MODERN PERIOD (Complete History of Nagpur)

1858 To 1885

After the annexation of the kingdom of the Bhosles, Resident Mansel was appointed as the first Commissioner of Nagpur on 13-3-1854. The English directly assumed the administration of Nagpur in which they had been taking keen interest for their own political gains since the treaty of Devaganv. The Central Provinces were formed into a new administrative unit in 1861, comprising Nagpur, Canda, Bhandara, Chindavada, Raipur (Chattisgad, Sironja with their dependencies Bastar and Kuronda-these formed the Nagpur territory; and Sagar, Damoh, Jubbulpore. Mandla, Seoni, Baitul, Narsimhapur and Husangabad-these formed the Sagar-Narmada territories.

From the map of this period it seems that Nagpur then extended up to the Wardha river. The territory up to the western bank of Wardha granted to the Nizam by the treaty of Devaganv-1803, was annexed by Dalhousie on the plea that the Nizam had failed to pay the money for the maintenance of the subsidiary force. The arrears then amounted to Rs. 50 lacs. The annexation took place in 1853. The Berar was then divided into the Northern and Southern Berar.For the loyal services of the Nizam, however, during the rising of 1857, Southern Berar was given back to him. Again in 1903 it was joined to the Central Provinces forming the Central Provinces and Berar(HFM., pp. 109,.112.). This arrangement remained unchanged till the redemarcation of the provinces by the States Reorganization Commission.

A wave of repression spread all over India at the end of the rising of 1857. Thousands of innocent persons were hanged after a summary trial. At times a whole village was set on fire on the ground that some person or persons participating in the revolt hailed from it. The whole village was held at stake for the acts of just a few persons. These repressive measures were intended to strike terror into the hearts of the people. Nagpur with its surrounding area was saved for some time from these cruelties of the government as Bakabai remained loyal to the East India Company during the rising. Actually she discouraged any rising in the neighbourhood of Nagpur. However, the result of the repression was engendering racial hatred between the ruling English and their Indian subjects. Nagpur was no exception to this general situation.

The Arms Act of 1857 was passed with a view to disarming the people. The property of those who were suspected of having participated in the rising was confiscated.In the Nagpur area chieftains like Navab Quadir Alikhan and a number of petty zamindars came to be deprived of their property on the suspicion that they had a hand in the revolt. The Arms Act was renewed in 1860 and finally took shape as the Arms Act of 1878. This new Act introduced licensing of firearms throughout India and imposed heavy import duty. Penalties for the breach of this Act were enforced very stringently.

Along with the repressive measures, the British Government astutely employed the policy of divide and rule in order to keep their hold firm over the populace. In the army as well as in the civil services, this policy was very carefully implemented which finally divided India vertically and horizontally.

The armies were organized in such a manner that tribal, sectarian, religious and caste groups could maintain their own peculiarities. They were stationed at such places where they had no contacts of any kind with the local population and therefore were considered alien.

The newly invented theory of martial and non-martial races was applied and the people of U. P. and Bihar were classed under the second category. The communities of North West India were declared as martial. The people of Oudh and North Western Provinces who had helped the British in the conquest of the Punjab and the North-West Frontier suddenly became nonmartial(HFM., p.122).

The Police force in the Central Provinces including Nagpur was placed under the supervision of the police officers of the Regular Police. The old local village police which had strong affinities with the population were done away with. The aim was to create an efficient administrative instrument isolated from the public.(Ibid, p. 124)

The loyal support afforded by Sayyad Ahmad to the British soon bore fruit. After 1875 the Muslims became the chosen people of the Government to put down the patriotic Hindu activities. In the Central Provinces the Muslim population was negligible. Yet more than fifty per cent of the officers and nearly the same percentage of posts in the police were given to them(HFM., p 125). The policy of the British of setting the Muslims against the Hindus continued unabated. The evidence of the ‘Berar Mitra’ of 8th July 1879, is significant in this respect. In one of the editorials it asked, “why is it that only Musalmans are appointed Tahsildars these days(Ibid, p. 236.)?”.

As a part of the divide-and-rule policy in 1861 the entire Nagpur Irregular Force was incorporated in the police. The police were trained to be overbearing and contemptuous in their behaviour towards the people. The rank and file of the police force was drawn from that section of the population which had no character in the past. This naturally led to corruption and abuse of power in the police force. Sir Richard Temple, the Chief Commissioner of Central Provinces, 1864-65, referring to this state of affairs says, “Service in the police has always been unpopular with natives of superior stamp, and men of character avoided entering it. Men of ability rarely entered it except with the intention of making an unlawful fortune within a short time, risking the chance of such detection as would lead to personal punishment but quite prepared for dismissal(Ibid, p. 126.)

