Dharangaon is an important town in Jalgaon district. This town, which is the main part of the taluka, is 35 km from Jalgaon city and 58 km from Nasik Agra highway. As this was an important market for clothes during the Mughal period, they built a fort around this village to protect the entire city. Increasing urbanization has taken away the entire fort and only a few remnants of it can be seen today. The main gate of Fort on the main road was demolished in 2010 to widen the road and today only pictures of it can be seen. Another gate of Fort can be found in the Muslim Mohalla in the central part of the village. Apart from this, at Kiran Theater near Teli Lake outside the village, we can see the two bastions of a strong fortress and the remaining ramparts. Adjacent to the Gangarameshwar Mahadev temple in the village is a large well of 250 x 40 feet carved in stone. ... This well has four arches to enter inside. Apart from this two inscriptions can be seen in the premises of Dharangaon Municipality. An hour is enough to walk around Dharangaon Fort area. In the seventeenth century, Dharangaon was an important village on the Chandwad-Barhanpur trade route. Dharangaon is mentioned as an important trading center with names like Dongaon, Dorongaon, and Drongaon. During the Mughal period i.e. around 1600 AD, this city, which was famous for its good quality cloths, was exported to England and Persia via Surat. In 1674 AD, the British established a Vakhar in this city for trade. It is recorded that the cloth here was sent to England with an excise duty exemption of five thousand Mahmud rupees. It is said that Shivaji Maharaj came here during his ride to Surat. In the 17th century, Dharangaon was a major trading center of the British Empire. It is said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja collected tribute from this city twice in AD 1675 and AD 1679 as Mughals dominated here at that time. In 1678 AD, the British shifted their quarters from Dharangaon to Chopda. After Sambhaji Raje ascended the throne, Hambirrao Mohite's army looted Dharangaon in February 1685. When Dharangaon came under British rule in 1818 AD, it was the main colony of the British. He made Dharangaon the capital of Khandesh. Lieutenant Sir James Outram was a British general born in London during the British era. Lt. Outram formed a detachment of Bhil brothers at Dharangaon. During the ten years between 1825 and 1835, Outram lived in Dharangaon. Lt. Outram was working as a simple lieutenant while he was here. He later served as Lieutenant General of the British, Commander in Chief of the British Army. Outram was given the title of Baird, meaning the spotless and blameless chieftain. This title is mentioned in the Dharangaon inscription. These two circular inscriptions in English and Marathi language testifying to the history can be seen in the premises of the municipal building. These inscriptions testify to the historical Dharangaon. Apart from this, one more important information is that Dharangaon is the birthplace of poet Trimbak Bapuji Thombare. His house, which is the place of his birth, can still be seen in its original form in Dharangaon.
© Suresh Nimbalkar