref>Margabandhu, C. "Trade Contacts between Western India and the Graeco-Roman World in the early centuries of the Christian era." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient/Journal de l'histoire economique et sociale de l'Orient (1965): 316-322.</ref><ref>Rath, Jayanti. "Queens and Coins of India."</ref><ref>Deo, S. B. "The Genesis of Maharashtra History and Culture." Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute 43 (1984): 17-36.</ref> [[Indo-Scythians|Indo-Sythian]] [[Western Satraps]] ruled part of the region during the early part of the first millennium.<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay|date=1986|publisher=Asiatic Society of Bombay|page=219|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zgUAQAAMAAJ|language=en|quote=If Konow is right, then the length of time for Ksatrapa rule in the Nasik-Karla-Junnar region would be at least thirty-five years.}}</ref>

Between 800 and 1200 CE, parts of Western Maharashtra, including the [[Konkan]] region of Maharashtra, were ruled by different [[Shilahara]] houses based in North Konkan, South Konkan, and Kolhapur respectively.<ref>Sovani, N.V., 1951. Social Survey of Kolhapur City Vol. Ii-Industry, Trade And Labour,pp=2-4</ref> At different periods in their history, the Shilaharas served as the [[vassal]]s of either the Rashtrakutas or the Chalukyas.{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}}

The early period of Islamic rule saw atrocities such as imposition of [[Jizya]] tax on non-Muslims, temple destruction and forcible conversions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Cultural Politics in Modern India: Postcolonial prospects, colourful cosmopolitanism, global proximities|last1=Paranjape|first1=Makarand|date=19 January 2016|publisher=Routledge India|isbn=978-1-138-95692-6|pages=34, 35}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sultans of the South: Arts of India's Deccan Courts, 1323-1687|last1=Haidar|first1=Navina Najat|last2=Sardar|first2=Marika|date=27 December 2011|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-0-300-17587-5|page=186}}</ref> Eventually these incidents largely ceased. For most of this period [[Brahmin]]s were in charge of accounts, whereas revenue collection was in the hands of Marathas who had {{transliteration|mr|[[Vatandar|watans]]}} (hereditary rights) of [[Patil (title)|patil]]ki (revenue collection at village level) and [[deshmukh]]i (revenue collection over a larger area). A number of families such as [[Shinde]], [[Bhosale]], Shirke, Ghorpade, [[Jadhav]], More, [[Mahadik]], [[Kagal|Ghatge]] and [[Nimbalkar]] loyally served different sultans at different periods in time.<ref name="Chandra2005">{{cite book|author=Satish Chandra|title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rm9MC4DDrcC&pg=PA13|year=2005|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|isbn=978-81-241-1066-9|pages=188–189}}</ref> Since most of the population was Hindu and spoke Marathi, even sultans such as [[Ibrahim Adil Shah I]] adopted Marathi as the court language, for administration and record keeping.<ref name="jstor.org" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/bijapur/adilshahis.htm|title=The Adil Shahi Kingdom (1510 CE to 1686 CE)|last1=Kamat|first1=Jyotsna|website=Kamat's Potpourri|access-date=4 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="Gordon2007">{{cite book|author=Stewart Gordon|title=The Marathas 1600-1818|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C|date=1 February 2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-03316-9|page=16}}</ref>

After the break-up of the [[Bahamani]] sultanate in 1518, the Maharashtra region was split between five [[Deccan Sultanates]]: Nizamshah of [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate]], [[Adilshah]] of Bijapur, [[Qutubshah]] of Golkonda, [[Bidarshah]] of Bidar and [[Imadshah]] of Elichpur.<ref name="jstor.org">{{cite journal|last1=Kulkarni|first1=G.T.|title=Deccan (Maharashtra) Under the Muslim Rulers From Khaljis to Shivaji: A Study in Interaction, Professor S.M. Katre Felicitation|journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute|date=1992|volume=51/52|pages=501–510|jstor=42930434}}</ref> These kingdoms often fought with each other. United, they decisively defeated the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] of the south in 1565.<ref name="Saletore1934">{{cite book|author=Bhasker Anand Saletore|title=Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346-A.D. 1646)|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.530021|year=1934|publisher=B.G. Paul}}</ref> The present area of [[Mumbai]] was ruled by the [[Sultanate of Gujarat]] before its capture by [[Portugal]] in 1535.

The [[Faruqi dynasty]] ruled the [[Khandesh]] region between 1382 and 1601 before finally being annexed by the [[Mughal Empire]]. The Mughals under [[Akbar]] started capturing territories held by the Deccan sultanates towards the end of 16th century. This initiative continued under his successors for almost a century, when most of the present day area of Maharashtra came under Mughal control.<ref name="Roy2015">{{cite book|author=Kaushik Roy|title=Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500BCE to 1740CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xx7ICQAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|date=3 June 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-58692-0|page=136}}</ref> However, Mughal control was challenged multiple times during this period. Early in the century the resistance was led by [[Malik Ambar]], the regent of the [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate|Nizamshahi dynasty]] of [[Ahmednagar]] from 1607 to 1626.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Sketch of the Dynasties of Southern India|url=https://archive.org/details/asketchdynastie00sewegoog|year=1883|publisher=E. Keys|pages=[https://archive.org/details/asketchdynastie00sewegoog/page/n35 26]–28}}</ref> He increased the strength and power of [[Murtaza Nizam Shah II]] and raised a large army. Malik Ambar was a proponent of [[guerilla warfare]] in the Deccan region and was considered a great foe by Mughal emperor [[Jehangir]].<ref name="Rogers2011">{{cite book|author=J.A. Rogers|title=World's Great Men of Color, Volume I|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zqd-nLqwXdcC&pg=PA172|date=17 May 2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4516-5054-9|pages=172–174}}</ref> He assisted Mughal prince Khurram (later emperor [[Shah Jahan]]) in his struggle against his stepmother, [[Nur Jahan]], who had ambitions to secure the Delhi throne for her son-in-law.<ref>{{cite web|title=Malik Ambar (1548–1626): the rise and fall of military slavery|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/other/019pho0000303s1u00112000.html|publisher=British Library|access-date=12 September 2014}}</ref> In the second half of the 17th century, the Mughals were constantly challenged by the Marathas under Shivaji, and later his successors.{{sfn|Gordon, The Marathas|1993|pp=72-102}}

