- published: 19 Feb 2015
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Pune, formerly Poona (pronounced [puɳeː] ( listen)), is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula and Mutha rivers. Pune city is the administrative capital of Pune district.
Pune is known to have existed as a town since 937 AD. Pune was originally called Punawadi. In 1730, Pune became an important political center as the seat of the Peshwa, the prime minister of the Chhatrapati of Satara; it was during this era that Pune became the centre of Indian politics. After the town was annexed to British India in 1817, it served as a cantonment town and as the "monsoon capital" of the Bombay Presidency until the independence of India.
Today, Pune is known for its educational facilities and relative prosperity. Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra. Pune has well-established manufacturing, glass, sugar, and forging industries since the 1950-60s. It has a growing industrial hinterland, with many information technology and automotive companies setting up factories in Pune district. The city is known for various cultural activities like classical music, spirituality, theatre, sports, and literature. These activities and job opportunities attract migrants and students from all over India and abroad, which makes for a city of many communities and cultures.
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.