Amalner is a town located in the Tapi river valley, on the banks of the Bori River, and serves as the taluka headquarters in Jalgaon district. Before 1906, the present-day Jalgaon and Dhule districts were together part of a single district known as Khandesh, in which Amalner and Parola were central places. This is the Karmabhumi (land of action) of Sane Guruji, who taught at Pratap High School here. Around 150 to 175 years ago, a saint named Sakharam Maharaj lived in Amalner, and his samadhi (memorial) is situated in the riverbed of the Bori River. Due to the presence of Saint Sakharam Maharaj, Amalner gained spiritual prominence and is still known as the Pandharpur of Khandesh. Apart from this, there is also a temple dedicated to the planet Mars (Mangal) in Amalner. Once upon a time, Amalner was a fortified town (Nagarkot), but with urban expansion, the fort's existence has been erased. ... On one side of the town, the natural protection offered by the Bori River was reinforced with fortifications and bastions. On the remaining three sides of the town, three gates and a 20-foot-high fortified wall with bastions were built for protection. Even today, in Amalner, one can see a 20-foot-high grand gate of the fort and two strong bastions beside it. While walking along the riverbed road toward the samadhi temple of Saint Sakharam Maharaj, on the right-hand side, one can see a 40-foot-long section of the fort wall and two bastions. In this wall, there is a small gate facing the riverbed, above which are small minarets resembling those of a mosque. Locals have built houses on top of the fort walls. While approaching the main gate of the fort from the Wadi Sansthan area on the river, one passes by five or six old mansions. All these mansions display beautiful wooden carvings. Additionally, next to the Dharamshala (pilgrim rest house) of the Wadi Sansthan, an ancient idol is kept in the open under a tree. There is no available historical record stating when or by whom the Amalner fort (Nagarkot) was built. During the Peshwa era, this fort was under the management of the Rajebahaddars of Malegaon. In 1818, the fort was in the possession of Madhavrao, a representative of the Peshwas. When the British took control of Khandesh, Madhavrao, following the orders of the Peshwas, decided to hand over the fort to the British. However, the fort’s commander Ali and his Arab platoon under him refused to surrender the fort. In response, the British dispatched a force from Malegaon under Colonel Huskinson, consisting of around one thousand Bhil battalion soldiers, artillery, and cavalry, to attack the fort. They began bombarding the fort from the east side, across the river. Commander Ali and his troops made a valiant effort, but they were no match for such a large army. The British had surrounded the fort on all four sides. When the British took control of the Bahadurpur fort to the south, the supply of ammunition and provisions from that direction was cut off, forcing the defenders to abandon the fort. Commander Ali and his troops brought their weapons outside the fort and attempted to escape through the riverbed, but the attempt failed. All of them were captured by the British, and thus, the Amalner fort fell into British hands.
© Suresh Nimbalkar