Shivaji was an able administrator and established a government that paid the genrals and ministers a salary rather than granting them Jagir (fiefs).<ref>PRÄNT, TARAF, SSDAROF SE, DSISDARO DIWAN, and SS DAR OF NORTH DIWAN. "MARATHA ADMINISTRATION." A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-eighteenth Century (2011): 322.[https://books.google.com/books?id=sxhAtCflwOMC&q=shivaji+administration&pg=PA322]</ref> He established an effective civil and military administration, built a powerful navy and erected new forts (e.g. [[Sindhudurg Fort]]) and strengthened old ones (e.g. [[Vijaydurg Fort]]) on the west coast of Maharashtra. He died around April 3, 1680, of [[dysentery]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoI8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA258|title=The Cambridge History of India|last1=Haig|first1=Wolseley|last2=Burn|first2=Richard|date=1962|publisher=CUP Archive|pages=384|language=en}}</ref>

After Shivaji died, Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]] [[Mughal–Maratha Wars|launched an attack]] on the Marathas that led to a military conflict lasting 27 years. This period saw the conquest bt the mughals of  the remaining Deccan sultanates of Adilshahi and Qutbshahi.It also saw the capture and death of Shivaji's son and successor, Sambhaji at the hands of the Mughals.The death of Aurangzeb in 1707 ended the conflict, and initiated the decline of the [[Mughal Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbmT_Tv-VGUC&pg=PA93|title=History of India from the Earliest Period to the Close of the East India Company's Government|last=Marshman|first=John Clark|date=2010-11-18|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-02104-3|pages=93|language=en}}</ref>

During much of the 18th century, the [[Maratha Peshwa and Generals from Bhat Family|Peshwa]]s, belonging to the (Bhat) [[Deshmukh]] Marathi [[Chitpavan Brahmin]] family, controlled the Maratha army and later became the hereditary heads of the [[Maratha Empire]] from 1749 to 1818.<ref>Shirgaonkar, Varsha S. "Eighteenth Century Deccan: Cultural History of the Peshwas." Aryan Books International, New Delhi (2010). {{ISBN|978-81-7305-391-7}}</ref> During their reign, the Maratha empire reached its zenith in 1760, dominating most of the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref>Shirgaonkar, Varsha S. "Peshwyanche Vilasi Jeevan." (Luxurious Life of Peshwas) Continental Prakashan, Pune (2012). {{ISBN|81-7421-063-6}}</ref><ref name="pearson">{{cite journal |last=Pearson |first=M.N. |date=February 1976 |title=Shivaji and the Decline of the Mughal Empire |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=221–235 |doi=10.2307/2053980 |jstor=2053980|s2cid=162482005 }}</ref><ref name="google3">{{cite book|title=Delhi, the Capital of India|author=Capper, J.|date=1918|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1282-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqqBPS1TDUgC&pg=PA28|page=28|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="google4">{{cite book|title=An Advanced History of Modern India|author=Sen, S.N.|date=2010|publisher=Macmillan India|isbn=978-0-230-32885-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&pg=PA1941-IA82|page=1941|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> [[Bajirao I]], a prominent [[Peshwa]] (general), was only 20 when appointed Peshwa. For his campaigns in North India, he actively promoted young leaders of his own age such as [[Ranoji Shinde]], [[Malharrao Holkar]], the [[Dewas State|Puar brothers]] and [[Pilaji Gaekwad]]. These leaders also did not come from the traditional aristocratic families of Maharashtra.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gordon|first1=Stewart|title=The Marathas 1600-1818.|date=2008|publisher=Cambridge Univ Pr|location=Cambridge [u.a.]|isbn=978-0-521-03316-9|pages=117–121|edition=Digitally print. 1. pbk. version.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C&q=+holkar+shinde+shahu&pg=PA120}}</ref> All the young leaders chosen by Bajirao I or their descendants later became rulers in their own right during the Maratha Confederacy era. Historian K.K. Datta argues that Bajirao I "may very well be regarded as the second founder of the Maratha Empire".<ref>''[[An Advanced History of India]]'', Dr. K.K. Datta, p. 546</ref>