The police purposely insulted men of status and the Government connived at their rudeness. A British police officer could easily whip a citizen of Nagpur on the street if he failed to stand up when the Saheb- passoed by (Ibid,p.127). The feeling of oneness between the police and the people was completely disrupted.

Dalhousie’s policy towards the native states was topsyturvied in the aftermath of the revolt. Except for their sovereignty the states were restored to their former honour and rights. As a result the States came to be recognised as one of the pillars of the British Empire in India till their disappearance. Next to the States, it were the Zamindars who merited the attention of the British. In the Nagpur area a new class of Zamindars and Malguzars was created with full proprietary rights in their villages. This was quite against the Indian tradition which did not recognize private ownership in land. The landlords were revenue farmers or managers in the pre-British period. Endowed with proprietary rights in land, majority of them became stooges of the alien Government and at the same time took upon themselves the odium of revenue collection(HFM., p. 133).

The Nagpur revenue assessment was enhanced by the Residents right from 1830. The revenue system under the Bhosles though crude and elementary left the farmers with a surplus that was enough for their maintenance and future agricultural operations(Ibid, p. 137).

The activities of the Christian Missionaries began to be felt in Nagpur since 1845. In that year Stephen Hislop arrived in Nagpur and soon founded the Scottish Mission(NPI., p. 498). One of the associates of Hislop, Mr. Voss was belaboured by the Nagpur mob for his proselytising activities. The Nagpur people stoutly resisted the missionary activities(HFM., pp. 157 58), however, the missionaries in course of time further divided the Indian society which was already subjected to the divide-and-rule policy of the British.

In sum, in Nagpur as in other parts of India the alien rulers set the police against the people, the landlords against their cultivators, the Muslims against the Hindus, one caste against the other and even one sub-caste against another sub-caste. The socia-political repercussions of the dissensions nurtured by the British are felt by the people even today. In its trail, it has created problems which are difficult of solution.

Within less than a hundred years of the British rule the indigenous economy was killed in the interest of Great Britain. No wonder that Nagpur should have fallen a prey to this general economic devastation. The cotton and silk textile industries of Nagpur which were carefully, built by the Bhosles had once great demand in the markets of Egypt and Europe. With the advent of machine-made cloth imported free of duty these industries were totally ruined(HFM., pp. 170-71.).

1886-1920

Lord Lytton’s unblessed regime (1876-80) left sad memories in the people’s mind. The oppressive Vernacular Press Act, the huge expenditure incurred during the Second Afghan War, the lowering of age-limit for admission of Indians to the I. C. S. and the opening of the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligad roused public feelings throughout India. Nagpur was not slow to react against these measures.

Nagpur was moved when Vasudev Balavant Phadke of Sirdhon, the first revolutionary, tried to overthrow the British rule. He failed in his attempt and was deported to distant Aden. Nagpur was quick to receive new ideas from Poona, which led to the formation of nationalism. Soon after the foundation of the Sarvajanik Sabha of Poona, the Loka Sabha was established in Nagpur with its branches in the principal towns of the Madhya Prades(Ibid,p.171).The educated well-to-do middle class formed the backbone of these public activities.

Establishment of Congress

For the Second Session of the Congress which met at Calcutta, B. K. Bose of Madhya Prades was invited but could not attend. However, his friends Bapurav Dada Kinkhede, Garigadharrav Citnavis and Gopal Hari Bhide of Nagpur were present at the session. Abdul Aziz of Kamptee, near Nagpur, made a fine speech in Urdu at Calcutta. The Calcutta meeting imparted fresh vigour to the efforts of Krsnarav Pathak to establish a Sabha on the lines of the Sarvajanika Sabha of Poona.Garigadharrav Citnavis was the President of the Nagpur Loka Sabha and Bapurav DadaKinkhede its secretary. In 1886, a similar Sabhaa was founded at Amravati with the effortsof Vinayak Digambar Devras of Akola, Khaparde, Mudholkar, Josi and Kazi Badruddin of Malkapur.

Soon after the visit of Svami Dayanand Sarasvati to Nagpur, in 1884, the Goraksana Sabha was formed in the city. Within a year it had as many as 49 branches in the Madhya Prades. The Sabha shortly assumed an all-India form with Lokmanya Tilak, Malaviya and Pettit as its prominent members.

