RAIGAD

Raigad District is situated in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, India. It derives its name and historical significance from Raigad Fort, the former capital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and a key site during the rise of the Maratha Empire. Historically known as Kolaba, the district is now administratively centered in Alibag, a coastal city governed by a municipal council. Known for its natural beauty and historical landmarks, Alibag and its surroundings attract both tourists and history enthusiasts.

The Raigad district consists of the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and some Vidhan Sabha segments of the Maval Lok Sabha constituency. Only Dapoli and Guhagar among the Vidhan Sabha segments of Raigad Lok Sabha constituency are situated outside the Raigad district. The other segments of the Maval Lok Sabha are located in Pune.

Within the Vidhan Parishad, the Raigad District is represented by Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Local Bodies Authorities Constituency, the Konkan Teachers’ Constituency, and the Konkan Graduates Constituency. The Graduates and Teachers’ Constituencies are based on the administrative divisions of Maharashtra.

This chapter focuses on the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and the Vidhan Sabha segments that comprise it. For the other Vidhan Sabha constituencies that fall in the district, refer to the chapter on Pune. The given maps provide an overview of the boundaries of the Raigad district and the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha Constituencies that fall within and around it.

The Raigad Lok Sabha constituency was previously known as the Colaba Lok Sabha constituency. Based on records from the delimitation reports by the Election Commission, the given chart provides an overview of the changes that have occurred in the composition of the Lok Sabha constituencies of the district and the reshuffling of the Vidhan Sabha constituencies with every delimitation that has been done.

The following are the current Members of Parliament (MP) representing Raigad district in the Lok Sabha, as of 2024:

The following are the current Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) representing constituencies in Raigad district, as of 2024:

Dhairyashil Patil, a member of the BJP, currently is a Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra and belongs to Raigad district.

Aditi Tatkare (NCP) is the current Guardian Minister for Raigad district, as of 2024.

The following table lists the current Members of the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad representing Raigad district through various constituencies, as of 2024:

The following are the key administrative heads of Raigad district, as of 2024:

There are 17 Urban Local Bodies in the Raigad District: 1 Mahanagar Palika, 10 Nagar Parishad, and 6 Nagar Panchayat. There are 704 Gram Panchayats.

The Raigad Zilla Parishad, which was established in 1962, plays a vital role in the administration of the Raigad District. It consists of a total of 59 seats.

Notably, Prabhakar Patil, one of the former Presidents of the Zila Parishad, is recognized as the chief architect of Zila Parishad Raigad. His significant contribution was instrumental in centralizing and transferring all the accounts of the Zila Parishad, which were previously scattered in Pen taluka, to the Raigad Zila Parishad in 1978. This consolidation of accounts likely streamlined the administrative and financial functions of the Zila Parishad, contributing to its effectiveness in serving the district.

Raigad district has several municipal councils (Nagar Parishads) that serve as urban local governance bodies. These include Alibag Nagar Parishad, Khopoli Nagar Parishad, Karjat Nagar Parishad, Mahad Nagar Parishad, Matheran Nagar Parishad, Mulud Nagar Parishad, Pen Nagar Parishad, Roha-Ashtami Nagar Parishad, Shrivardhan Nagar Parishad, and Uran Nagar Parishad.

The district also has two Nagar Panchayats or town councils which function as local administrative units in semi-urban areas. These are the Motala Nagar Panchayat and the Sangrampur Nagar Panchayat.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, there were a total of 13 contestants from Raigad, of which two candidates had criminal cases against them. The elected MP, Sunil Tatkare, has no criminal cases against him and belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party.

The Mahad Satyagraha, also known as the Chavdar Tale Satyagraha, was a landmark protest led by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927. At the time, Dalits were subjected to widespread social discrimination under the caste system. They were denied access to public resources such as water bodies and roads that were used by other Hindu castes.

In August 1923, the Bombay Legislative Council passed a resolution stating that members of the depressed classes should be allowed to use public spaces maintained by the government. Following this, in January 1924, the Mahad Municipal Council in the Bombay Province passed a resolution to implement this decision locally. However, its implementation was stalled due to opposition from dominant caste groups.

In 1927, Dr. Ambedkar launched a nonviolent satyagraha to assert the rights of Dalits to access public water sources. The chosen site was Mahad, a town in the Konkan region, where support had emerged from progressive members of dominant caste communities. Key allies included A. V. Chitre from the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) community, G. N. Sahasrabudhe, a Chitpawan Brahmin affiliated with the Social Service League, and Surendranath Tipnis, a CKP and president of the Mahad municipality.

Tipnis formally declared that public spaces in Mahad were open to Dalits and invited Ambedkar to hold a public meeting there in March 1927. After the meeting, Ambedkar and thousands of supporters marched to the Chavdar tank, a public water tank, where he drank water: an act of profound defiance. Thousands of Dalits followed him, demonstrating their assertion of their right to equal access.

During the satyagraha, Ambedkar also addressed Dalit women, encouraging them to abandon customs that visibly marked them as subordinate and to wear saris in the same manner as women from dominant castes. At the time, Dalit women were socially prohibited from fully draping their saris. After Ambedkar’s appeal, many women began adopting the full drape. They were assisted by progressive upper-caste women such as Lakshmibai Tipnis and Indirabai Chitre, who helped them drape their saris down to the ankles, challenging entrenched norms of caste-based dress codes.

The Mahad Satyagraha marked a turning point in the anti-caste movement and is commemorated annually on 20 March as Social Empowerment Day in India.

In July 2018, the Marathi Kranti Morcha called for a bandh in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Panvel to demand reservations for the Maratha community in education and government jobs. While the demonstrations began as peaceful, they escalated into violence in several areas, particularly in Navi Mumbai and Thane.

Protesters blocked key routes such as the Sion-Panvel Highway, leading to massive traffic disruptions and a halt in public movement. The police responded with crowd-control measures, including lathi charges, rubber bullets, and tear gas. The situation resulted in injuries to several individuals, including police personnel, and one person lost his life due to injuries sustained during the agitation.

Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, popularly known as Prabodhankar Thackeray, was born on 17 September 1885 in Panvel. He was a prominent Indian social reformer, writer, and political activist. A vocal critic of social evils, he campaigned against superstitions, untouchability, child marriage, and the dowry system. He was also a prolific writer, using his literary work as a medium for reform and awareness.

Thackeray played a significant role in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, which aimed to create a unified Marathi-speaking state. He joined the movement in 1951 and was a strong advocate for including the Dang district in Maharashtra rather than Gujarat. As a founding member of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, he actively campaigned for the inclusion of Mumbai and Belgaum in the new state of Maharashtra. He was also the father of Bal Thackeray, founder of the Shiv Sena. Prabodhankar Thackeray passed away on 20 November 1973 in Mumbai.