50 Interesting Facts about Maharashtra Everyone Should Know

Before we look into the interesting facts about Maharashtra, let’s start with something really amazing. Navi Mumbai, which is the 10th most populous city of Maharashtra, takes the credit for being the largest planned city in the world. India’s first passenger railway line was established in Bombay Presidency (now Maharashtra). India’s first passenger train ran 34 Km. from Bombay City (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) to Thana (now Thane) on 16 April, 1853.

The Indian state of Maharashtra was formed on 1 May, 1960 from the division of the Bombay State. The formation was a result of Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960. 1st May is celebrated as Maharashtra Day or Maharashtra Diwas every year. State Government also declares the day to be a public holiday.

Difference between Bombay Presidency and Bombay State: Bombay Presidency (1843 to 1936) was one of the four governmental divisions of British India. In 1937, the Bombay Presidency became a regular province of British India. After independence in 1947, India retained the territory of Bombay Presidency (after partition) to restructure it into Bombay State. On 1 May, 1960, Bombay State was split into two states (on linguistic lines) of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

50 Interesting Facts about Maharashtra

Maharashtra is the second-most populous state or sub-division of India with 112.373 million population (Census of India, 2011) / 119.56 million in 2015, Uttar Pradesh holding the top position with 215.61 million inhabitants (2015).

Most surprising fact is Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar states of India are also the three most populous country sub-divisions in the world or the world’s top 3 sub-national entities by population.

Also, Maharashtra population was more than that of Philippines (100.69 million) in 2015 and equivalent to 94.46% of Japan’s population (126.57 million, 2015) or 94.13% of Mexico’s population (127.02 million, 2015).

Top 10 Must Know Facts About Maharashtra

Maharashtra is very popular and rich state of India, which is famous for so many things. No doubt, people are interested to know some useful information and interesting facts about Maharashtra —

1. Maharashtra is a state of India, located in the Western Ghats (western region of India).
2. It was formed on 1 May, 1960. 1st May is celebrated as Maharashtra Din every year.
3. 5 state symbols of Maharashtra, you should know about —
   • State Seal of Maharashtra
   • State Animal: Indian Giant Squirrel
   • State Bird: Yellow Footed Green Pigeon
   • State Flower: Pride of India (Jarul) or Crepe flower or Mota bondara in Marathi
   • State Tree: Mangifera Indica or Indian mango tree.
4. Marathi is the only official language of Maharashtra. The state has no additional or secondary official language.
5. Maharashtra is India’s second largest state by population (119.56 million in 2015). Hindus formed 80.3% of the state’s total population as per 2001 census (and 79.8% as per 2011).
6. Maharashtra is India’s third largest state by area, spreading in 307,713 km2.
7. The literacy rate of the state is 82.3% against 73% at national level as per Census 2011.
8. As per India Human Development Report 2011, Maharashtra’s Human Development Index is 0.572, more than the national average HDI for India 0.467.
9. Mumbai, the most populous city in India, is the capital city of Maharashtra. Nagpur is Maharashtra’s winter capital city (where the winter session of the state assembly is held) and known as second capital city of Maharashtra.
10. Navi Mumbai is the largest planned city in the world. It’s development was started in 1972 to de-congest Mumbai.

Note: Marathi is the additional/secondary official language of Goa State and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Union Territory.

5 Fun Facts About Maharashtra

It’s time for some really interesting facts about Maharashtra that you would definitely like —

1. Maharashtra is the richest, most developed and most industrialized state in India. The state is often referred to as commercial, financial, industrial and entertainment capital of India.
2. Maharashtra is not only India’s second-most populous state but also the world’s second-most populous sub-national entity. An Indian state or Union Territory is a sub-national entity of India.
3. Maharashtra has the largest road network in India with a total road length of over 2,67,500 kilometers. There are 18 national highways and many state highways with total length of 33,705 km.
4. Maharashtra, where Marathi is predominantly spoken by the Marathi people, is the center of Hindi movies. Bollywood (Hindi film industry), one of the largest centers of film production in the world, is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
5. Located in Navi Mumbai on the Konkan mainland, Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) is the largest container port in India.

Hard to Believe Facts About Maharashtra

Mind blowing facts about Maharashtra that you will find extremely surprising —

1. Population of Maharashtra (119.56 million, 2015) is more than the population of Philippines (100.69 million, 2015) alone. It is also more than the total population of 4 neighboring countries of India combined – Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka (104 million, 2015).
2. Area of Maharashtra (308,000 km2) is not only larger than that of Philippines (300,000 km2) but also many other countries including world’s favorite tourist destinations – United Kingdom, Italy and New Zealand. It is very close to the area of Arab country Oman (309,500 km2) and roughly equal to the total land area of 3 neighboring countries of India combined – Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan (approx 312,000 km2).
3. Lonar Lake, (A salt water lake located at Lonar in Buldhana district) Maharashtra, was created by a meteor hitting the Earth. It is the only known hyper velocity impact crater in basaltic rock anywhere on earth. A salt water lake is a landlocked water body that has a concentration of salts.
4. It is strange but true that all houses in Shani Shingnapur have no doors. Shani Shingnapur is a village, situated in Nevasa taluka in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and 3 km away from Admednagar-Aurangabad Road. The village is famed for its temple dedicated to Shani, the planet Saturn. People believes that whoever tries to steal anything will face the wrath of God Shani Maharaj.
5. The railway station of Navapur is built in two states. One half is in Maharashtra and the other half is in Gujarat. Surprisingly, even a train which halts at Navapur Railway Station is stationed half in Maharashtra and half in Gujarat.