The Seventh Session of the All-India National Congress was held in Nagpur in 1891. Out of the 3,812 delegates 480 were from Berar. P. Ananda Charlu presided and the venue chosen was the Lal Bag. Among the chief topics taken for discussion were the Second Afghan War and Forest Laws. The latter were irksome to the people as they had deprived the villagers of their privileges, such as the common pasturage. The Nagpur session gave new impetus to the national movement in the surrounding area(Ibid, pp. 181-84).

In 1893, a public meeting in Nagpur held at the Neill City High School appealed to the Secretary of State that the Central Provinces should be allowed to send one member under the Council Act of 1892. In 1896, Gangadharrav Citnavis of Nagpur was the member recommended to the Viceroy.(HFM.,p.189)

When the outbreak of plague towards the end of the last century resulted in the murder of Rand and Lt. Ayerst in Poona, Tilak was sentenced to eighteen months’rigorous imprisonment. Nagpur was agitated at this news. In the year 1897 when the Congress session was held at Amravati, Dadasaheb Khaparde referred to the famine and plague which I ravaged the country.(Ibid, p. 192)

Towards 1907, Tilak came to the forefront as the leader of the: extremist group in the Congress.From Nagpur province Dadasaheb Khaparde and Munje represented the Tilakite school; whereas Mudholkar and Gangadharrav Citnavis backed the, moderates. In 1907 the Congress was to meet in Nagpur. The extremists wanted it to be presided over by Tilak. After a meeting which was held in t he Town Hall, the students took out a procession with the photographs of Tilak, Lila Lajpat Rai, Arabindu Ghos and Bipin Candra Pal, singingVandemataram. The students in the Morris College (now Nagpur Mahavidyalaya) greeted their European professors in the class with Vandemataram. Situation in Nagpur grew quite tense. The Congress, however, was held at Surat which marked a turning point in its history.

The group of extremists in Nagpur were encouraged by the lectures of Babu Arabindu Ghos in the city in 1908. He urged the people to adopt the cult of Svadesi. Acyutrav Kolhatkar was sentenced. To eighteen months’ rigorous imprisonment for publishing the speeches of Arabindu in his journal Desasevak.(HFM.,p.119)

The Rastriya Mandal was established in Nagpur when the Terrorist Movement was seriously disturbing the Government. Nilkanthrav Udhoji was the President of the Mandal and Munje, Acyutrav Kolhatkar, Paranjape Madhavrav Sapre, Ramnarayan Rathi, Barrister Cakravarti and Gadre its principal members.(Ibid,p.213)

During the Industrial Exhibition held on the Kasturcand Park in Nagpur in 1908, the statue of Queen Victoria in the Maharaj Bag was defaced with coal-tar. One Narayan Paranjpe was arrested for this act and later released.

The news of Tilak’s deportation to Mandaley for six years created sensation in Nagpur. The students left their classes and took out a procession. The Principal of Morris College was pelted with stones. A mammoth meeting held at the Citnavis Park was dispersed by the police. In the second meeting held on 19th August 1908, in front of the Venkates theatre a resolution was passed demanding the release of Tilak, and as a protest against injustice it called upon the people to completely boycott British goods.(Ibid, p. 221.)

The repressive measures which followed this agitation deprived Nagpur press of its freedom. Acyutrav Kolhatkar was arrested on the Nagpur station on his arrival by Calcutta mail. In 1913, Viceroy Hardinge came to Nagpur to lay the foundation stone of the Central Provinces Legislative Council. Out of its 26 members, 3 were from the Congress.(Ibid, p. 232.)

The Svadesi mills-now Model Mills-was founded in 1870. Its first directors were members of the Congress, namely, Gangadharrav Citnavis, Gopalrav Bhide, Mukundrav Buty and Gopalrav Ghatare. Along with Svadesi and Boycott, the Paisa Fund too received support from Nagpur.(HFM./p. 247.)

To meet the local needs, the first Provincial Conference was held in 1905. Dadasaheb Khapade was its President and Garigadharrav Citnavis the Chairman of the Reception Committee. The demands of the Conference were

1. abolition of Patvari cess;
2. bigar-free labour service;
3. a High Court for M. P.(Ibid, p. 253.)

After 1907, the Congress in Nagpur was sharply divided having overwh elming supporters of Tilak. In 1915, Mrs. Besant explained in Nagpur the objectives of the Home Rule League. In 1918, Tilak toured the Nagpur area: for the same purpose.(Ibid, p. 279.)

