In the historical annals, Pune, formerly denoted in English as Poona, stands as a city in Maharashtra state, gracing the Deccan plateau in Western India. Functioning as the administrative epicenter of the Pune district and the Pune division, this urbanity, according to the 2011 Census of India, assumes the mantle of the ninth-most populous city across the nation. Its confines house a populace of 3.1 million, while the metropolitan expanse accommodates 7.2 million denizens, thereby elevating its status to the eighth-most populous metropolitan zone in India.

Integral to the Pune Metropolitan Region, Pune emerges as one of India’s expansive IT nuclei. Simultaneously, it asserts its significance as a pivotal automotive and manufacturing nucleus within the Indian topography. Often adorned with the epithet “Oxford of the East,” Pune boasts a constellation of esteemed educational institutions, securing recurrent accolades as the “most liveable city in India.”

Throughout diverse epochs, Pune has witnessed dominion by the Rashtrakuta dynasty, Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Mughals, and the Adil Shahi dynasty. During the 18th century, this urban expanse was entwined with the Maratha Empire, serving as the locus of the Peshwas, the preeminent ministers of the Maratha dominion. The annals are adorned with historical landmarks such as Pataleshwar caves, Shaniwarwada, Shinde Chhatri, and Vishrambaug Wada, all vestiges of that era. These historical vestiges span varied epochs, punctuating the cityscape.

Inherent to Pune is its historical eminence as a cultural nexus, hosting luminaries like Dnyaneshwar, Shivaji, Tukaram, Baji Rao I, Balaji Baji Rao, Madhavrao I, Nana Fadnavis, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Savitribai Phule, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Tarabai Shinde, Dhondo Keshav Karve, and Pandita Ramabai, who etched their life’s narrative within Pune City or the broader Pune Metropolitan Region.

Pune earned distinction as a bastion of resistance against British Raj, with stalwarts such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar leading the charge in the struggle for Indian independence in their respective epochs.