Wardha

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Wardha | type = city | latd = 20.75| longd = 78.55
locator_position = right | state_name = Maharashtra
district = Wardha
leader_title =
leader_name =
altitude = 234
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 111,070| population_density =
area_magnitude= sq. km
area_total =
area_telephone =
postal_code =
vehicle_code_range =
sex_ratio =
unlocode =
website =
footnotes =

Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. 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 centre for the cotton trade. It is the administrative center of Wardha District

Geography

Wardha is located at coord|20.75|N|78.60|E| [ [http://wardha.nic.in/htmldocs/glance.asp Wardha District at a Glance] ] . It has an average elevation of 234 metres (767 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census [GR|India] , Wardha had a population of 111,070. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Wardha has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 76%. In Wardha, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

It was included in the empire of the Mauryas, Sungas, Satavahanas and Vakatakas [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vakataka] .Pravarpur, modern Pavnar was once the capital of the Vakataka dynasty. Vakatakas were contemporary of Imperial Guptas. The daughter of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) was married with Vakataka ruler Rudrasena. The period of Vakatakas was 2nd to 5th C.A.D. 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.

Later on, Wardha was ruled by the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadavas, the Delhi Sultanate, the Bahamani Sultanate, Muslim ruler of Berar, Gonds and Marathas. Raja Buland Shaha of Gonds, Raghuji of Bhonsale were the promient rulers in the Medieval period.

During the 1850's Wardha, (then a part of Nagpur) felt into the hands of British. They included Wardha in the Central Provenance.

Wardha is a sister city for Sevagram, and both were used as major centers for the Indian Independence Movement, especially as headquarters for an annual meet of the Indian National Congress in 1934, and Mahatma Gandhi's Ashram.

The existing Wardha district was part of Nagpur district till 1862. Further it was separated for convenient administrative purposes and Kawatha near Pulgaon was the district Head quarter. In the year 1866, the district head quarter moved at Palakwadi village which is the existing place and then Wardha city is habited there. In Wardha there is a village called Pavanar where Acharya Vinoba Bhave lived.

Educational Institutions

Wardha city is famous for a number of educations institutions. Some of the notable institutes are Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) [http://www.mgims.ac.in/] at Sewagram, Bapurao Deshmukh College of Engineering at Sewagram, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College at Sawangi, Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti at Wardha and Janakidevi Bajaj College of Science at Wardha.

Mahatma Gandhi Antar-Rashtriya Hindi Vishwa-Vidyalaya (Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University) is established by the Parliament of India and run directly by the Government of India.

References

Official Website of Wardha [http://wardha.nic.in/]