Solapur

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Solapur v • d • e Maharashtra • India
Solapur
District(s)	Solapur
Coordinates	17.68° N 75.92° E
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	14,886 km² (5,748 mi²) • 457 m (1,499 ft)
Population • Density	873,037 (2001) • Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","/km²
Mayor	Vitthal Jadhav
Codes • Postal • Telephone • Vehicle	• 413 00X • +0217 • MH-13

Coordinates: 17.68° N 75.92° E

Solapur (Marathi:सोलापूर, Kannada: ಶೋಲಾಪುರ) is a city and a municipal corporation in south eastern Maharashtra, India near the Karnataka border and is the administrative headquarters of Solapur District. It is an important junction on the North-South railway line. Solapur is a town with an array of small and medium scale industries. Solapur is a leading center for cotton mills and power looms. Solapur bed-sheets ('chaddars') have earned fame and reputation for their novel designs and durability^{[citation needed]}. The chief deity of the city is Shri Siddeshwar. The "Nandidhwaj" procession on Makar Sankranti fair is attended by millions of devotees.

Solapur District leads Maharashtra in beedi production^{[citation needed]}. The Martyrs’ Memorial here is saluted daily by thousands of visitors. Kundalsangam, Karmala and Barshi have adopted the path of development through industry and education. Akkalkot is the site of Akkalkot Swami Maharaj Math,visited yearly a huge number of people from Maharashtra and neighbouring Karnataka.

1 Introduction
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Society and culture
- 4.1 Entertainment and leisure
5 Places of Interest
6 Educational institutions
7 Media
8 Famous personalities
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Introduction

The Solapur District was ruled by various dynesties such as Andhrabhratyas, Chalukyas, Rashtrkutas, Yadavas and Bahamanis. 'SOLAPUR' is believed to be derived from two words 'SOLA' meaning sixteen and 'PUR' meaning village. The present city of Solapur was considered tp be spread over sixteen villages viz. Aadilpur, Ahmedpur, Chapaldev, Fatehpur, Jamdarwadi, Kalajapur, Khadarpur, Khandervkiwadi, Muhammadpur, Ranapur, Sandalpur, Shaikpur, Solapur, Sonalagi, Sonapur and Vaidakwadi. Recent research work however shows that the name SOLAPUR is derived not from the congregation of sixteen villages. It is evident from the inscriptions of Shivayogi Shri.Siddheshwar of the time of the Kalachuristis of Kalyani, that the town was called 'Sonnalige' which came to be pronounced as 'Sonnalagi'. The town was known as Sonnalagi even upto the times of Yadavas. A sanskrit inscription dated Shake 1238, after the downfall of the Yadavas found at Kamati in Mohol shows that the town was known as Sonalipur. One of the inscriptions found in Solapur fort shows that the town was called Sonalpur while another inscription on the well in the fort shows that it was known as Sandalpur.

During the Muslim period, the town was known as Sandalpur. It is therefore most probably that that during the course of time the name Solapur was evolved by dropping 'na' from the name Sonalpur. Subsequently the British rulers pronounced Solapur as Sholapur and hence the name of the district.

The present Solapur district was previously part of Ahmednagar, Pune and Satara districts. In 1838 it became the Sub-district of Ahmednagar. It included Barshi, Mohol, Madha, Karmala, Indi, Hippargi and Muddebihal Sub-divisions. In 1864 this Sub-district was abolished. In 1871 this district was reformed joining the Sub-divisions viz. Solapur, Barshi, Mohol, Madha and Karmala and two Sub-divisions of Satara district viz. Pandharpur, Sangola and in 1875 Malshiras Sub-division was also attached. After the State reorganisation in 1956 Solapur was included in Mumbai State and it became a full fledged district of Maharashtra State in 1960.

The importance of Solapur is unique in the history of India in the sense that this district enjoyed the freedom even before independence. The citizens of Solapur enjoyed the Independence for three days from 9th to 11th May 1930. The brief history runs like this. After the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi in May 1930, protests and demonstrations against the British Rule were held throughout the India. Large scale rallies and protests were done at Solapur also. Many citizens lost their lives in the Police firings. Due to this the irate mob attacked the Police Stations. Out of fear the Police and other officers ran out of Solapur. During this period the responsibility of law, order and security of citizens was on the shoulders of congress party leaders. Then city congress President Shri.Ramkrishna Jaju, with his other congressmen maintained the law and order for a period of three days from 9th to 11th May 1930.

