Dhule धुळे
—  city  —
View on a cloudy monsoon day View on a cloudy monsoon day
Dhule Location of Dhule in Maharashtra state
Coordinates: 20°53′59″N 74°46′11″E / 20.89972°N 74.76972°E / 20.89972; 74.76972Coordinates: 20°53′59″N 74°46′11″E / 20.89972°N 74.76972°E / 20.89972; 74.76972
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
Region	Khandesh (North Maharashtra)
Division	Nashik
District	Dhule
Metro
Talukas	Dhule
Elevation	240 m (790 ft)
Population (2001)[1]
• Total	341,473
Languages
• Official	Marathi|Ahirani
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	42400x
Telephone code	91 2562
ISO 3166 code	[[ISO 3166-2:IN|]]
Vehicle registration	MH18
Sex ratio	52/48 ♂/♀
IUCN category
Climate	Aw (Köppen)
Avg. summer temperature	44 °C (111 °F)
Avg. winter temperature	20 °C (68 °F)

Dhule (Marathi: धुळे), also known as Dhulia, is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Dhule district in northwestern part of Maharashtra state, India. It is one of the very few well-planned cities of India before Indian Independence.

Geography[link]

Dhule is located at 20°54′N 74°47′E / 20.9°N 74.78°E / 20.9; 74.78.^[2] It has an average elevation of 250 metres (787 feet).Dhule lies in the Khandesh region, which forms the northwest corner of Deccan Plateau. Dhule district is bounded by Gujarat State on west, by Madhya Pradesh on north and on east and south by Jalgoan and Nasik respectively. It is also situated in valley of the Tapi river along the banks of Panzara River (पांझरा). Devi Ekveera (Goddess Ekveera) temple is a well known temple, situated at the banks of Panzara river.

Climate[link]

Demographics[link]

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[1] Dhule had a population of 341,473. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Dhule has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80% and, female literacy is 69%. 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Dhule in 2011 is 376,093; of which male and female are 193,854 and 182,239 respectively. The sex ratio of Dhule city is 940 per 1000 males. In education section, total literates in Dhule city are 298,693 of which 160,511 are males while 138,182 are females. Average literacy rate of Dhule city is 89.86 percent of which male and female literacy was 94.08 and 85.40 percent. Total children (0-6) in Dhule city are 43,677 as per figure from Census India report on 2011. There were 23,246 boys while 20,431 are girls. Child sex ratio of girls is 879 per 1000 boys.

History[link]

Until the beginning of the 19th century, Dhule was an insignificant village, subordinate to Laling, the capital of the Laling or Fatehabad Subdivision. Under the rule of the Nizam, Laling was incorporated with the District of Daulatabad. The town passed successively through the hands of the Arab kings, the Mughals, and the Nizam, and into the power of the Peshwas about 1795. In 1803, it was completely deserted by its inhabitants on account of the ravages of Holkar and the terrible famine of that year. In the following year, Balaji Balwant, a dependant of the Vinchurkar, to whom the parganas of Laling and Songir had been granted by the Peshwa, repeopled the town, and received from the Vinchurkar, in return for his services, a grant of inam land and other privileges. He was subsequently entrusted with the entire management of the territory of Songir and Laling, and fixed his headquarters at Dhule, where he continued to exercise authority till the occupation of the country by the British in 1818. Dhule was immediately chosen as the headquarters of the newly formed District of Khandesh by Captain John Briggs. In January 1819, he obtained sanction for building public offices for the transaction of revenue and judicial business. Artificers were brought from distant places, and the buildings were erected at a total cost of £2700. Every encouragement was offered to traders and others to settle in the new town. Building sites were granted rent free in perpetuity, and advances were made both to the old inhabitants and strangers to enable them to erect substantial houses. At this time, Captain Briggs described Dhule as a small town, surrounded by garden cultivation, and shut in between an irrigation channel and the river. The town was located on the Southern bank of the Panjhara river with an area of about one square mile. In 1819, the population numbered only 2509 persons, living in 401 houses. In 1863, there were 10,000 inhabitants; while by 1872 the number had further increased to 12,489, with 2620 houses. From the date of its occupation by the British, the progress of Dhule had been steady. Towards the end of 19th century the town had already become significant trading centre due to the trade in cotton and linseed. Coarse cotton, woolen cloths and turbans were manufactured for local use around this time. In 1872, Dhule was visited by a severe flood, which did much damage to houses and property.^[3][4]

