Pune is the 9th most populous city in India and is the second largest in terms of population in the state of Maharashtra.
Although the area around Pune has history going back millennia, the more recent history of the city is closely related to the rise of the Maratha Empire from the 17th–18th century. Pune first came under Maratha control in the early 1600s when Maloji Bhosale was granted fiefdom of Pune by the Nizam Shahi of Ahmednagar. When Maloji's son, Shahaji had to join campaigns in distant southern India for the Adil Shahi sultanate, he selected Pune for the residence of his wife, Jijabai and younger son, Shivaji (1630-1680), the future founder of the Maratha Empire.Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind. "The Religious Complex in Eighteenth-Century Poona." Journal of the American Oriental Society 105, no. 4 (1985): 719-24. Accessed July 30, 2021. doi:10.2307/602730.|page=719|quote=Shivaji spent his childhood in pune with his mother jijabai and mentor Dadoji Kondeo where the family was housed in an unpretentious house. Although Shivaji spent part of his childhood and teenage years in Pune, the actual control of the Pune region shifted between the Bhosale family of Shivaji, the Adil Shahi dynasty, and the Mughals.
In the early 1700s, Pune and its surrounding areas were granted to the newly appointed Maratha Peshwa, Balaji Vishwanath by Chhatrapati Shahu, grandson of Shivaji. Balaji Vishwanath's son, and successor as the Peshwa, Bajirao I made Pune as his seat of administration. This spurred growth in the city during Bajirao's rule which was continued by his descendants for the best part of 18th century. The city was a political and commercial center of the Indian subcontinent during that period. This period came to an end with the Marathas losing to the British East India Company during the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818.
After the fall of Peshwa rule in 1818, the British East India Company made the city one of its major military bases. They established military cantonments in the eastern part of the city, and another one at nearby Khadki. The city was known by the name of Poona during British rule and for a few decades after Indian independence. The company rule came to an end when in 1858, under the terms of the 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. British rule in the city for more than a century saw huge changes in the social, political, economic, and cultural life of the city. These included the introduction of railways, telegraph, roads, modern education, hospitals and social changes. Prior to the British takeover, the city was confined to the eastern bank of the Mutha river. Since then, the city has grown on both sides of the river. During British rule, Pune was made into the monsoon capital of the Bombay presidency. Palaces, parks, a golf course, a racecourse, and a boating lake were some of the facilities that were constructed to accommodate the leisurely pursuits of the ruling British elites of the Bombay presidency that stayed in the city during the monsoon season, and the military personnel. In the 19th and early 20th century, Pune was the center of social reform, and at the turn of the 20th century, the center of nationalism. For the latter, it was considered by the British as the center of political unrest against their rule. The social reform movement by Jyotiba Phule in the latter half of 1800s saw establishment of schools for girls as well as for the Dalits. In 1890s, nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak promoted public celebration of the Ganesh festival as a hidden means for political activism, intellectual discourse, poetry recitals, plays, concerts, and folk dances.
The post-independence era after 1947 saw Pune turning from a mid-size city to a large metropolis. Industrial development started in the outlining areas of the city such as Hadapsar, Bhosari, and Pimpri in the 1950s. The first big operation to be set up was the government run Hindustan Antibiotics in Pimpri in 1954.The area around Bhosari was set aside for industrial development, by the newly created Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in the early 1960s. MIDC provided the necessary infrastructure for new businesses to set up operations. 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.This period saw a huge influx of people to the city due to opportunities offered by the boom in the 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 post-independence period has also seen further growth in the higher education sector in the city. This included the establishment of the University of Pune (now, Savitribai Phule Pune University) in 1949, the National Chemical Laboratory in 1950 and the National Defence Academy in 1955.The Panshet flood of 1961 resulted in a huge loss of housing on the riverbank and spurred the growth of new suburbs. In the 1990s, the city emerged as a major information technology hub.