By 1760, the domain of the Marathas stretched across most of the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="ansar">[https://books.google.com/books?id=XRpFol4AnO0C&pg=PA133 The Rediscovery of India: A New Subcontinent] Cite: ''"Swarming up from the Himalayas, the Marathas now ruled from the Indus and Himalayas in the north to the south tip of the peninsula. They were either masters directly or they took tribute."''</ref> The Marathas even discussed abolishing the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal throne]] and placing Peshwa [[Vishwasrao]] on the Mughal imperial throne in [[Delhi]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QO4KjzuJ52QC&q=vishwasrao+peshwa+throne+delhi&pg=PA130|title=Islamic Renaissance In South Asia (1707–1867): The Role Of Shah Waliallah & His Successors|last=M.A.Ghazi|date=24 July 2018|publisher=Adam Publishers & Distributors|via=Google Books|isbn=978-81-7435-400-6}}</ref> At its peak, the empire stretched from [[Tamil Nadu]]{{sfnp|Mehta|2005|p=204}} in the south, to [[Maratha conquest of North-west India|Peshawar]] (modern-day [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Pakistan]]<ref name="XWiACEwPR8C p.16">{{cite book|author=Sailendra Nath Sen|title=An Advanced History of Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXWiACEwPR8C&pg=PR22|year=2010|publisher=Macmillan India|isbn=978-0-230-32885-3|page=16}}</ref> {{#tag:ref|Many historians consider [[Attock]] to be the final frontier of the Maratha Empire<ref>Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bharatiya Itihasa Samiti, Ramesh Chandra Majumdar – ''[[The History and Culture of the Indian People]]: The Maratha supremacy''</ref>|group=note}}) in the north, and [[Maratha expeditions in Bengal|Bengal]] in the east. The Northwestern expansion of the Marathas was stopped after the [[Third Battle of Panipat]] (1761). However, the [[Maratha Resurrection|Maratha authority in the north was re-established]] within a decade under Peshwa [[Madhavrao I]].<ref>{{cite book|author=N.G. Rathod|title=The Great Maratha Mahadaji Scindia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPq640stHJ0C&pg=PA8|year=1994|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-85431-52-9|page=8}}</ref> Under Madhavrao I, the strongest knights were granted semi-autonomy, creating a confederacy of Maratha states led by the [[Gaekwad]]s of [[Baroda State|Baroda]], the [[Holkar]]s of [[Indore State|Indore]] and [[Malwa]], the [[Scindia]]s of [[Gwalior State|Gwalior]] and [[Ujjain]], the [[Bhonsale]]s of [[Nagpur kingdom|Nagpur]] and the [[Paramara dynasty|Puars]] of [[Dhar State|Dhar]] and [[Dewas State (Maratha Confederacy)|Dewas]].

Shivaji developed a potent [[Maratha Navy|Naval force]] during his rule. In the early part of the 1700s, under the leadership of [[Kanhoji Angre]], this navy dominated the territorial waters of the western coast of India from [[Bilimora]], [[Gujarat]]<ref>{{cite book|title=280 years ago, Baroda had its own Navy|work=The Times of India|date=27 September 2010 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/280-years-ago-Baroda-had-its-own-Navy/articleshow/6638897.cms}}</ref> to [[Savantwadi]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sridharan|first1=K|title=Sea: Our Saviour|publisher=New Age International (P) Ltd.|isbn=978-81-224-1245-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9PiwJF7V4EQC&q=kanhoji+angre&pg=PA43|year=2000}}</ref> It attacked [[Company Rule in India|British]], [[Portuguese India|Portuguese]], [[Dutch India|Dutch]] and [[Siddi]] Naval ships and kept a check on their naval ambitions. The [[Maratha Navy]] was dominant in the area until around the 1730s, was in a state of decline by the 1770s and ceased to exist by 1818.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sharma|first1=Yogesh|title=Coastal Histories: Society and Ecology in Pre-modern India|publisher=Primus Books|isbn=978-93-80607-00-9|pages=66|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTTGWSme30YC&q=maratha+dhulap+navy&pg=PA66|year=2010}}</ref>

{{Further|British Raj|Bombay Presidency|}}

The [[British Raj]] saw standardization of [[Marathi language|Marathi grammar]] through the efforts of the Christian missionary [[William Carey (missionary)|William Carey]]. Carey also published the first dictionary of Marathi in [[devanagari]] script. The most comprehensive Marathi-English dictionary was compiled by Captain [[James Thomas Molesworth]] and Major [[Thomas Candy]] in 1831. The book is still in print nearly two centuries after its publication.<ref>{{cite book|first1=James|last1= Molesworth|first2= Thomas|last2= Candy|author3=Narayan G Kalelkar|title=Molesworth's Marathi-English dictionary|year=1857 |edition=2nd <!-- |year=1975 corrected reprint -->|publisher=J.C. Furla, Shubhada Saraswat Prakashan|location=Pune|isbn=978-81-86411-57-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owHmI3qi_BIC&q=william+carey+printing++marathi+sharma+modi&pg=PP7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/molesworth/|title=A dictionary, Marathi and English. 2d ed., rev. and enl|last=Molesworth|first=J. T. (James Thomas)|date=1857|website=dsal.uchicago.edu|access-date=2019-06-29}}</ref> [[James Thomas Molesworth|Molesworth]] also worked on standardizing Marathi. He used Brahmins of [[Pune]] for this task and adopted the Sanskrit-dominated dialect spoken by this caste in the city as the standard dialect for Marathi.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chavan|first1=Dilip|title=Language politics under colonialism: caste, class and language pedagogy in western India|date=2013|publisher=Cambridge Scholars|location=Newcastle upon Tyne|isbn=978-1-4438-4250-1|pages=136–184|edition=first|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zuIxBwAAQBAJ&q=poona+marathi&pg=PA148|access-date=13 December 2016}},</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Natarajan|editor-first1=Nalini |last=Deo|first=Shripad D.|title=Handbook of twentieth century literatures of India|date=1996|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT |isbn=978-0-313-28778-7|page=212 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lTnv6o-d_oC&q=pune+culture+theatre+movies&pg=PA207}}</ref>