Dhule was a cantonment town, and in year 1881 had 2 hospitals, telegraph and post offices. In 1873-74 there were 4 Government schools, with 551 pupils. Historically, the town has been divided into New and Old Dhule. In the latter, the houses were irregularly built, the majority being of a very humble description.^[3][4]

Transport[link]

Dhule Airport is situated at Gondur village, It is suitable for smaller planes due to its relatively short runway length of 1400 meters and is being used by the Bombay Flying Club for training activities.^[5] Nearby international airports are at Aurangabad (148 km), Pune (340 km), and Mumbai (350 km).

Dhule city has a distinction of having railway terminus, which is connected to nearest railway junction at Chalisgaon. A passenger train runs between the two stations thrice a day. The train also carries reserved coaches for Mumbai, which are connected to another train from Chalisgaon onwards.

From road transport point of view, Dhule serves as one of the most important junctions over NH3 (popularly known as Mumbai-Agra highway) and NH6. It is also end point for NH211. Through the Asian Highway project, portions of NH3 and NH6 passing through Dhule have been converted into numbered Asian Highways AH47 & AH46 respectively.

Education[link]

Dhule city is renowned for its educational heritage. It hosts a big number of educational institutes. Following table names a few of them:

Business and economy[link]

In heyday it was one of the big centers for textile industry, with both spinning and weaving operations. Textile industry is still alive here though at much smaller scale than past.

Many small scale industries are shaping up in M.I.D.C. area.

Agra road is main street in the city where many important businesses/shops are located. Pach-Kandil is main wholesale market for fruits and vegetables. Pat-bazaar is another old vegetable market near an old canal (in Marathi canal is called Pat).

Suzlon Energy, which is one of the largest wind power companies in the world, is presently developing a wind park site near Dhule. It is spread across a vast, undulating expanse. At 1,000 MW Suzlon’s Dhule wind park is poised to take its place among the world’s largest wind parks when complete. the coming up project in dhule is the worlds biggest solar energy plant which will create employment on a large scale and also help in development of dhule

Image gallery[link]

• Shivtharghal Dhule.JPG

  Shivtharghal, where Samartha Ramdas Swami wrote the book Dasbodh, was (re) discovered by Late Shri. Shankar Shrikrushna Dev, of Dhule in 1930.

• Agra road dhule diwali 07.JPG

  Agra road in downtown Dhule on the eve of Lakshmipoojan, Diwali 2007

• 

  Mumbai-Agra national highway (Laling ghaat, August 2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dhule City Gov. Site
• DhuleCity.info
• DhuleCity.com
• Shirpur1.com information about Shirpur

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Abu Asim Azmi at a party rally during the 2009 general elections.

Abu Asim Azmi born 8 August 1955, is the state president of Maharashtra Samajwadi Party.^[1] He represented Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament from November 2002- Nov 2008.^[2]

Abu Asim Azmi is the senior leader of Samajwadi Party, Maharashtra, Mumbai. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly. He generated controversy when he took his oath in Hindi instead of Marathi and was attacked by fellow legislators (mainly from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) while doing so.^[3]

Political life[link]

Abu Asim Azmi is a well-known politician from the Indian state of Maharashtra. He is the president of Maharashtra unit of the Samajwadi ( Socialist ) Party. Mr Azmi has served a term as a Member of the upper house of the parliament, Rajya Sabha, representing Uttar Pradesh from November 2002 to 2008.

Hailing from Manjir Patti area of Azamgarh district in UP Mr Azmi was elected as a Member of Maharashtra Assembly from two segments during the 2009 Maharashtra assembly elections namely Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar and Bhiwandi (East), which he vacated later as the election rules don't permit one individual to represent two seats at a time. Mr Azmi had on earlier occasions made several unsuccessful attempts to enter the Vidhan Sabha as well as Lok Sabha (Lower House).