Early and medieval
The first reference to Pune region is found in two copper plates dated to 758 and 768 AD, issued by Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna I. The plates are called "Puny Vishaya" and "Punaka Vishaya" respectively. The plates mention areas around Pune such as Theur, Uruli, Chorachi Alandi, Kalas, Khed, Dapodi, Bopkhel and Bhosari. The Pataleshwar rock-cut temple complex was built during this time. Pune later became part of the Yadava Empire of Deogiri from the 9th century. During this time, it was called as "Punekavadi" and "Punevadi". In 2003, an accidental discovery of artefacts from the Satvahana period in the Kasba peth area of the city has put the origin of settled life in the area to the early part of the first millennium.JOGLEKAR, P. P., et al. “A NEW LOOK AT ANCIENT PUNE THROUGH SALVAGE ARCHAEOLOGY (2004-2006).” Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, vol. 66/67, 2006, pp. 211–25. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42931448 . Accessed 6 Jun. 2022.
The Khalji dynasty overthrew the Yadavas in 1317. This started hundred years of Delhi Sultanate control of Pune. The Khalji dynasty was succeeded by another Delhi sultanate dynasty, the Tughlaqs. A governor of the Tughlaq for the Deccan revolted and created the independent Bahamani sultanate. Traditional accounts state that the temples of Puneshwar and Narayaneshwar were turned into the Sufi shrines of Younger Sallah and Elder Sallah respectively. The Bahamanis, and their successor states, collectively called the Deccan sultanates, ruled Pune region between 1400 and early 1600s. During this period, it was a village and was called "Kasabe Pune". A defensive wall around was built by Barya Arab, a commander of either the Khaljis or the Tughlaqs, in the early 1300s. During the period of Muslim Sultans, a fort of constructed in the village on the eastern bank of the Mutha River. The Brahmins, traders, and cultivators were scattered around the village before and were situated around the fort wall after its construction. 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. Under the Bahamani and early Nizamshahi, towards the end of 15th century, Pune became a center for learning of Sanskrit scriptures.
Maratha rule Pune first came under Maratha control in the early 1600s. However, control shifted between the Bhonsle family, the Adil Shahi dynasty, and the Mughals, for most of the century. In the early 1700s, Pune and its surrounding areas were granted to the 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 (1599–1714) In 1595 or 1599, Maloji Bhosle, the grandfather of Maratha Empire founder, Shivaji, was given the title of "raja" by Bahadur Nizam Shah II, the ruler of the Ahmednagar Sultanate. On the recommendation of Nizam's Vazir, Malik Ambar, Maloji was granted the jagir (fiefdom) of the Pune and Supe parganas, along with the control over the Shivneri and Chakan forts.
In 1630–31, Murar Jagdeo Pandit, a general of Adil Shahi of Bijapur attacked Pune and razed it to the ground by using ass-drawn ploughs, as a symbol of total dominance. 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 the administrator of the area. Dadoji slowly rebuilt the town and brought back the prominent families who had left it during the destruction by Murar Jagdeo.Gadgil, D.R., 1945. Poona a socio-economic survey part I. Economics. 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.
Pune changed hands between the Mughals and the Marathas many times during the rest of the century. It remained under Shivaji's control for the most part of his career, however, he operated from mountain forts like Rajgad and Raigad. Recognizing the military potential of Pune, the Mughal general Shaista Khan and later, the emperor Aurangzeb further developed the areas around the city.
Peshwa rule (1714–1818)
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.Duff, J.G., 1990. History of the Marathas, Vol. I. Cf. MSG, p. 437. In 1720, Baji Rao I, was appointed Peshwa, as a successor to his father, by Shahu. 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. Before Bajirao I made Pune his headquarters, the town already had six "Peths" or wards, namely, Kasba, Shaniwar, Raviwar, Somwar, Mangalwar, and Budhwar.Gadgil, D.R., 1945. Poona a socio-economic survey part I. Economics. page 14. Bajirao also started construction of a palace called Shaniwar Wada on the eastern bank of the Mutha River. The construction was completed in 1730, ushering in the era of Peshwa control over the city. The city grew in size and influence as the Maratha rule extended in the subsequent decades. During this period, in addition to being the administrative capital of the Confederacy, the city also became the financial capital. Most of the 150 bankers or "savakars" in the city belonged to the Chitpavan or Deshastha Brahmin communities.