He had full faith in the constitutional struggle for the attainment of Svaraj Like many. others he was convinced of its practicability under the given situation. He, however; did not consider the activities of the terrorists or the revolutionaries as ineffectual or theoretically objectionable. He was not opposed to the overthrow of the British rule by an armed revolution if one could bring it about. In the Rand murder case the Caphekar brothers who were convicted stated in the enquiry that they were driven to desperateness by the writings of Tilak in the Kesari. Being involved in this case Tilak was sentenced to eighteen months’ rigorous imprisonment. For many revolutionaries he was the source of inspiration.

Hedgevar, the brain behind the revolutionary movement in Nagpur, had been to Poona to consult Tilak on the matter. Nothing is known about the nature of the advice he received. One Bhanji Kavare was the trusted associate of Hedgevar. Both used to securepistols and ammunition clandestinely from outside. One Dadasaheb Baksi repaired old pistols and made them serviceable. Hedgevar once unsuccessfully tried to secure arms and ammunitions from Goa. Funds were collected for this movement and secret meetings were held at the out-of-the-way places like Baraedvari, Tulsi Bag, Soneganv Mandir, Colonel Bag, Indora Mandir,and Mohite Vada. Like of Mazzini, stories of the Bengal Revolutionaries, the Alipur and Maniktola Bombing Cases, and Indian War of Independence by Savarkar were widely circulated among the revolutionaries as food for thought. Hed geviir had sent his own trusted persons to Punjab with a view to keeping contact with the revolutionaries there. One Ganga Prasad was the principal figure in this secret deputation. He was accompanied by Appaji Josi of Wardha and, Nanaji Puranik and Baburav Harkare of Nagpur. These revolutionary activities were conducted for nearly three years from 1916 onwards. Towards the end of the World War I, Hedgevar found that the movement was losing its dynamism and the chances of its success were few. He therefore called back his compatriots and. systematically disorganized the movement. He then joined the Congress.(Dr. Hedgevar-by N. H. Palkar, pp. 60-69.)

Emergence of Gandhiji

Between 1906 and 1914 Gandhiji had attracted the attention of Indian political leaders by his peaceful resistance to injustice in South Africa. He was successful in getting abolished the most hated Asiatic Act and the discriminatory treatment meted out to the Indian immigrants there. His activities in Africa were heartily blessed by Gopal Krsna Gokhale. On his return to India in 1914 he was hailed as the votary of truth and ahimsa. In spite of his bitter experience of the British rule in Africa he expressed full faith in the justice of England and advised his countrymen to offerunconditional help to the British during the First World War. But the hollowness of the proclamation during the War that responsible Government would be introduced in India; the disappointing Montford Reforms, the Rowlatt Bills and the Jallianvala Bag Tragedy of 1919, in mounting succession convinced him that the British Government was satanic. In the Khilafat Conference of November 1919 Gandhiji expounded his policy of non-co-operation with Government as a political weapon. This was largely supported in the Congress Session that followed (HFM., p. 291.). However, Congress stalwarts like Tilak, C. R. Das and Moti Lal Nehru had misgivings regarding the Gandhian ways and programme. Mrs. Annie Besant was against his Satyagraha movement, and the Jallianvala Bag Tragedy resulted in her exit from the Congress and politics. (Ibid, p. 288.)

Death of Lokamanya Tilak

With Tilak’s death on 1st August 1920, India lost a reat scholar and a fearless leader of exceptional abilities. The death of the “Father of Indian Unrest” was mourned throughout the country. Nagpur people paid their homage to Tilak in a mammoth meeting.(Ibid, p. 293.) The era of vigorous extremism in the Congress may be said to have ended with the passing away of Tilak.

The Gandhian Era

The special Congress Session which met at Calcutta in September 1920 marked a turning point in Indian politics, Gandhiji’s resolutions on Hindu-Muslim unity and the policy of non-violent, non-eo-operation for the attainment of Svaraj were passed by the Session, though Bipin Candra Pal and Das strongly opposed them considering them to be disadvantageous to the country. The Nagpur Session of the Congress which met at the end of 1920 firmly established Gandhiji’s leadership in India. His philosophy and method received a clear support. His progressive policy of non-co-operation and boycott actually outstripped the extremists.