People from Maharashtra played an important part 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 by Marathi leaders during 19th century include the [[Poona Sarvajanik Sabha]], the [[Prarthana samaj|Prarthana Samaj]], the Arya Mahila Samaj and the [[Satya Shodhak Samaj]]. The Sarvajanik Sabha took an active part in relief efforts during the famine of 1875–76, and is considered the forerunner of the [[Indian National Congress]] established in 1885.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Gordon|title=Provincial Politics and Indian nationalism: Bombay and the Indian National Congress, 1880 - 1915|date=1973|publisher=Univ. Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-20259-6|page=92|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4kaZV5CdzsAC&q=poona+sarvajanik+congress&pg=PR6|access-date=20 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Roy|editor-first1=Ramashray|title=India's 2004 elections: grass-roots and national perspectives|date=2007|publisher=Sage|location=New Delhi [u.a.]|isbn=978-0-7619-3516-2|pages=87|edition=1. publ.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0gS9XKBfi50C&q=+sarvajanik+sabha&pg=PA86|access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref> The most prominent personalities of Indian Nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th century were [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]] and [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], who were on opposite sides of the political spectrum, were both from Pune. Tilak was instrumental in using Shivaji and [[Ganesha]] worship to forge a collective Maharashtrian identity for Marathi people.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Kosambi|editor-first1=Meera |last=Lane|first=James |title=Intersections: socio-cultural trends in Maharashtra |chapter=A Question of Maharashtrian identity|date=2000|publisher=Sangam|location=London|isbn=978-0-86311-824-1|pages=59–70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XU8dmAiaZSgC&q=shivaji+maharashtra+ramdas+mahipati&pg=PA59}}</ref> The Marathi social reformers of the colonial era include [[Mahatma Jyotirao Phule]], his wife [[Savitribai Phule]], [[Justice Ranade]], feminist [[Tarabai Shinde]], [[Dhondo Keshav Karve]], [[Vitthal Ramji Shinde]] and [[Pandita Ramabai]].<ref>Ramachandra Guha, "The Other Liberal Light," [http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/magazine/104203/the-other-liberal-light ''New Republic'' 22 June 2012]</ref> Jyotirao Phule was a pioneer in opening schools for girls and Marathi [[dalits]] castes.

The non-Brahmin Hindu castes of Maharashtra started organizing at the beginning of the 20th century with the blessing of [[Shahu of Kolhapur]]. The campaign took off in the early 1920s under the leadership of [[Keshavrao Jedhe]] and Baburao Javalkar. Both belonged to the Non-Brahmin party. Their early goals included capturing the [[Ganpati]] and [[Shiv Jayanti]] festivals from Brahmin domination.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hansen|first1=Thomas Blom|title=Wages of violence: naming and identity in postcolonial Bombay|date=2002|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, N.J.|isbn=978-0-691-08840-2|page=33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-y3iNt0djbQC&q=pune&pg=PA31|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref> They combined nationalism with anti-[[Caste system in India|casteism]] as the party's aims.<ref>Omvedt, G., 1973. Non-Brahmans and Communists in Bombay. Economic and Political Weekly, pp.749-759.</ref>

In the 1930s, Jedhe merged the non-Brahmin party with the Congress party, changing it from an upper-caste dominated body to a more broadly based but also [[Maratha]]-dominated party.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Omvedt|first1=Gail|title=Non-Brahmans and Nationalists in Poona|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=1974|volume=9|issue=6/8|pages=201–219|jstor=4363419}}</ref> Another notable Marathi figure of the time was [[B. R. Ambedkar]], who led the campaign for the rights of [[Dalit]]s, a caste that included his own [[Mahar]] caste. Ambedkar disagreed with mainstream leaders like Gandhi on issues including [[untouchability]], the government system and the [[partition of India]]. He initiated the [[Dalit Buddhist movement]], creating a new [[school of Buddhism]] called [[Navayana]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yYInC70BSEgC&pg=PA10|title=Religious Converts in India: Socio-political Study of Neo-Buddhists|last=Shastree|first=Uttara|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=1996|isbn=978-81-7099-629-3|pages=1–20|language=en}}</ref> leading to the Dalit movement that still endures. As the nation's first [[Ministry of Law and Justice (India)|Law and Justice Minister]], Ambedkar played a pivotal role in writing the [[constitution of India]] and is considered the ''Father of the Indian Constitution''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/facts.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511104514/http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/facts.htm|archive-date=2011-05-11|title=Some Facts of Constituent Assembly|date=2011-05-11|access-date=2019-07-30|quote=On 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India.}}</ref>

