History
Being one of the princely states of British India, Kolhapur city has its location in southwestern corner of Maharashtra.The culture of Kolhapur is enriched and it is pinpointed in its treasures of varied items like food , foot wears, head wears, jewelries etc. Practices of wresting of the Kolhapuri folks and also their religious practices have got a nationwide acclamation. Mahalakshmi temple is the landmark of Kolhapur.
An interesting story related to the name of Kolhapur city is quite popular amongst the people. As per this legend, Hindu goddess Mahalakshmi killed him to save people from the clutches of this demon. Giving respect to Kalasur`s last wishes the city was names Kolhapur.
More information about this Kolhapur city has been deduced from various reliable sources. Maarthas form the majority. Also Marwadis, Gujaratis, Maharashtrian Jains, Lingayats and Sindhis from part of this Kolhapur society. For conversation people mainly use Marathi language.
Experts are of the opinion that Kolhapur is one of the cities of India who has got highest per-capita income. For sustaining their livelihood, people have adapted to trade and commercial activities. Metal, textiles, mining products, cash crop like sugarcane are the famous trade items of the city. Also Kolhapur is the second highest producer of Mercedes cars in the whole of Maharashtra state of India.
The film industry of Kolhapur is also quite popular in the arena of the Marathi film industry. Stalwarts of Indian films namely Baburao Painter, Bhalaji Pendharkar, and V. Shantaram began their career from this very soil of Kolhapur. The remarkable fact is that 1st Indian feature film called Raja Harishchandra was conceptualized in Kolhapur. Recently Kolhapur has become the hot favorite locale for film festivals and film shootings.
The historians and scholars have also traced an enriched historical heritage of Kolhapur. Kolhapur was a princely state of British during the British era. It was under Bombay Presidency`s Deccan division. Later Kolhapur came under Deccan States Agency. In fact Kolhapur has gained the status of being the Mahratta principalities. The other states are Baroda, Gwalior and Indore.
Strategic location of Kolhapur is also significant and also helps one to identify the Kolhapur in a much better way. It lies approximately at 16.7° N 74.22° E. It has an average height of 545 meters or 1788 feet.
For gaining familiarity about the identifiable features of Kolhapur it is essential to throw a glance of the demographical situation of the concerned city. In this matter, a special mentioning may be made of the Census report that has been published in the year 2001. Information viz. population status, literacy rate can also be derived from this report. As has been mentioned in this report , Kolhapur showed a population count of 485,183. Out of it, male populace constitutes 52 % . However female populace in Kolhapur is less and constitutes 48 % only. In Kolhapur, 10 % of the total population constitutes of children who are six years of age.
Whether a city has achieved development or not is rightly being deciphered if one gauges its literacy condition. In other words, literacy rate is an indicator for its growth and development. So far as Kolhapur is apprehended, its average literacy rate constitutes 80 %, which is even higher than that of India. 59.5 % is the average literacy rate of India. Both male and female population of Kolhapur have prioritized education. To support this fact one can cite high male literacy constituting 84%. However rate of female literacy constitutes 75 %.
To facilitate accessibility Kolhapur is connected via roads, train, airports, and bus services. Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus and airport near Uijaiwadi serve the needs of the traffic of Kolhapur city. Bus services also are available to other Indian places as well.