WEAVER'S WORLD / AURANGABAD / HISTORY

WEAVER'S WORLD / AURANGABAD / HISTORY

Aurangabad, city in the district by the same name, is in Maharashtra, India, and named after Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor. Surrounded by many historical monuments and World Heritage Sites, Aurangabad is a big tourist draw. It is also home to the famed Paithani saree, known for its dazzle and lustre.

Khadki was its original name, a village initially, that was considered the capital by Malik Ambar, the prime minister of Murtaza Nizam, Shah of Ahmadnagar. He developed Khadki into an imposing and well populated city within a decade. Malik Ambar died in 1626. His son Fateh Khan changed the name to FatehNagar. When Daulatabad fell to the imperial troops in 1633, the entire dominion came under the Mughals. It was the Prince Aurangzeb in 1653, as Viceroy of Deccan, made Fatehnagar as capital and renamed it Aurangabad. The name has stuck on since then. Subsequently it saw a brief Maratha rule and then the British took over.

It had by way of central location, been a trading hub then, and continues to remain one even today. From centuries it has been a good centre for textiles. But today you also find industrial giants have set shop here, big shopping malls adorn the place, large nationalized banks have set base, there is a lot of activity by way of financial transactions. It also happens to be a hotbed of state level politics and reputed to be a game changer in the Indian political scene. Besides it has a large cantonment area spread over a sizeable area of close to 11 sq.Km.