Introduction:
Aurangabad History Society (Short form: AHS) is a collective venture of scholars and historians working on the history and heritage of Aurangabad and its affiliated regions.Aurangabad is one of the oldest cities of state of Maharashtra and Deccan, in its vicinity is located well-known historic political and cultural capitals of history of Deccan i.e.: ‘Pratishthan’, ‘Devgiri-Daulatabad’ and religious abode of Sufi saints ‘Khuldabad’. The region of Aurangabad also well known for Buddhist heritage of Ajanta, Pitalkhora, Bhokhardhan and many of the less explored sites. It was the connecting town since ancient times for trade routes from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Konkan region. Traders passing through Khandesh, Burhanpur and Deccan used it as a major trade center. Regent Malik Ambar of Nizamshahi Dynasty founded the city as Fatehabad and the city started getting its initial fortifications. In 17th century Emperor Aurangzeb further ornamented the city of Aurangabad and constructed some of the eminent architectural monuments like Bibi-Ka-Maqbara and gave the city its own fort with name Qila-I-Ark. Through the ages Buddhist, Jain, Sufi, Hindu, Sikh and Mahanubhav saints gave some eminent abodes of worship and public welfare monuments to the city and later during the Nizam and British era many more public welfare buildings were constructed in the city which all are part of the heritage of the city and areas around and continue to be the legacy of today.
Therefore, with such a rich legacy of history and heritage which has been briefly highlighted over here; we endeavor to begin this AURANGABAD HISTORY SOCIETY-AHS. AHS was founded by Prof. V.L. Dharurkar, Retd. Prof of Journalism from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Dr. Bina Sengar, Assistant Professor, Department of History and Ancient Indian Culture, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar University Aurangabad, Dr. Rizwana Tabassum, Professor: Department of History, Sir Sayyad College-Aurangabad, Dr. Gopal Bacchire-Professor-History, Siddharth College-Jafrabad, Ar. Pradeep Deshpande and Veteran Historian-Late Shri Abdul Haiji. On 28th July, 2014 when its first meeting was held in Government College, Aurangabad. Since then AHS come a long way. We have seen various milestones in growth of AHS and its contribution in heritage awareness among people of Aurangabad and in large scenario with its global impact as well.
In growth of AHS a big contribution is of students and alumni of Department of History and Ancient Indian Culture of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad.
WORKING GROUP COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES (WGCA)
The working committee of Aurangabad History Society constitutes of its founding members and active volunteers who joined us in passage of time.
Since 2014, the Working Committee of Aurangabad History Society is as follows:
- Chairperson: Prof. V.L. Dharurkar
- Secretary: Dr. BINA SENGAR
- Treasurer: Dr. Gopal Bachire
- Joint Secretary: Dr. Rizwana Tabassum
- Member: Dr. Vinod Borse
- Member: Dr. Gani H. Patel
- Member: Prof. Pushpa M. Gaikwad
- Member: Ar. Pradeep Deshpande
- Member: Mr. Sanjay Sathe
- Member: Sardar Sarabjeet Singhji
- Member: Dr. V.B. Lamb
Veteran Advisors and Patrons
- Respected Mrs. Fatema Zakaria
- Prof. R.S. Morvanchikar
- Late Janab Abdul Hai Sahab
- Janab Aslam Mirza ji
- Prof. Shaikh Ramzaan
- Prof. Dulari Qureshi
- Mr. Rafat Qureshi
- Sardar Harvinder Singh Bindraji
- Sardar Nanak Singh Nishter Ji
- Sardar Hari Singh Ji
- Shri Sudhir Mahajan ji
As part of developing a working group, AHS promotes people who are interested in history and culture of Aurangabad-Deccan to be members. There are criterions for Volunteer Professional Members (VPM) and Volunteer Student Members (VSM) the updated contact list of the VPM and VSM will be updated regularly in the AHS webpage. The active members of the AHS are thereafter made members WGCA mentioned above.
Activities of Aurangabad History Society
- Documenting the places and events of Aurangabad districts history
- Developing a database of the public and private historical archives of Aurangabad
- Heritage plan study and conservation for monuments of Aurangabad district
- Journal of Aurangabad History Society
- Bi-annual workshops on "Aurangabad History and Heritage"
- ‘Satkarni’: Annual Public Lecture Series
- Monthly Meetings of AHS Members’ for sharing ideas’ and thoughts.
- Every year in month of July-August we organize ‘Foundation Day Lecture Series of Aurangabad History Society’
- We organize heritage walks and heritage excursion tours in collaboration with different subject experts and organizations engaged in cultural activities
- We also collaborate with other city-based organizations to promote history and heritage of Aurangabad-Deccan
CONTACT ADDRESS:
Aurangabad History Society
Dr. BINA SENGAR: Founding Secretary and member Aurangabad/Chh.
Sambhajinagar History Society C/o Flat No. 1: Ravikiran Apartment, Nandanvan Colony, Chh. Sambhajinagar-431001
Tel: +91-8830380326, Email: aurangabadhistorysociety@gmail.com