Kirkee
Kirkee, 1908
(Kirki or Khadki). — Town in the Haveli taluka of Poona District, Bombay, situated in 18° 34' X. and 73° 51' E., on the south- east branch of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, 116 miles south- east of Bombay and 4 north-west of Poona city. Population (1901), 10,797. On Xovember 5, 1817, the first of three battles which led to the collapse of the Maratha power was fought near Kirkee, then a mere village. The British force under Colonel Burr was 2,800 strong, of whom 800 were Europeans. 7'he Peshwa's force under Bapu Gokhale numbered 18,000 horse and 8,000 foot, with an immense train of ordnance. The Peshwa Baji Rao wiThessed the battle and his own defeat from Parbati hill, one mile south of Poona. Kirkee is the principal artillery station in the Bombay Presidency, four field batteries being quartered here. It contains an arms and ammunition factory, employing about 2,000 operatives. The average income of the canton- ment fund during the decade ending 1901 was Rs. 22,000. In 1903-4 it was Rs. 28,000, and the expenditure amounted to Rs. 22,000. The town contains an English school. A branch of the Church Missionary Society, stationed here, carries on evangelistic work in the taluka.
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
