Ahilyabai Holkar : Tribute
The Prime Minister of India paid tributes to Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar on her birth anniversary.
- Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar (31 May 1725 – 13 August 1795) was a ruler of the Malwa territory, a part of the Maratha Confederacy, from 1767 to 1795. She is known as Punyashlok(“One as Pure as the Sacred Chants”).
- John Keay, the British historian, gave the queen the title of ‘The Philosopher Queen’.
- She was born on May 31, 1725, in the village of Chondi in Jamkhed, Ahmednagar(Maharashtra), and her father Mankoji Rao Shinde was the village head.
- She got married to Khanderao Holkar (son of Malhar Rao Holkar) in 1733.
- Ahilyabai’s husband Khanderao Holkar was killed in the battle of Kumbher in 1754.
- Her father-in-law, Malhar Rao passed away in 1766, and in the following year, she lost her son, Male Rao.
- She ascended the throne and became the ruler of Indore on December 11, 1767.
- She had appointed Tukoji Rao Holkar as the commander of her army.
- She made Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh as the capital of the Holkar dynasty.
- She was instrumental in rebuilding major temples, notably the Kashi Vishwanath temple in 1780, and supported infrastructure such as rest houses and public ghats at various pilgrimage sites.
- She patronised stalwarts such as Marathi poet Moropant, Shahir Ananta Gandhi, and Sanskrit scholar Khushali Ram.
- She established a textile industry in Maheshwar, which today is very famous for its Maheshwari sarees.
- Understanding the importance of education, she established many gurukuls and schools.
- In a revolutionary move for her time, she formed a women’s army and trained them in warfare, self-defense, and administrative security.
