Nashik District - History

History

In the 18th century, the present-day Nashik district was part of the Maratha Confederacy, within the territory controlled directly by the Maratha Peshwa. The district contains several old hill forts, the scenes of many engagements during the Anglo-Maratha Wars. The district became British territory in 1818 on the overthrow of the Peshwa. The present-day district was initially divided between Kandesh and Ahmadnagar districts of Bombay Presidency, a province of British India. Nashik district was created in 1869. The population in 1901 was 816,504, showing a decrease of 3% in the decade 1891-1901. The principal crops were millet, wheat, pulse, oil-seeds, cotton and sugar cane. There were also some vineyards, and much garden cultivation. Yeola was an important centre for weaving silk and cotton goods. There were flour-mills at Malegaon, railway workshops at Manmad and Igatpuri, and cantonments at Deolali and Malegaon. At Sharanpur was a Christian village, with an orphanage of the Church Missionary Society, founded in 1854. In 1861 the main northeast line of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway was completed across the district, and in 1878 a chord line was completed between Manmad, on the northeast line in Nashik district, and Daund, on the southeast line in Pune district.

From India's independence to 1960, Nashik district was part of Bombay State, which in 1960 split into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.