By the end of the 19th century a modern manufacturing industry was developing in the city of Mumbai.<ref>Majumdar, Sumit K. (2012), India's Late, Late Industrial Revolution: Democratizing Entrepreneurship, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|1-107-01500-6}}, retrieved 2013-12-07</ref> The main product was cotton and the bulk of work force in these [[cotton mills]] was from Western Maharashtra, specifically from the coastal Konkan region.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kd1CDgAAQBAJ&q=marathi+labor&pg=PR7|title=Rival Claims: Ethnic Violence and Territorial Autonomy Under Indian Federalism|last1=Lacina|first1=Bethany Ann|date=2017|publisher=University of Michigan press|isbn=978-0-472-13024-5|location=Ann arbor, MI, USA|page=129}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Morris|first1=David|title=Emergence of an Industrial Labor Force in India: A Study of the Bombay Cotton Mills, 1854-1947|date=1965|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-00885-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/emergenceofindus0000morr/page/63 63]|url=https://archive.org/details/emergenceofindus0000morr|url-access=registration|quote=konkan.}}</ref> The census recorded for the city in the first half of the 20th century showed that nearly half the population of the city listed Marathi as their mother tongue.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chandavarkar|first1=Rajnarayan|title=The origins of industrial capitalism in India business strategies and the working classes in Bombay, 1900-1940|date=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge [England]|isbn=978-0-521-52595-4|page=33|edition=1st pbk.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFa5tb75QUsC&q=marathi&pg=PR10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Gugler|editor-first1=Josef|title=World cities beyond the West: globalization, development, and inequality|date=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-83003-4|page=334|edition=Repr.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lw3iPzyfpdQC&q=marathi&pg=PA328}}</ref>

After India's independence, the [[Deccan States]], including [[Kolhapur]], were integrated into [[Bombay State]], which was created from the former Bombay Presidency in 1950.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Kolhapur City|url=http://www.kolhapurcorporation.gov.in/english/Ancient_Historical_Places.html|publisher=Kolhapur Corporation|access-date=12 September 2014}}</ref> In 1956, the [[States Reorganisation Act]] reorganized the Indian states along linguistic lines, and Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of the predominantly [[Marathi language|Marathi]]-speaking regions on [[Marathwada]] ([[Aurangabad Division]]) from erstwhile [[Hyderabad state]] and [[Vidarbha]] region from the [[Central Provinces and Berar]]. The southernmost part of Bombay State was ceded to [[Karnataka|Mysore]]. [[File:Bombay 1956-1960.svg|thumb|The enlarged bilingual [[Bombay state]] between 1956 and 1960|alt=|left]]From 1954 to 1955, the people of Marathi speaking areas strongly protested against being included in the bilingual [[Bombay state]]. In response, the [[Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti|Samyukta Maharashtra Movement]] was formed to fight for a united Maharashtra for the Marathi people.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Radheshyam Jadhav|title=Samyukta Maharashtra movement|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Pune-pioneered-Samyukta-Maharashtra-movement/articleshow/5874479.cms|access-date=12 September 2014|work=[[The Times of India]]|agency=Bennet, Coleman & Co. Ltd.|publisher=[[The Times Group]]|date=30 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Samyukta Maharashtra movement|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-what-is-the-samyukta-maharashtra-movement-1983811|access-date=12 September 2014|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|agency=Diligent Media Corporation|publisher=Dainik Bhaskar Group|date=1 May 2014}}</ref> The [[Mahagujarat Movement]] also advocated for a separate [[Gujarat]] state. [[Annabhau Sathe]], [[Keshavrao Jedhe]], [[S.M. Joshi]], [[Shripad Amrit Dange]], [[Pralhad Keshav Atre]] and [[Gopalrao Khedkar|Gopalrao]] Khedkar were prominent activists in the campaign to create a separate state of Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital. On 1 May 1960, following mass protests and 105 deaths, Bombay State was divided into the new states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bhagwat|first1=Ramu |title=Linguistic states|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/People-dont-want-Vidarbha-to-be-treated-as-colony-of-Maharashtra/articleshow/21564818.cms|access-date=12 September 2014|work=[[The Times of India]]|agency=Bennet, Coleman & Co. Ltd.|publisher=[[The Times Group]]|date=3 August 2013}}</ref>

The state continues to have a dispute with [[Karnataka]], to the south, over the regions of [[Belgaum]] and [[Karwar]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Banerjee|first1=S|title=The Saffron Wave: The Eleventh General Elections in Maharashtra|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=1997|volume=32|issue=40|pages=2551–2560|jstor=4405925}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sirsikar|first1=V.M.|title=Politics in Maharashtra, Problems and Prospects|date=1966|publisher=University of Poona|location=Poona|page=8|url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAD260.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Belgaum border dispute|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140730/nation-current-affairs/article/belgaum-border-dispute-karnataka-govt-warns-against-taking-law|access-date=12 September 2014|work=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|agency=Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited|date=30 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://indiankanoon.org/doc/1211891/ |title=The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 |website=Indiankanoon.org |access-date=2016-02-27}}</ref> Some Marathi-majority talukas were also transferred to the [[Adilabad district|Adilabad]], Medak, Nizamabad and Mahaboobnagar districts of new Telugu State (now [[Telangana]]), to the east of Maharashtra, in 1956.

The [[Indian National Congress|Congress party]] and its allies have ruled the state for the major part during the state's existence. After the brief tenures of [[Yashwantrao Chavan]], who was inducted as defence minister by Prime minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]], and [[Marotrao Kannamwar]], who died after one year in office, [[Vasantrao Naik]] was Chief minister from 1963 to 1975.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brass|first1=Paul R.|title=The politics of India since independence|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=[New Delhi]|isbn=978-0-521-54305-7|page=127|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dtKe6XV8z7wC&q=maharashtra+caste&pg=PR10|access-date=1 February 2017}}</ref> The politics of the state in this period was also dominated by leaders such as Yashwantrao Chavan, [[Vasantdada Patil]], [[Vasantrao Naik]], and [[Shankarrao Chavan]].

