Malik Ahmed and Ahilyabai Holkar

Context: Maharashtra Education Minister told the Legislative Council that he has sought a proposal from the district administration to rename the Western Maharashtra city of Ahmednagar as ‘Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Nagar’, after the 18th century Malwa queen, Ahilyabai Holkar.

About Ahilyabai Holkar:

• She was born in Chondi village of Ahmednagar to the village head Mankoji Shinde, 1725,
• Ahilyabai took control of Malwa after her husband’s death in the Battle of Kumbher against the king of Bharatpur in 1754.
• During her reign, Malwa was never once attacked.
• It adds that under Holkar, the city of Maheshwar became a literary, musical, artistic and industrial centre, and she helped establish a textile industry there, which is now home to the famous Maheshwari saris.
• Restoration of Hindu temples:
  • In 1780, she had the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi rebuilt, nearly a century after Mughal king Aurangzeb ordered its destruction.
  • Somnath temple was built by Holkar in 1783.
  • Apart from holy sites like Badrinath, Dwarka, Omkareshwari, Gaya, and Rameswaram, Holkar also supported the construction of resting lodges for travellers, and of public ghats.

About Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah:

• In 1486, Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah became the Bahmani Sultanate’s Prime Minister.
• He defeated the army of the Bahamani kingdom near Ahmednagar in May 1490.
• In 1494 he laid the foundation of a city close to where he defeated the army, on the left bank of Sina river, and named it after himself it as Ahmednagar.
• Ahmednagar lies in the Western region of Maharashtra.
  • The Rashtrakuta Dynasty, the Western Chalukyas, and then the Delhi Sultanate ruled over the region in the Medieval period.
• In the case of Delhi Sultanate, the rule was not direct, and a revolt by Afghan soldier Alladin Hasan Gangu led to the establishment of the Bahmani kingdom in the Deccan.
• After some time, Ahmednagar (then known as Nizamshahi) became one of the five independent kingdoms to emerge from that empire.

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) In medieval India, the term “Fanam” referred to:  (2022)

1. Clothing
2. Coins
3. Ornaments
4. Weapons

Q.2) Consider the following pairs:

King                                              Dynasty

1. Nannuka                        Chandela
2. Jayashakti                     Paramara
3. Nagabhata II              Gurjara-Pratihara
4. Bhoja                            Rashtrakuta

How many pairs given above are correctly matched? (2022)

1. Only one pair
2. Only two pairs
3. Only three pairs
4. All four pairs