Achalpur, formerly known as Ellichpur and Illychpur, is a city and a
municipal council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
in
Amravati District in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Maharashtra. It is the second most populous city in
Amravati District after Amravati and seventh most populous city in Vidarbha. Achalpur camp is known as Paratwada.
History
Achalpur was the earliest capital of a branch of the
Rashtrakuta dynasty
Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing thei ...
, which emerged sometime in the 8th century. It was the site of a battle between the Rashtrakutas and the
Kalachuris in the 9th century.
Achalpur or Ellichpur is first mentioned authentically in the 13th century as one of the famous cities of the
Deccan
The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
. Though tributary to the
Delhi Sultanate after 1294, it remained under
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
administration till 1318, when it came directly under the Muslim
Delhi Sultanate.
In 1347 Achalpur with the Berar region was ruled by the
Bahmani Sultanate.
In 1490
Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk
Fathullah Imad-ul-mulk ( fa, , ruled 1490–1504) was the founder of the Imad Shahi Dynasty and the Berar Sultanate. Originally a Hindu captive from Vijayanagara, Fathullah was brought up a Muslim and rose to command the army of Berar under the ...
proclaimed his independence and founded the Imad Shahi dynasty of the
Berar Sultanate
Berar Sultanate, also called as Imad Shahi Sultanate was one of the Deccan sultanates, which was founded by an Indian Muslim. It was established in 1490 following the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate.
History
Background
The origin of th ...
. He proceeded to annex
Mahur to his new kingdom and established his capital at Ellichpur. It was afterwards capital of the
Berar Subah
The Berar Subah was one of the Subahs (imperial first-level provinces) of the Mughal Empire, the first to be added to the original twelve, in Dakhin (Deccan, central India) from 1596 to 1724. It bordered Golconda, Ahmandagar (both conquered 1 ...
at intervals until the
Mughal occupation, when the seat of the provincial governor was moved to
Balapur. The town retains many relics of the
Sultans of Berar.
As the Mughal empire deteriorated in the 18th century, Achalpur along with the rest of Berar came under the rule of the
Nizam
The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...
of
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
. In 1853,
Berar Province came under
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
administration, although it remained formally part of the
Hyderabad state until 1903 when the province became the
Berar Division
The Berar Division, formerly Berar Province, was one of the former administrative divisions of the Central Provinces and Berar of British India. Ellichpur (Achalpur) was the capital and the administrative headquarters of the division.
The Ber ...
of the
Central Provinces. Achalpur, known by the British as Ellichpur, became part of East Berar, with Amraoti (Amravati) as capital of the division. In 1867 East Berar was split into the districts of
Amraoti and
Ellichpur district, with Ellichpur as the headquarters of Ellichpur District. The district had an area of .
In 1901 Achalpur had a population of 29,740, with ginning factories and a considerable trade in cotton and forest produce. It was connected by good roads with Amraoti and
Chikhaldara. Berar was annexed to British India in 1903 and merged with the
Central Provinces, and in 1905 Ellichpur District was merged into Amraoti District. The civil station of
Paratwada, 5 km. from the town of Ellichpur, contained the principal public buildings at the beginning of the 20th century.
After India's independence in 1947, the Central Provinces became the province, and after 1950 the state,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
. The 1956
States Reorganisation Act redrew the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and the predominantly
Marathi-speaking Amravati District was transferred to
Bombay State, which was renamed
Maharashtra in 1960.
Geography
Achalpur and
Paratwada are twin cities located in the lap of
Satpuda
The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and th ...
. It has an average elevation of 369 metres (1210 ft). These twin cities are surrounded by rivers named Sapan and Bicchhan, the tributaries of
Chandrabhaga river
The Bhima River (also known as Chandrabhaga River) is a major river in Western India and South India. It flows southeast for through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana states, before entering the Krishna River. After the first sixty-five ki ...
. There is hilly area that acts like a fence to this city. This city is at the boundary of
Maharashtra and
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
. Even Madhya Pradesh is so close to this city that travelling of (about) 12 km changes the state region.
Demographics
As of census 2011 Achalpur Tehsil had a population of 6,12,293.
As of 2001 India
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
, Achalpur & Paratwada had a population of 107,304. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Achalpur has an average literacy rate of 88%, higher than the national average of 59.59%; with 54.41% of the males and 46% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Transportation
Achalpur railway station
Achalpur railway station serves Achalpur in Amravati district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the terminal station on narrow-gauge Murtajapur Junction–Achalpur line of Shakuntala Railway
Shakuntala Railway was a narrow-ga ...
is the northern terminus of the 762 mm
narrow gauge railway known locally as the Shakuntala railway. This line is composed of two legs intersecting with the
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
–
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
standard gauge railway at
Murtajapur — the 76 km northern leg to Achalpur and the 113 km southeastern leg to
Yavatmal
Yavatmal ( is a city and municipal council in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Yavatmal District. Yavatmal is around 90 km away from divisional headquarters Amravati while it is away from the sta ...
. As of 2004 this line was still owned by a
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-based company which had leased the line to India's
Central Railway since 1903.
[is now closed after 201]
"Indian Narrow-Gauge Lines 2002–2003"
Simon Mortimer. Indian Railways Fan Club. 13 February 2004.
Paratwada is well connected to major cities by state highways. Maharashtra Major State Highway 6 and Major State Highway 24 passes from
Paratwada. Both public and private transport are popular in
Paratwada. Private companies too run buses to major cities throughout India. Auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are allowed to operate in this city. Also The
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) provides transport services to this city for interstate travel.
See also
*
Ellichpur District
*
Paratwada
References
{{Historical places of Rashtrakuta
Cities and towns in Amravati district
Talukas in Maharashtra
Cities in Maharashtra