Pune

Pune’s history runs from a small riverside settlement to the powerhouse of the Maratha Empire and a modern tech city.

Early references (as Punya/Punawadi) place it at the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers, a modest agrarian and trading village under the Rashtrakutas, Yadavas and then the Delhi Sultanate and Bahmani/Deccan sultanates. Its real rise begins in the 17th century with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. His father, Shahaji, held the jagir of the region, and young Shivaji spent formative years nearby. Forts around Pune—like Sinhagad, Purandar and Torna—became crucial to Maratha resistance against the Adilshahi and Mughals.

In the early 18th century, after Shivaji and Shahu, Pune turned into the de facto capital of the Maratha Confederacy under the Peshwas. From their seat at Shaniwar Wada, the Peshwas directed campaigns that spread Maratha influence across much of India. This era filled Pune with temples, wadas (mansions) and bustling peths (old city quarters).

Following the Anglo–Maratha Wars, British control shifted power, but Pune remained important as a cantonment, education centre and “monsoon capital” of the Bombay Presidency. In the late 19th–early 20th centuries it became a cradle of social reform and nationalism (Lokmanya Tilak, Agarkar, Phule). After Independence, Pune evolved into a major hub for education, defence, industry and IT, while its old city still preserves Maratha-era character.