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Marathas
Marathas or Mahrattas , Marathi-speaking people of W central India, known for their ability as warriors and their devotion to Hinduism. From their homeland in Maharashtra their chieftains rose to power in the 17th cent. The Marathas helped bring about the fall of the Mughal empire and were t...
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Śivaji
Śivaji or Shivaji , 1627-80, Indian ruler, leader of the Marathas . The son of a Maratha chieftain, he was imbued from early childhood with hatred of the Mughal empire, which controlled most of India. From his capital at Pune he made guerrilla attacks on the Muslim kingdom of Bijapur and g...
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Nagpur
Nagpur , city (1991 pop. 1,664,006), Maharashtra state, central India, on the Nag River. Formerly the capital of Central Provinces and Berar and then of Madyha Pradesh state, it is an industrial, commercial, and transportation center. It has expanded to include the neighboring town of Kamptee. Manuf...
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Gwalior
Gwalior , city and former princely state, central India. Part of Madhya Pradesh state since 1956, the territory of Gwalior formerly consisted of one large territory and several exclaves. The state was formed in the mid-18th cent. by Ranoji Sindhia, a Maratha chief who became independent of the peshw...
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Ahmadnagar
Ahmadnagar or Ahmednagar , city (1991 pop. 222,088), Maharashtra state, W central India, on the Sina River. It is a district administrative center and has industries in cotton and cotton goods and copper and brass goods. The district has a significant sugar industry.
Founded in 1490, it bec...
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Deccan
Deccan , region of India. Sometimes defined as all India S of the Narmada River, it is in a more limited sense the plateau of central peninsular India, including approximately all Karnataka and S Andhra Pradesh, SE Maharashtra, and NW Tamil Nadu. The rich volcanic soil is used for growing cotton. Th...
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Nana Sahib
Nana Sahib , b. c.1821, leader in the Indian Mutiny , his real name was Dhundu Pant. The adopted son of the last peshwa (hereditary prime minister) of the Marathas, his request (1853) to the British to grant him the peshwa's title and pension was refused. In the outbreak (June, 1857) of the mutiny ...
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Panipat
Panipat , town (1991 pop. 191,212), Haryana state, NW India, on the Western Yamuna Canal. It has saltpeter refining plants and manufactures electrical appliances, bricks, glass, and textiles. On a plain astride the easiest route from Afghanistan to central India, Panipat has seen several great battl...
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Pune
Pune or Poona , city (1991 pop. 2,493,987), Maharashtra state, W central India. It is a district administrative and commercial center with automotive vehicle works, appliance factories, and other manufacturers. There are several palaces and temples from the 17th and 18th cent., when Pune was the...
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Indore
Indore , city and former native state, W central India. The state is now part of Madhya Pradesh state. The region contains extensive forests and much building stone. Indore was established c.1728 by Malhar Rao Holkar, a soldier in the service of the Marathas and the founder of the ruling dynasty. ...
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