Ratnagiri (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

city on the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

coast in Ratnagiri District in the southwestern part of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

, India. The district is a part of

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

division of Maharashtra. The city is known for the Hapus or Alphonso mangoes. Ratnagiri is the birthplace of Indian independence activist

Lokmanya Tilak Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya ( IAST: ''Lokmānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence ...

. Thibaw, the last king of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, alongside his consort

Supayalat , image = Queen Supayalat of Burma.jpg , image_size = , caption = , succession = Chief queen consort of Burma , reign = 12 April 1879 – 29 November 1885 , predecessor ...

and two infant daughters were exiled to a two-storied brick mansion in Ratnagiri. The building is now known as Thibaw Palace.

Geography

Ratnagiri is located at . It has an average elevation of 11 meters (36 feet). The Sahyadri mountains border Ratnagiri to the east

Climate

Transport

Road Ratnagiri is well connected to the other parts of the state and country by National Highways & State Highways. National Highways

NH 66 National Highway 66, commonly referred to as NH 66 (erstwhile NH-17 and a part of NH-47), is a mostly 4 lane long busy National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to the Western Ghats. It con ...

( Panvel – Edapally ), NH 166 ( Ratnagiri –

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...

) and Coastal Highway ( Rewas – Reddy ) pass through the city. MSRTC operates bus services to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...

, Vasai,

Nala Sopara Nala Sopara or Nallasopara (Pronunciation: aːla sopaɾa formerly known as Sopara or Supara, is a town within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The town lies in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, India and is governed by Vasai-Virar Munici ...

, Kalyan,

Bhiwandi Bhiwandi () is a city in the Thane district in Maharashtra, India. It is located northeast of Mumbai and northeast of the city of Thane. The city is a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Bhiwandi is a commercial city and a major trade ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

Panaji Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary i ...

, Nanded, Latur, Tuljapur,

Akkalkot Akkalkot () is a City and a municipal council in Solapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated 38 km southeast of Solapur and close to the border of Karnataka state. City is the home to Shri Swami Samarth, a 19th ...

Ambajogai Ambajogai, (also called Ambejogai or Ambanagari) is a municipal council, Tehsil and subdivision in Beed district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Ambajogai is known as cultural capital of Marathwada. The town is named as Ambajogai after ...

Beed Beed (Marathi pronunciation: iːɖ is a city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state in India. It is the administrative headquarters in Beed district. History Beed is a historical city of possibly medieval origin. Its early history is ob ...

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

, Gargoti,

Gadhinglaj Gadhinglaj ( �əɖᵊɦiŋɡləd͡z is a city in India in the Kolhapur district in the southwest corner of the state of Maharashtra, India. It is located on the banks of the river Hiranyakeshi. It is the Taluka (Tehsil) headquarters of G ...

, Nrushimhawadi, Ichalkaranji,

Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks ...

, Miraj,

Tasgaon Tasgaon Tasgaon is a city in Maharashtra and a municipal council in Sangli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Tasgaon city is developing city in Maharashtra. Tasgaon was given as Jahagir to Parshuram Bhau Tasgaonkar by Narayanrao Ball ...

, Jat, Islampur, Satara,

Belgaum Belgaum ( ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...

Hubli Hubli, officially known as Hubballi, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. The twin cities Hubli–Dharwad form the second largest city in the state by area and population and the largest city in North Karnataka. Hubli is in Dharwad dist ...

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural i ...

and other major towns of the state. North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation also operates buses from Belgaum, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Indi, Muddebihal, Sindgi, Athani, Jevargi and Talikota. A number of private buses regularly ply for

and

and a few for

. Railways Ratnagiri is a major Railhead on

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi and ...

route. Ratnagiri is also one of the two divisions of Konkan Railway Corporation. The city is well connected to

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

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Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

, Dehradun,

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known a ...

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital o ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per ...

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is ...

, Bhuj,

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...

Jabalpur Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. ...