[[Sharad Pawar]] became a significant personality within the state in 1978 when he broke away from the Congress party to form an alliance government with the [[Janata party]]. During his career, Pawar split Congress twice, with significant consequences for state politics.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wilkinson|first1=Steven|title=Elections in India: Behind the Congress Comeback|journal=Journal of Democracy|date=January 2005|volume=16|issue=1|pages=153–167|doi=10.1353/jod.2005.0018|s2cid=154957863}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kamat|first1=AR|title=Politico-economic developments in Maharashtra: a review of the post-independence period, - JSTOR|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=October 1980|volume=15|issue=40|pages=1669–1678|jstor=4369147}}</ref> In 1999, after his dispute with the party president [[Sonia Gandhi]] over her foreign origins, in 1999, Pawar left the party and formed the [[Nationalist Congress Party]] (NCP). The party, however, joined a [[Indian National Congress|Congress]]-led coalition to form the state government after the 1999 Assembly elections.

The Congress party enjoyed a nearly unchallenged dominance of the state political landscape, until 1995 when the coalition of [[Shiv Sena]] and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) secured an overwhelming majority in the state, beginning a period of coalition governments.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Palshikar |first1=S|last2=Birmal|first2=N|title=Maharashtra: Towards a New Party System|journal=Economic and Political Weekly |date=18 December 2004|volume=39|issue=51|pages=5467–5472|jstor=4415934}}</ref> Shiv Sena was the larger party in the coalition. From 1999 until 2014, the NCP and INC formed one coalition while Shiv Sena and the BJP formed another for three successive elections, which the INC-NCP alliance won. [[Prithviraj Chavan]] of the Congress party was the last Chief Minister of Maharashtra under the Congress-NCP alliance that ruled until 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.firstpost.com/politics/clean-yet-invisible-prithviraj-chavan-quits-as-maharashtra-cm-did-anyone-notice-1732223.html|title=Clean yet invisible: Prithviraj Chavan quits as CM, did anyone notice?|work=[[Firstpost]]|date=27 September 2014|access-date=29 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/prithviraj-chavan-rivals-narayan-rane-maharashtra-assembly-polls/1/377333.html|title=Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan's rivals get key posts for Assembly polls|work=[[India Today]]|date=16 August 2014|access-date=29 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main52.asp?filename=Ne280412Coverstory.asp|title=Right man in the wrong polity|work=[[Tehelka]]|date=28 April 2012|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006113537/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main52.asp?filename=Ne280412Coverstory.asp|archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>

The [[Indian National Congress|INC]] during its rule enjoyed overwhelming support from the state's influential [[Cooperative sugar factories in Maharashtra|sugar co-operatives]], as well as thousands of other cooperatives, such as rural agricultural cooperatives involved in the marketing of dairy and vegetable produce, [[credit union]]s, etc.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brass|first1=Paul R.|title=The politics of India since independence|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=[New Delhi]|isbn=978-0-521-54305-7|page=142|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dtKe6XV8z7wC&pg=PR10|access-date=1 February 2017}}</ref>

For the better part of its existence, politics of the state was also dominated by the mainly rural [[Maratha]]–[[Kunbi]] caste,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mishra|first1=Sumita|title=Grassroot politics in India|date=2000|publisher=Mittal Publications|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-7099-732-0|page=27|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o9kQcBmKcOsC&pg=PA27}}</ref> which accounts for 31% of the population of Maharashtra. They dominated the cooperative institutions; and with the resultant economic power, and controlled politics from the village level up to the Assembly and [[Lok Sabha]].<ref name="Routledge">{{cite book|last1=Vora|first1=Rajendra|editor1-last=Kumar|editor1-first=Sanjay|editor2-last=Jaffrelot|editor2-first=Christophe|title=Rise of the plebeians?: the changing face of Indian legislative assemblies|date=2009|publisher=Routledge|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-0-415-46092-7|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78rfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|chapter=Chapter 7 Maharashtra or Maratha Rashtra}}</ref><ref name="Popular Prakashan">{{cite book|editor1-last=Kulkarni|editor1-first=A.R.|editor2-last=Wagle|editor2-first=N.K.|last1=Sirsikar|first1=V.M.|title=State intervention and popular response: western India in the nineteenth century|date=1999|publisher=Popular Prakashan|location=Mumbai|isbn=978-81-7154-835-4|page=9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t7f0JEWk6HMC&pg=PR7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Maratha morcha: Over 150 MLAs, MLCs set to join the march in Nagpur on Wednesday|url=http://www.firstpost.com/politics/maratha-morcha-over-150-mlas-mlcs-set-to-join-the-march-in-nagpur-on-wednesday-3154804.html|access-date=27 October 2017|work=Firstpost|date=13 December 2016}}</ref> Major past political figures of the Congress party from Maharashtra—such as [[Keshavrao Jedhe]], [[Yashwantrao Chavan]],<ref name="Popular Prakashan"/> [[Shankarrao Chavan]], [[Vilasrao Deshmukh]], and Sharad Pawar—have been from this group. Of the 18 [[List of Chief Ministers of Maharashtra|Chief Ministers]] so far, as many as 10 (55%) have been Maratha.<ref name="A quota for the ruling class">{{cite news|last1=Kakodkar|first1=Priyanka|title=A quota for the ruling class|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-quota-for-the-ruling-class/article6163911.ece|access-date=27 October 2017|work=The Hindu|date=1 July 2014|language=en-IN}}</ref> Since the 1980s, this group has also been active in setting up private educational institutions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dahiwale|first1=S. M.|title=Consolidation of Maratha Dominance in Maharashtra Economic and Political Weekly |date=February 1995 |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=30|issue=6|pages=336–342|jstor=4402382}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kurtz|first1=Donald V.|title=Contradictions and conflict: a dialectical political anthropology of a University in Western India|date=1994|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden [u.a.]|isbn=978-90-04-09828-2|page=50|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0X5DquN8LkIC&pg=PR7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Language and society: steps towards an integrated theory|last1=Singh|first1=R.|last2=Lele|first2=J.K.|date=1989|publisher=E.J. Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-08789-7|pages=32–42|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PLiAlGzLFQC&q=chitpavan}}</ref>