On the eve of the Nagpur Session, opposition members had expressed their disapproval of the policy and principle of non-co-operation.They thought the movement would do more harm than good to the country.Before the Congress Session met, Dadasaheb Khaparde published a memorandum pointing out how Gandhiji’s resolution sought to divert the energies of the Congress in attaining spiritual force and moral excellence to the neglect of immediate political objectives. He further thought that boycotting the Councils would result in the loss of contact with the de facto Government ultimately depriving the people of the practical training ground for political struggle. It would not be far from truth if one states that this opinion was largely shared by the intellectuals of Nagpur.

In addition to the non-violent non-co-operation programme for the attainment of Svaraj, the Nagpur Session passed resolutions regarding promotion of Khadi, unconditional support to the Muslims in the Khilafat movement, removal of untouchability and creation of Tilak Svaraj Fund. Svaraj was to be attained within one year.

The Nagpur Congress gave tremendous fillip to the national movement in the Madhya Prades. As part of the peateful programme the Non-Co-operator’s .Asram and the Tilak Vidyalaya were established at Nagpur. To make Prohibition effective volunteers picketed at the liquor shops on January 1921. Police opened fire on the picketers in the city.(HFM.,pp.303-308.)

After the Cauri Caura incident in which the constables were cut to pieces by the angry mob, Gandhiji withdrew his mass civil disobedience movement which was to be launched all over the country.His promise of attaining Svaraj within an year fell through and a sort of lull spread over the entire programme of the Congress. It was in this atmosphere that the Svarajist Party was established following the Congress Session of Gaya of 1923. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Svarajist Party to carry the fight into the legislatures. Svaraj was to be attained by Councilentry. By this time M. V. Abhyankar who was the acknowledged leader of Nagpur moved a resolution at the All-India Congress Committee meeting in Bombay that Council-entry should be accepted as the programme of the party( Ibid, pp. 320-322.). Khaparde and Munje too were in favour of capturing all public bodies and Councils. Thus, there was a tussle between the Non-changers and the Svarajists within the Congress party.

In the elections of 1923, the Svarajists in the Central Provinces got a clear majority. The Governor called Munje, the leader of the Svarajists to form the Ministry. He promptly refused the invitation and the party launched its obstructive battle. When the Governor formed his own Ministry, the Svarajists in the house passed a motion of non-confidence against it. This was the first non-confidence motion to be passed against a Government under the Reform Act. It was the first triumph of the battle for freedom inside the Council (HFM., p. 333.). The Svarajist party itself, however, soon betrayed signs of schism under threats from the Governor. The election of Tambe of the Svarajist Party as President was hailed as its truimph. He decided in October 1925 to accept the membership of the Executive Council in the Central Provinces in the vacancy caused by the retirement of M. V. Josi. This had a nation-wide eaction. Tambe was supported by Kelkar and M. R. Jayakar of Bombay.The Berar Svaraj Party in the Executive Committee meeting of 26th October 1925, declared that time had come for adopting a policy of the Svarajists which created such a serious situation that a meeting of the All-India Svarajist Executive Committee was called at Nagpur and Motilal Nehru after heated discussions with Munje remarked that, “Maharashtra was a diseased limb of the Svaraj Party and he was quite prepared to amputate it.”(lbid, pp. 341-342.) The result was that N. C. Kelkar and M. R. Jayakar resigned from the Party and Munje followed the suit.The Responsive Co-opera tionist group formed their own party under the presidentship of Jayakar. Munje Aney of this faction broke off from Abhyankar-Vamanrav Josi.

The Congress Party which was developing cracks inside was destined to witness worst kind of communal riots between 1923 nd 1925. In 1923 Mustafa Kamal Pasa declared Turkey a Republic and in 1924 the Khilafat itself was abolished. The Indian Muslims were baffled.It knocked the bottom out of the Hindu-Muslim unity nurtured by the Congress all these years. The Muslims fell apart from the Congress increasingly.

In 1923, in the tense atmosphere of communalism the Nagpur peop1e under the leadership of Hedgevar, Paranjpe and Colkar successfully carried the Dindi Satyagraha(Dr. Hedgevar-by N. H. Palkar, pp. 123-29.). During the riots of he next year Munje gave complete co-operation to Hedgevar he founder of the Rastriya Svayamsevak Sangha. What was happening in Nagpur was common phenomenon in many other cities of India.To quell the riots Gandhiji started a fast of 21 days on 18th September,1924(HFM., p. 352.).

