Malegaon

Malegaon (, ) is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the Nashik district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located at around 280 km northeast of state capital Mumbai. Malegaon lies at the confluence of Girna and Mousam rivers.

Malegaon is one of the largest cities in northwest Maharashtra. It is second largest city of Nashik district after Nashik city.

As majority of Malegaon's population belong to Hindu and Muslim communities, the vast city's education system has been able to support various languages (Urdu/Marathi/English) through numerous institutions:

Despite all this, Malegaon has seen the infrastructure and quality of life deteriorate over the years.

Geography

Malegaon is located at . It has an average elevation of 438 metres (1437 feet).

History

Malegaon is located on the Mumbai-Agra national highway (N.H.03). The town’s history and location appear to be the primary reasons for its communally polarised profile. Situated on the road linking Mumbai and Agra — now National Highway No 3 — it was once a small junction known as Maliwadi (hamlet of gardens) and quickly gained the reputation for being a source of employment. When a local jahagirdar, Naro Shankar Raje Bahadur, started building a fort in the area in 1740, a project that took 25 years, a sizeable number of Muslim workers and artisans from places like Surat and northern India settled in the area. After the British capture of the Malegaon fort in...
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