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

, Margao,

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore and other major towns of the country. Every train passing through the city halts here. Connectivity to western Maharashtra is proposed through Vaibhavwadi Road –

route.

Collector and District Magistrate

M. Devender Singh (IAS:MH2011) has joined as Collector and District Magistrate, Ratnagiri on 01-10-2022.

Political Leadership

Ratnagiri Municipality : The Ratnagiri Municipality was established in 1876. The incumbent president is Mr.Pradeep Salvi ( Shiv Sena). Ratnagiri (Vidhan Sabha constituency) : Uday Samant ( Shiv Sena), Minister of Higher and Technical Education,

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisl ...

represents Ratnagiri constituency in State Assembly since 2004. Ratnagiri–Sindhudurg (Lok Sabha constituency) : Vinayak Raut ( Shiv Sena) represents Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency in Loksabha, lower house of the parliament since 2014.

Education institutes

*Government College of Engineering, Ratnagiri *M.M.A.K.Desai Highschool *Mane's international school *Podar International School, Ratnagiri
Sarvankash Vidya Mandir
*Gangadhar Govind Pathwardhan English Medium School (G.G.P.S) *College of Fisheries, Shirgaon, Ratnagiri (DBSKKV) * Government Polytechnic, Ratnagiri * Indian Technical Institute (ITI) Ratnagiri * Finolex Academy of Management and Technology (An engineering college affiliated to

University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...

) * Government college of Pharmacy, Ratnagiri *Patwardhan High School, Ratnagiri. * Phatak High School, Ratnagiri *Late T.P. Kelkar Jr. college of Science Ratnagiri * R. B. Shirke High School * Mistry High School, Ratnagiri * M. S. Naik High School. * Gogate Joglekar College *St.Thomas English Medium School *Rajendra Mane College of Engineering & Technology (Affiliated to

) *Rajendra Mane Polytechnic *A.D.Naik Urdu Medium School *Sacred Heart Convent High School, Ratnagiri. *Mane's international school *S.B.Keer Law College. *Jagadguru Narendracharya Maharaj Educational Institute

Marine Biological Research Station

The

Maharashtra Government Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

under the Department of Fisheries established the Marine Biological Research Station (MBRS) in 1958 at Ratnagiri, which is presently attached with Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Dist.: Ratnagiri. The research station has a 10 hectare area as field facility including a three storied building at the main campus, a well equipped aquarium and museum, a modernised brackish water fish farm, a Mechanized Fishing and Research Vessel, Seed Production facilities and various laboratories at its disposal. The Marine Biological Research Station, Ratnagiri is one of the premier institutes, especially in the South Konkan Coastal Fisheries Zone, having a mandate for development of fish production technologies, transferring the technologies to fish culturists, entrepreneurs and the industry, and generating professionally trained manpower in fish culture.

History

Ratnagiri was an administrative capital under the Sultanate of Bijapur. A fort built by the Bijapur Sultanate, reconstructed by the Maratha king

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...

in 1670 is located on a headland near the harbour. In 1731 Ratnagiri came under the control of the Kingdom of Satara, and in 1818 it was annexed to

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Ratnagiri is the birthplace of Indian freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He was born on 23 July 1856 after which he moved to

with his family when he was 10 years old. In 1886, King Thibaw of

was sent to Ratnagiri after he was deposed and his country annexed by the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. Along with his pregnant wife, his junior queen, and his two young daughters, he would live out the rest of his life in Ratnagiri, as a prisoner of the British Crown. Ratnagiri was chosen for its remote location, some 3,000 miles from Thibaw's former royal seat of Mandalay, accessible only by sea for parts of the year and far from any territory of any rival European power. Ratnagiri was also the place of confinement for Vinayak Damodar Savarkar from 1921 to 1935, initially in jail and subsequently under local confinement.

References

External links

{{Ancient Dharmic centres of Higher Learning Port cities and towns of the Arabian Sea Port cities in India Talukas in Maharashtra Cities and towns in Ratnagiri district Tourist attractions in Konkan Ratnagiri Cities in Maharashtra