It may be noted here that Hedgevar was once an active and prominent worker of the Congress Party. He was the chief associate of Paranjpe who founded the Bharat Svayamsevak Mandal with a view to training the volunteers for the Nagpur Session of the Congress of 1920.During the Non-co-operation Movement Munje and Hedgevar carried a hurricane campaign against the Government in and out of Nagpur. Hedgevar was, sentenced to one year’s rigorous imprisonment. After his release he found that his heart was not in the Congress as the unconditional help to the Muslims in the Khi1afat movement to the exclusion of Goraksa-Cow protection-in the Congress programme presented a real contrast(Dr. Hedgevar-by H. N. Palkar, p. 84. One Badhe wanted that the Congress meeting in Nagpur should take the question of Goraksa as it was national. Gandhiji told him that this could not be taken as it would touch the feelings of the Muslims, and asked Mr. Badhe to leave the meeting. On his refusal to do so the meeting was adjourned.). To him, as to many others in Nagpur,unconditional help to Muslims for the attainment of Hindu-Muslim unity was a theoretical or spiritual solution fraught with danger. It was this mental dichotomy that drove Hedgevar to found the Rastizya Svayamsevaka Sqngh and forced many a thinker of Nagpur to join the Hindu Maha Sabha(Dr. Hedgevar-by N. H. Palkar, pp. 136, 143, 147.).

When the Simon Commission visited Nagpur in March 1929 the Youth League and the Students’Organization were on the forefront of the protests and demonstrations. The educational institutions in the city became active centres of youth agitation. On 14th July, the National Flag was hoisted on the Hislop College. As a sequel to Government warning against such actions all colleges in Nagpur were closed for sometime(HFM. , pp. 383,384.).

Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930-32

With Gandhiji’s historic march from Sabarmati to Dandi the Satyagraha movement spread throughout the length and breadth of the country. On 16th April 1930, the Nagpur War Council was formed with Abhyankar as its president. Among the other members of the Council were Jamnalal Bajaj, Mahatma Bhagvandin, Khare, Punamcanda Raka and Nilakanthrav Desmukh. In Berar Brijlal Biyani, Bapuji, Aney and Vamanrav Josi led the movement.

1931-47.The Gandhian Era

Abhyankar was arrested. Bapuji Aney was arrested for cutting grass in the Pusad forest. Anusayabai Kale was arrested for picketing (Ibid,. pp. 385-389.). Nagpur people gave a good account of themselves in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

After the passing of the Act of 1935, the Congress decided to contest the elections. It had clear majority in five provinces. When the new constitution came into force in the Madhya Prades a new ministry was formed with Khare as the Chief Minister, on 14th July 1937(My Political Memoirs or Autobiography, p. 8.). At the time of forming the Ministry Khare had to drop Harkare from the list of Ministers at the instance of Vallabhabhai Patel. Because of serious differences between N. B. Khare and his Mahakosal colleagues and also because of his differences with the Congress High Command, he had to resign his office of Chief-Ministership. He later published his case in the papers under” My Defence “(Ibid, pp. 10-15.).

After the outbreak of the Second World War the Congress Working Committee which met at Wardha from 8th September 1939 took the following momentous decisions:

1. It condemned Nazism and Fascism.
2. No foreign Government had the right to decide the issue of war and peace for India; It must be decided by the Indian people.
3. The British Government should declare its war aims.
4. Great Britain must establish democracy in India. A free India would willingly help free nations for mutual defence.
5. Any declaration of war aims must he given effect to immediately(HFM,. pp. 438-439.).

On these fundamental questions no compromise was possible and the Congress Ministries from different provinces resigned. A deadlock became inevitable. Gandhiji started his individual satyagraha and Vinoha Bhave was the first volunteer to launch it on 17th October 1941. In 1942 when the Quit India Call was given by the Congress, arrests, repression, underground activities and violence became a matter of daily occurrence. On the 12th August, the Police fired on the Nagpur mob killing even women and children. At Ramtek in Nagpur district there was no government for sometime. The atrocities at Asti in Wardha and Cimur in Canda are too well-known during the freedom. struggle. On the 12th August 1942, the ltvari Railway Station Godown and Post Office were set on fire. The underground movement was very active in Nagpur under the leadership of Maganlal Bagadi(HFM., pp. 472-473.).

Post Independence Period

After the end of the war, in Madhya Prades, the Cabinet was sworn in with Ravi Sankar Sukla as the Chief Minister on 27-4-1946. When freedom dawned finally on the 15th August 1947, the Nagpur people celebrated it by hoisting the National Flag on the historic fort of Sitabuldi. Ravi Sankar Sukla was the Chief Minister and Mangaldas M. Pakvasa the Rajyapala(HFM..pp. 492-493).