In 2004 contesting elections for the first time in his political career, he had lost to Shiv Sena's Yogesh Patil from Bhiwandi assembly constituency. Victory again eluded him during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections where he was pitted against Congress' Gurudas Kamat, Shiv Sena's Gajanan Kirtikar and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's Shalini Thakrey from Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency.

A successful businessman, Mr Azmi entered politics by accident. He was arrested for the 6 March 1993 bomb blasts, which killed more than 250 people. The Mumbai Police had alleged that he was complicit with the perpetrators of the bomb blast by helping them flee the country through his travel agency.

However, in a twist of faith, the Supreme Court of India acquitted him of all the charges after spending a year in jail. To fight the injustice that he suffered at the hands of the establishment, Mr Azmi decided that entering politics was the only recourse. He decided to join Samajwadi Party, which was founded by leading politician Mulayam Singh Yadav of Uttar Pradesh.

He began gaining popularity among Muslims in Maharashtra no sooner he joined politics, particularly those hailing from UP looked up to him as a leader they have been waiting for a long-time as an alternative to Congress and its ally NCP. His popularity can be gauged from the fact that his party won two assembly seats under his leadership during the 1995 Assembly elections in spite of a saffron wave in the aftermath of 1992 riots.

The win was a booster shot for Azmi, who in his inimitable style raised issues concerning Muslims in the state. However, he has had his share of challenges, the biggest jolt of his political career came when two of his lieutenants, Nawab Malik, MLA from Nehru Nagar constituency, and Bashir Moosa Patel, legislator from Umarkhadi constituency, quit the party leaving him in lurch. The party has since become a one-man show since there is no other leader worth his name. He found his true calling again during the 2009 elections when his party came successful on four assembly segments.

He has been bestowed with the title of 'Sher-e-Maharashtra' by his supporters, some also call him 'Quaid-e-Millat'. His political rallies attract good crowds particularly in muslim pockets in Mumbai and Thane, but these numbers have hardly converted into votes as has been proved by multiple local and state elections. Azmi has still managed to strike a chord with Muslims even as he gains popularity in other parts of the state.

All through his career, Azmi's pet issues were the harassment of Muslim youths in the wake of several blasts in Mumbai. He was also the first leader to champion the cause of Mumbra girl Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in a fake encounter by Gujarat police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on the allegations that she was along with her alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives planning to eliminate Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.

During his journey as a politician, Azmi continued raising issues like custodial death of Khwaja Yunus, a 27-year-old engineer and an accused in the Ghatkopar blasts of 2002, who was allegedly killed during police custody in January 2003. He has also been campaigning for the release of innocent Muslim youths arrested in the Malegaon blast case. He has been criticised by political parties of all hues for his controversial stands, however Mr Azmi has remained defiant in spite of all criticism. Recently, he had ruffled quite a few feathers when he called for an inquiry into the alleged custodial death of 39-year-old man, Faiz Ahmed Aziz Usmani, who was picked by crime branch in questioning for 13/7 triple blast which had rocked Mumbai.

Away from the Muslim issues, he has started taking on the Shiv Sena and MNS for harassing North Indians. Both Shiv Sena and MNS in particular have been baying for his blood for his stand on North Indians with the MNS taking its enmity further when its legislators assaulted him in the Vidhan Sabha for taking oath in Hindi.

However, an adamant Azmi has continued his tirade against Sena-MNS while at the same time criticising Congress-NCP government for not acting strictly against the two. Azmi has been taking on the Democratic Front government in the assembly by raising issues concerning muslims in Maharashtra.

He is officially the richest elected representative of Maharashtra with cash and assets worth Rs 126 crore (Rs 1.26 billion). Incidentally, his constituency, Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar, consists of poorest of the poor in Mumbai.

On 30 April, 2012 a Mazgaon metropolitan magistrate's court convicted and sentenced Azmi and four others to two years in jail for allegedly giving provocative speeches to incite communal violence 12 years back.

The case dates back to year 2000 when Azmi had allegedly given a provocative speech at Nagpada in South Mumbai against Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and former Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane.

Controversy[link]

Indian Mujahideen member Shahzad alleged Abu Azmi helped him stay in Azamgarh before Shahzad orchestrated the 13 September 2008 Delhi bombings.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Samajwadi Party, Mumbai
• Samajwadi Party, Maharashtra