Economy Facts About Maharashtra

1. Mumbai (capital city of Maharashtra) is regarded as the financial capital of India. The city houses the headquarters of most of the major corporate & financial institutions.
2. Maharashtra ranks 4 among 29 Indian States in domestic tourism with 94.1 million domestic travellers in 2014, as per the Economic Survey of India 2015-16.
3. India’s main stock exchanges & capital market and commodity exchanges are located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
4. Maharashtra is the biggest economy in India at Rs 16.87 lakh crore (approx US$ 250 billion) in terms of gross state domestic product (GSDP) for fiscal year 2014-15. It is comparable to GDP of neighboring country Pakistan (approx US$ 269.97 billion as reported in 2015).
5. The Service sector dominates the economy of Maharashtra, accounting for 61.4% of the value addition and 69.3% of the value of output in the country.
6. Maharashtra has the largest debt of Rs 338,730 crore (US$ 50.4 billion) among 29 Indian states (2015). Know more »
7. Maharashtra accounts for 17% of the industrial output of the country and 16% of the country’s service sector output – Source. Industrial activity in Maharashtra is concentrated in four districts: Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban district, Thane and Pune districts.
8. The per capita income (at current prices) of Maharashtra state in 2014-15 was Rs 1,34,081. It is higher than the PCI of India Rs 86,879.
9. Maharashtra has the largest proportion of taxpayers in India.
10. Make in Maharashtra is an initiative started by Government of Maharashtra on sidelines of Make in India initiative by Government of India. The “Make in India” fair in Mumbai organized in February 2016, closed with $222 billion in investment pledges (Rs 15.2 lakh crore) and Maharashtra led all other states receiving $120 billion (8 lakh crore).

Historical Facts About Maharashtra

Maharashtra, the land of Marathas, holds a long historical background. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, an Indian warrior and military genius, is considered the founder of the modern Marathi nation. The history of Maharashtra offers some useful information —

1. The first well-known rulers of Maharashtra were the Satavahanas (230 BC-225 AD), who ruled Maharashtra for 400 years.
2. During the British Rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency. In 1937, the Bombay Presidency became a province of British India.
3. After India gained independence in 1947, Bombay Presidency became part of India, and Sind province became part of Pakistan. The territory retained by India was restructured into Bombay State.
4. Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was an organisation that, founded on 6 Feb, 1956, demanded the creation of a separate Marathi-speaking state out of the Bombay State.
5. On November 1, 1956, Bombay State was re-organized under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The state was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, the Marathi-speaking districts of Nagpur Division of Madhya Pradesh and Marathwada region of Hyderabad State. The state’s southernmost districts of Bombay were transferred to Mysore State.
6. In January 1960, Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti members were fired upon by the police at Flora Fountain in the capital city of Mumbai. Flora Fountain was subsequently renamed Hutatma Chowk or “Martyr’s Square” in their memory.
7. On 1 May 1960, the separate Marathi-speaking state was formed by dividing Bombay State into the new states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
8. Yashwantrao Chavan (Indian National Congress) was the first Chief Minister (1 May 1960 to 19 November 1962) of Maharashtra.
9. The Mumbai Suburban Railway is an offshoot of the first railway to be built by the British in India, and is also the oldest railway system in Asia.
10. The first passenger train in India ran from Mumbai to Thane on 16 April, 1853.

Some Other Facts About Maharashtra

There are various hidden and interesting facts surrounding the state like its geographic regions, its World Heritage sites, its dance, festivals, films, sports etc. Let’s know about them —

1. Maharashtra has a long coastline stretching 720 kilometres along the Arabian Sea.
2. Maharashtra is bordered by the 6 Indian States (Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka and Goa), 1 Union Territory (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) and by the Arabian Sea to the west.
3. One of the more prominent physical features of Maharsahtra is the Deccan plateau, which is separated from the Konkan coastline by ‘Ghats’. The Western Ghats, better known as Sahyadri, are a hilly range running parallel to the coast at an average elevation of 1,200 metres (4,000 ft).
4. Maharashtra is divided into five geographic regions – Desh, Khandesh (and Northern Maharashtra), Konkan, Marathwada and Vidarbha. However, the six administrative divisions of Maharashtra are – Amravati, Aurangabad, Konkan, Nagpur, Nashik and Pune.
5. College of Engineering Pune, established in 1854 (and affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University), is the third oldest engineering college in Asia after College of Engineering, Guindy (1794) and IIT, Roorkee (1847).
6. Ganesha Chaturthi (also Vinayaka Chaturthi) is among the largest and grandest religious festivals to take place in Maharashtra.
7. Lavni is supposed to be the identity of Maharashtra. It is the most favorite dance of Maharashtra. Women wearing the nine-yard saris perform this dance.
8. Romantic film Sairat (released 29 April 2016) is the first Marathi film to gross over Rs. 100 crore (US$15 million) worldwide.
9. Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar are the most famous Indian batsmen in cricket history. Both were born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra.
10. Presently, Maharashtra has five UNESCO World Heritage sites – the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad District, the Ellora Caves in Aurangabad District, the Elephanta Caves which are located on Elephanta Island in close proximity to Mumbai, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai and the Western Ghats. Ellora is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple caves complexes in the world.

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