With the reorganisation of States in 1956, Nagpur along with the other districts of Vidarbha region became a part of the bilingual State of Bombay. In 1960 the State of Maharashtra came into existence of which Nagpur district forms a part.

The British Residents of Nagpur.

1. Forster. 15-1-1788 to 5-1-1791.
2. Colebrooke. March 1799 to May 1801.
3. Elphinstone. January 1804 to 24-1-1807.
4. Jenkins. 24-1-1807 to 29-12-1826.
5. Wilder. 12-4-1827 to 19-2-1830.
6. Groeme. 1830-1833.
7. Lt.-Col. J. Briggs. 31-5-1834 to 1835.
8. Mr. C. Cavendish. 1835 to 13-11-1839.
9. Maj. Thomas Wilkinson. 13-11-1839 to 12-9-1844.
10. Col. A. Spiers. 1-12-1844 to 1847.
11. Capt. Ramsay. January 1847 to 12-3-1849.
12. Mr. Davidson. 12-3-1849 to August 1850.
13. Mr. Mansel. 1850 to 1854. First Commissioner from 13-3-1854.
14. Capt. Elliot. 1854 to 1855.
15. G. Plowden. 1855 to 1860.

List of the Chief Commisioners and Governors of the Central Provinces since their constitution

Serial No. (1)	Name (2)	Date of assuming charge of office (3)
1	Col. E. K. Elliot	11-12-1861
2	Lt.-Col. J. K. Spence, Offg	27-12-1861
3	Mr. Richard Temple, Offg,	25-4-1862
	Col.E. K. Elliot	18-12-1863
4	Mr. J. S. Campbell, Offg.	12-3-1864
	Mr. Richard Temple	17-3-1864
	Mr. J. S. Campbell, Offg.	24-4-1865
	Mr.Richard Temple	6-11-1865
5	Mr. J. H. Morris, C.S.I., Offg.	4-6-1867
6	Mr. G. Campbell	27-11-1867
	Mr. J. H. Morris, C.S.I., Offg.	16-4-1868
	Confirmed	27-5-1870
7	Col. R. H. Keaings, V.C., C.S.I., Offg.	8-7-1870
	Mr. J. H. Morris, C.S.I.	6-7-1872
8	Mr. C. Grant, Offg.	11-4-1879
	Mr. J. H. Morries, C.S.I.	15-11-1879
9	Mr. W. B. Jones, C.S.I.	30-4-1884
10	Mr. C. H. T. Crosthwaite, Offg	1-4-1884
	Confirmed	27-1-1885
11	Mr. D. Fitzpatrick	15-12-1885
12	Mr. J. W. Neill, Offg.	19-2-1887
13	Mr. A. Mackenzie, C.S.I.	24-3-1887
14	Mr. R. J. Crosthwaite	22-7-1889
15	Mr. J. W. Neill	18-11-1890
	Mr. A. P. MacDonnel, C.S.I.	28-1-1891
16	Mr. J. Woodburn, C.S.I., Offg.	28-8-1893
	Confirmed	1-12-1893
17	Sir C. J. Lyall, K.C.S.I., C.I.E.,	21-12-1895
18	The Hon. Mr. D. C. J. Ibbelson, C.S.I.,	14-7-1898
19	The Hon. Sir A. H. L. Fraser. K.C.S.I., Offg.	28-11-1899
	Confirmed	6-3-1902
20	The Hon. Mr. J. P. Hewett, C.S.I., C.I.E., Offg.	16-9-1902
	Confirmed	2-11-1903
21	The hon. Sir F.S.P. Lely, K.C.I.E., C.S.I., Offg,	18-2-1904
	Confirmed	23-12-1904
22	The Hon. Mr. J. O. Miller, C.S.I.	4-5-1905
23	The Hon. Mr. S. Ismay, C.S.I., Offg.	27-7-1906
24	The Hon. Mr. F. A. T. Phillips, I.C.S.	S. P. T. 5 to 24-3-1907
25	The Hon. Mr. R. H. Craddock, C.S.I., I.C.S.	25-3-1909
	The Hon. Mr. F. A. T., Phillips, I.C.S., Offg.	20-5-1909
	The Hon. Mr. R. H. Craddock, K.C.S.I., I.C.S.	22-11-1909
26	The Hon. Mr. H. A. Crump, C.S.I., C.S.I.	S.P.T Fr. 26-1-1912 to 16-2-1912
27	The Hon. Mr. M. W. Fox-Strangways, C.S.I., I.C.S.	S.P.T Fr. 17-2-1912
28	The Hon. Sir B. Robertson, K.C.S.I., C.I.E., I.C.S.	3-8-1912
	The Hon. Mr. H. A. Crump, C.S.I. I.C.S. Offg.	8-4-1914
	The Hon. Sir B. Robertson, K.C.S.I., K.C.M.G., C.I.E., I.C.S.	9-4-1914 to 25-1-1920
	The Hon. Sir F. Sly, K.C.S.I., I.C.S.	S.P.T 26-1-1920 to 16-12-1920
29	H. E. Sir F. Sly, K.C.S.I., I.C.S.	17-12-1920 to 25-1-1925
30	H. E. Sir M.S.D. Butler, K.C.S.I., C.B., C.I.E., C.V.O., C.B.E., I.C.S.	26- 1-1925
31	H.E. M.r J. T. Marten, C.S.I., I.C.S., Offg.,	20-8-1927 to 16-112-1927
	H. E. Sir M.S.D. Butler, K.C.S.I., C.B., C.I.E., C.V.O., C.B.E., I.C.S.	17-12-1927 to 29-11-1929 and from 29-3-1930
32	Hon. Mr. S. B. Tambe	30-11-1929 to 28-3-1930
	H. E. Sir A. E. Nelson, K.C.S.I., O.B.E., J.P., I.C.S.	Acting 30-7-1932 to 24-11-1932
	H. E. Sir M. S. D’Butler, K.C.S.I., C.B., C.I.E., C.V.O., C.B.E., I.C.S.	15-9-1933
33	H. E. Sir H. C. Gowan, K.C.S.I., C.I.E., V.D., I.C.S., J.P.	16-9-1933