Secondly, the Solapur Municipal Council was the first Municipal Council of India to host the National Flag on the Municipal Council building (Now Municipal Corporation) Solapur in 1930. The brief history runs like this. Taking the spirit of Dandi March from Mahatma Gandhi, the freedom fighters of Solapur decided to host the National Flag on the Solapur Municipal Council. Accordingly, senior freedom fighter from Pune Shri.Annasaheb Bhopatkar hosted the National Flag on 6th April 1930 on Municipal Council. This was the first and the unique incidence of such kind throughout the country. The British rulers, due to irritation declared the Marshall Law at Solapur and arrested many leaders and innocent citizens on false charges. The freedom fighters Shri.Mallappa Dhanshetti, Shri.Kurban Hussain, Shri.Jagnnath Shinde and Shri.Kisan Sarda were arrested on charges of killing two Policemen of Mangalwar Police Station. The lower court sentenced the punishment of hanging till death for these freedom fighters. The High Court also confirmed the same decision and these four freedom fighters were hanged till death on 12th January 1931. As a mark of respect to these freedom fighters, the Statues of these freedom fighters have been installed in the heart of the City and the location has been named as Hutatma Chowk. Solapur is one of the biggest cities in Maharashtra, situated near the borders with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is an ancient historical and religious place with Shri Siddharameshwar as its "Gramadaiwata". Shri Siddharameshwar was a historical figure of the 12th Century whose "Karmayoga" on his own native land-Solapur, turned him into a God-figure over the course of time. Siddharama was a great conributor to Lingayata Religion and he is considered as one of the six prophets of Lingayat Religion. He had gained the "Siddhi". As Solapur was a drought prone area, Shri Siddharameshwar dug a lake with the help of 4000 "Sharanas" to solve the problem of portable water. He entombed himself alive (Shivyogsamadhi) at Solapur. During the Indian independence movement, the people of Solapur enjoyed full freedom on 9th, 10th and 11th May 1930. However, this resulted in the executions of Shri Mallappa Dhanshetti, Shri Kurban Hussein, Shri Jagannath Shinde and Shri Kisan Sarda who were hanged on 12th Jan 1931, in the prison at Pune. This resulted in the city becoming recognized as "The City of Hutatmas".

Siddheshwar Lake

Vitthal Idol

Solapur Four Statues (Chaar Hutatma)

Solapur is 433 km away from Mumbai and 244 km from Pune. By rail, it is 456 km from Mumbai. Solapur is well-connected with metro-cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore with rail and roads.

Pandharpur, the holiest place in Maharashtra for Hindus, with its Vitthal-Rakhumai temple on the banks of the Chandrabhaga river, is only 70 km from Solapur. Akkalkot, just 38 km from Solapur is a holy place due to the shrine of Akkalkot Swami. Tuljapur in Osmanabad District, 40 km from Solapur has goddess Tulja Bhavani, well known as the family deity of Maharashtra and especially Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire.^[1]. The slogan of the Maratha warriors is "Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji". Across the border in Gulbarga District of Karnataka, is Ganagapur, another place of pilgrimage. The city of Bijapur in Karnataka, 109 km from Solapur, is widely known for its 'Gol-Gumbaj', a highly regarded piece of architecture.

[edit] Geography

Solapur is located at 17.68° N 75.92° E^[2]. It has an average elevation of 458 metres (1502 feet).

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Solapur had a population of 873,037. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Solapur has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 58%. In Solapur, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.Marathi,Kannada and Telugu are the main languages spoken in Sholapur with 46% speaking Kannada, 19% speaking Telugu and the rest mostly speaking Marathi. Kannada is also a court language of the district^[3].

[edit] Society and culture

[edit] Entertainment and leisure

Theatres

Bhagwat Theatre
Prabhat Talkies
Kalpana Talkies
Meena Talkies
Aasha Talkies
Shalimar Talkies
Laxminarayan Talkies
Gentyal Talkies
Aasha Talkies
Shriniwas Talkies
Hutatma Smruti Mandir - Drama Theatre

[edit] Places of Interest

Temple of Lord Siddharameshwar
Hipparga Lake - a scenic nature area
Kambar Lake, newly named as Sambhaji lake
IndraBhavan - Solapur Corporation building
Bhui-Kot Castle - castle of 15th century and under the Bahamani period
Hutatma Garden
Pandharpur Vithoba Temple (70 km away)
Akkalkot - Swami Samarth (35 km away)
Nannaj- Bird Sanctaury (25 km away)
Tuljapur - Tuljabhavani Temple (45 km away)
Naldurg Fort (approx. 45 km towards Hyderabad)

[edit] Educational institutions

Government Polytechnic Solapur
Solapur University
Bharatratna Indira Gandhi College of Engineering
Walchand Institute of Technology 1
Dr. Vaishampayan Memorial Medical College
Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Dental College
College of Architecture
Dayanand Institutions Founded in 1940. It is located on a campus of 65 acres (26 ha) of land with four colleges and one high school and a model school. The oldest college in Solapur University.

[edit] Media

Solapur is served by numerous newspaper publications, television stations and radio. The Times of India,Economic Times, the Indian Express are the major English language newspapers sold in the city. Popular Marathi newspapers include Sakal, Dainik Lokmat, Loksatta, Maharashtra Times, Nava Kaal, and Saamana. Some local newspapers are daily Tarun Bharat and Sanchar.

There is a local All India Radio Solapur station broadcasting in the AM band which operates at 1602 kHz or at 187.2 meters. Local Marathi digital TV channel 'Vrutta-Darshan' has gained immense importance as it covers local news.Zee Marathi,DD-Sahyadri and ETV Marathi also very popular.

[edit] Famous personalities

M.F.Hussain (Born Pandharpur taluka of Solapur)
Dwarkanath Kotnis
Sushilkumar Shinde, Minister of Power (Delhi), Former Chief Minister (Maharashtra)
Indu (Classical movie actress)
Walchand Hirachand Doshi
Atul Kulkarni
Suresh Gupta, SEBI
Samita Bangargi (lead actress, movie Ramji Londonwale)
Manjuram Shinde
[B.S.Kulkarni]( Naturalist and the man who discovered The GIB in 1970 at Nanaj )