In the 1980s, Shiv Sena and the BJP parties began gaining a foothold in the state especially in the urban areas such as Mumbai. The Shiv Sena was formed in the 1960s by [[Bal Thackeray|Balashaheb Thackerey]], a cartoonist and journalist, to advocate and agitate for the interests of [[Marathi people]] in [[Mumbai]]. In its early years in the late 1960s, the party specifically targeted immigrants to Mumbai from South India.<ref>Subramanian, R.R., A Tale of Two Cities: Reconstructing the 'Bajao Pungi, Hatao Lungi'campaign in Bombay, and the Birth of the 'Other'. Editorial Note, p.37.[http://subversions.tiss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/3_Reetika-Subramanian_SubVersions-Vol-3-Issue-2-final.pdf]</ref> Over the following decades, the party slowly expanded its base, and took over the then Bombay corporation in the 1980s. The original base of the party was lower middle and working class Marathi people in Mumbai and surrounding urban areas. The leadership of the party came from educated upper caste Maharashtrians. However, since 1990s, strong men have emerged who control their local areas through intimidation and extortion. This has phenomenon has been named "dada-ization"  of the party.<ref name="Hansen2018">{{cite book|author=Thomas Blom Hansen|title=Wages of Violence: Naming and Identity in Postcolonial Bombay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bf5ZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|date=5 June 2018|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-18862-1|pages=102–103}}</ref><ref name="JaffrelotKumar2012">{{cite book|author1=Christophe Jaffrelot|author2=Sanjay Kumar|title=Rise of the Plebeians?: The Changing Face of the Indian Legislative Assemblies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78rfCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA240|date=4 May 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-51662-7|pages=240–}}</ref>

Prior to Indian independence, manufacturing industry in what became Maharashtra was based mainly in the city of Mumbai. After the formation of Maharashtra, the state government established the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation ([[MIDC]]) in 1962 to spur growth in other areas of the state. In the decades since its formation, MIDC has acted as the primary industrial infrastructure development agency of the government of Maharashtra. Since its inception, MIDC has established at least one industrial area in every district of the state.<ref>Anand, V., 2004. Multi-party accountability for environmentally sustainable industrial development: the challenge of active citizenship. PRIA Study Report, no. 4, March 2004.[https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/12505/anand_2004_multi-party.pdf?sequence=1]</ref> The areas with biggest industrial growth were the Pune metropolitan region and areas close to Mumbai such as [[Thane district]] and [[Raigad district]].<ref name="hindu">{{cite news|last=Menon|first=Sudha|title=Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt: Placing Pune at the front|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/2002/03/30/stories/2002033000801300.htm|access-date=29 January 2012|newspaper=The Hindu Business Line|date=30 March 2002}}</ref> After the [[Economic liberalisation in India|1991 economic liberalization]], Maharashtra began to attract foreign capital, particularly in the information technology and engineering industries. The late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century saw huge development in the Information Technology sector, and IT Parks were set up in [[Aundh (Pune)|Aundh]], and [[Hinjawadi|Hinjewadi]] areas of Pune.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Heitzman|first1=James|title=The city in South Asia|date=2008|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-57426-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/cityinsouthasia0000heit/page/218 218]|url=https://archive.org/details/cityinsouthasia0000heit|url-access=registration|quote=pune.|access-date=14 November 2016}}</ref>

Maharashtra has hundreds of private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. Most of the private colleges were set up after the State Government of [[Vasantdada Patil]] liberalised the Education Sector in 1982.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bhosale|first1=Jayashree|title=Economic Times: Despite private participation Education lacks quality in Maharashtra|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2007-11-10/news/27682218_1_educational-institutes-education-barons-professional-education|access-date=6 October 2014|date=10 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010054204/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2007-11-10/news/27682218_1_educational-institutes-education-barons-professional-education|archive-date=10 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Politicians and leaders involved in the huge cooperative movement in Maharashtra were instrumental in setting up the private institutes<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dahiwale |date=February 1995 |first1=S. M.|title=Consolidation of Maratha Dominance in Maharashtra|journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=30|issue=6|pages=341–342|jstor=4402382}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Baviskar|first1=B. S.|title=Cooperatives in Maharashtra: Challenges Ahead|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=2007|volume=42|issue=42|pages=4217–4219|jstor=40276570}}</ref>