Historical Families of Nagpur.

Royal Families:
l. Bhosale, descendants of Parasoji Bhosale, the first Sena Saheb-Subha.

2. The Cond Rajas of Devagad, descendants of Bakhat Buland, the founder of Modern Nagpur.

Other Families:

Ahirrao, Malji first to come to Nagpur. Bakshi, accompanied Raghuji I.
Biniwale, Gundo Shankar in the service of Raghuji II.
Chitnavis, descendants of Rakhamaji Ganesh accompanied Raghuji I.
horghade, Divakar Purushottam in the service of the Bhosales from Janoji I onward.
Dube, Beniram ambassador of the Bhosales with the British.

Cujar, Janrao accompanied Raghuji I.
Cupte, Vinayak.
Jachak.
Jamdar brought to Nagpur by Raghuji
Kalikar in charge of the treasury.
Kalo Bhavani-Bakshi.
Khandekar, Ganesh Sambhaji, Subhedar of Orissa.
Kothekar, Anandrao Subhedar of Cangthadi.
Lashkari, Mahadaji Ballal.
Munshi Bhavani Nagnath-Munshi.
Mohite, Kedarji related to Raghuji I.
Navab family of Nagpur from Siddik Alikhan.
Nimbalkar, Piraji Naik.
Narasing Bhavani Prabhu accompanied Raghuji I.
Pantavane, Vishwanathpant, Bhosale’s ambassador at Calcutta.
Phadnavis.
Potnis accompanied Raghuji I.
Rajaram Mukund Subhedar of Katak.
Risaldar Ramchandra Dado, envoy brought by Sabaji Bhosale from Ellichpur.

Sakhadeo Timmaji, Divan of the Gond Rajas of Chanda. When Raghuji conquered Chanda he brought Timmaji to Nagpur.
Shirke, Sambhaji brother of Sakavarbai, wife of Raghuji I.
Subhedar, Vyankat Pandurang, Subhedar of Chhattisgad.
Subhedar, Vitthal Ballal Paranjpe in charge of the Bhosale
army in the Battle of Kharda.
Tikhe, Ramaji Keshav, appointed Divan of Chanda by Mudhoji Bhosle. .
Upadhye Joshi Dadbhat came to Nagpur with Kanher Ram and later became the priest Royal-Rajopadhye.
Vaidya Vishwanath envoy of Poona darbar at Nagpur.
Wagh, Ramchandra Anandrao with Appasaheb Bhosale

( This account of (i) the British Residents of Nagpur, (ii) the Chief Commissioners and Governors of the Central Provinces and Berar and (iii) the Historical Families of Nagpur has been prepared with the help of NPI and Selections from the Nagpur Residency Records-by H. N. Sinha)

This article is part of Complete History of Nagpur