Summary: Nagpur, which is fondly called as the Orange capital of India, is the largest urban conglomeration of India. It is also the headquarter of the Hindu nationalist group, RSS.
Nagpur, which is the largest city of the central India, is one of the prominent districts of Maharashtra. This geographically centred zone, which has the zero milestone of India to its credit covers an area of 9897 square kilometres. This district is situated between 210.07 north latitude and 790.07 east longitude and is situated at an altitude of 312.42 metres above the mean sea level. All the major highways, including NH-7, which runs from Kanyakumari to Varanasi, NH-6, which runs from Mumbai to Calcutta via Sambalpur. This region is spread across the Deccan Plateau. The sub-stratal rock gradation is covered with alluvial deposits, which have occurred from the flood plains of the Kanhan estuary. In the eastern part of the province , crystalline metamorphic rocks are found, which include gneiss, schist, granite etc. The northern part is enriched in yellowish sand stones and clays of the Gondwana formations. This district is dotted with various natural and man made lakes. Ambazari is the largest basin. Futala, Gorewada, Telangkhedi, Sonegaon, Gandhisagar etc. are some of the important inland seas of the district.
This region has a tropical wet and dry climate. Being situated at the centre of the Indian peninsula, the dry conditions prevail all throughout the year. The district headquarter is the seat of the annual winter session of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. The province has a tropical dry climate and the temperature rises upto 48 degrees during summer and drops upto 7 degrees during winter. The humidity prevails from 20% to 70% throughout the year. The surrounding region is an undulating plateau, which is safeguarded by the Satpura Range in its northern frontier and is drained by the Kanhan and Pench rivers in the central part. It is fondled by the Wardha in the western side and by the Wainganga in the eastern profile. The Nag river, which is a tributary of the Kanhan river, flows through the district in a serpentine path and thus, the district has got its name as Nagpur. The district has a overwhelming population of 2,420,000. It is the 13th largest downtown conglomeration of India and is ranked 143rd in the world in terms of population. The city is the headquarter of the Hindu nationalist organisation, RSS and is also a prominent place for the Dalit Buddhist movement.
The history of Nagpur dates back to 8th century A.D, when the megalithic culture existed in the area. The Mehir burial sites at Drugdhamna indicates the existence of this culture 3000 years ago. The copper plate inscription which has been discovered at Devali, refers about this province in 10th century. The copper plate belonged to the Rastrakuta period, when king Krisna III, used to rule over this place. During 3rd century, this place was ruled by the king, Vindhyasakti. The 4th century witnessed the reign of the Vakataka empire, who had good relations with the Gupta dynasty. However, the most flourishing dynasty, which is believed to be the creator of this princely state was the Gond monarchy. Bakht Buland of this clan had founded this city. The 17th century witnessed the rise of the Maratha empire in this region, when Raghoji Bhonsle of Vidarbha region had conquered this landscape in 1743. The Marathas and the Peshwas had a strong foothold over this place till the advent of the British rule. In 1877, the country's first textile mill was established here by the Tata group.
Nagpur, which is fondly known as the Orange capital of India, is also an ideal place for tourism. Some of the tourist places are Ambazari lake garden, Balaji Mandir at Seminary, Gandhi Baug, Hegdewar Smriti temple, Sri Poddareshwar Ram temple, the Dragon palace, Sevagram, Ramtek etc.