Maharashtra was a pioneer in the development of [[Agricultural Cooperative]] Societies after independence. In fact, it was an integral part of the then Governing [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] party's vision of 'rural development with local initiative'. A 'special' status was accorded to the [[sugar]] cooperatives and the government assumed the role of a mentor by acting as a stakeholder, guarantor and regulator,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lalvani|first1=Mala|title=Sugar Co-operatives in Maharashtra: A Political Economy Perspective|journal=The Journal of Development Studies|date=2008|volume= 44|issue=10|doi=10.1080/00220380802265108|pages=1474–1505|s2cid=154425894}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Patil |first=Anil |url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/jul/09sugar.htm |title=Sugar cooperatives on death bed in Maharashtra |publisher=Rediff India |date=9 July 2007 |access-date=27 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828234602/http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/jul/09sugar.htm |archive-date=28 August 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="helsinki">{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/papers2/Das72.pdf|date=18 July 2006|publisher=XIV International Economic History Congress, Helsinki 2006, Session 72|title=Problems and Prospects of the Cooperative Movement in India Under the Globalization Regime|author1=Banishree Das|author2=Nirod Kumar Palai|author3=Kumar Das|name-list-style=amp|access-date=28 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924051908/http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/papers2/Das72.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Apart from sugar, Cooperatives played a crucial role in dairy,<ref>{{cite web|title=Mahanand Dairy|url=http://www.mahanand.in/Index.aspx?mid=1|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124105202/http://mahanand.in/Index.aspx?mid=1|archive-date=24 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> cotton, and fertiliser industries.

Support by the state government led to more than 25,000 cooperatives being set up by 1990s in Maharashtra.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dahiwale |first1=S. M. |title=Consolidation of Maratha Dominance in Maharashtra |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |date=11 February 1995 |volume=30 |issue=6 |pages=340–342 |jstor=4402382 }}</ref>

Other reasons included the difficulty of farming semi-arid regions, poor [[agricultural]] income, absence of alternative income opportunities, and the absence of suitable counselling services.<ref>Gruère, G. & Sengupta, D. (2011), Bt cotton and farmer suicides in India: an evidence-based assessment, The Journal of [[Development Studies]], 47(2), 316–337</ref><ref>Schurman, R. (2013), Shadow space: suicides and the predicament of rural India, [[Journal of Peasant Studies]], 40(3), 597–601</ref><ref>Das, A. (2011), Farmers' suicide in India: implications for public mental health, International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 57(1), 21–29</ref><ref name="Mishra, Srijit 2007">{{cite web|title=Risks, Farmers' Suicides and Agrarian Crisis in India: Is There A Way Out?|author=Mishra, Srijit|publisher=[[Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research]] (IGIDR)|year=2007|url=http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2007-014.pdf}}</ref><ref name = "Gruere">{{cite web|url=http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp00808.pdf|year=2008|title=Bt Cotton and Farmer Suicides in India: Reviewing the Evidence|author=Guillaume P. Gruère, Purvi Mehta-Bhatt and Debdatta Sengupta|publisher=International Food Policy Research Institute}}</ref><ref name="Nagraj">{{cite web|author=Nagraj, K.|year=2008|title=Farmers suicide in India: magnitudes, trends and spatial patterns|url=http://www.macroscan.com/anl/mar08/pdf/Farmers_Suicides.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512173317/http://www.macroscan.com/anl/mar08/pdf/Farmers_Suicides.pdf|archive-date=12 May 2011}}</ref> In 2004, the Mumbai High Court commissioned a report from the [[Tata Institute of Social Sciences|Tata Institute]] on the phenomenon.<ref name="InfoChange">Staff, [[InfoChange]] August 2005. {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20120516012923/http://infochangeindia.org/agriculture/books-a-reports/644-farmer-suicides-in-maharashtra-since-2001-says-tiss-report.html 644 farmer suicides in Maharashtra since 2001, says TISS report]}}</ref><ref name=TataReport>Dandekar A, et al, Tata Institute. [http://www.vnss-mission.gov.in/htmldocs/Farmers_suicide_TISS_report.pdf Causes of Farmer Suicides in Maharashtra: An Enquiry. Final Report Submitted to the Mumbai High Court 15 March 2005] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809074417/http://vnss-mission.gov.in/htmldocs/Farmers_suicide_TISS_report.pdf |date=9 August 2013 }}</ref> The report cited "government's lack of interest, the absence of a safety net for farmers, and lack of access to information related to agriculture as the chief causes for the desperate condition of farmers in the state."<ref name="InfoChange" />

* {{cite book|last1=Eaton|first1=Richard M.|title=The new Cambridge history of India.|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-25484-7|page=154|edition=1. publ.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cGd2huLXEVYC&q=marathi&pg=PR12|access-date=25 March 2016}}

* {{citation |last=Gordon |first=Stewart |author-link=Stewart N. Gordon |title=The Marathas 1600–1818 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHK-BhVXOU4C |date=1993 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-26883-7 |ref={{sfnref|Gordon, The Marathas|1993}}}}

* {{Citation |title=Food security&nbsp;– by definition |first=P |last=Sainath |author-link=Palagummi Sainath |newspaper=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/food-security-by-definition/article596311.ece?ref=relatedNews |access-date=5 October 2010 |location=Chennai, India |date=27 August 2010}}