Pune is known as a cultural and educational city. It was known as the city of the ‘Peshwas.’ Later, during the freedom struggle, it was known to be the city of Agarkar, Gokhale and Tilak!
The city, which was always against the backdrop of Mumbai, gained its importance for 2 reasons – Education and IT. Pune houses some of the oldest colleges, such as the Fergusson College, established in 1885, the SP College, and the Pune University, always known as the Oxford of the East. Later, it became a seat of higher education, and presently, it houses the most significant number of schools, colleges and universities than any other city in India. The city attracts students from all states of India and over 85 foreign countries. Therefore, the city is rich in its intellectual heritage as it has given stalwarts such as Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, Dr Vijay Bhatkar, Dr S B Mujumdar and Dr Sancheti, who are ready to guide future generations.
Pune has also shown immense growth in the IT sector and is known as the country’s IT hub other than Bengaluru. The Software Technology Park of Pune houses Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, Tata Technologies, and many other such IT companies. Because of this, a large young population has immigrated to Pune from different towns and cities. As per Google, the current estimated population of Pune city in 2024 is 4,436,000, out of which the 25-34 age group forms a more significant proportion of the total population. In fact, almost 62 percent of the total population is under the age of 30 years. Therefore, Pune, a quiet city known as a pensioner’s paradise, has become a vibrant city of youngsters- students and IT professionals. Large industry houses like the Bajaj, Kinetic, Kirloskar, Bharat Forge, Force motors, Thermax, Suzlon, etc reside in Pune.
Pune is also an industrial hub. In fact, it is a prominent manufacturing hub with the presence of many manufacturing giants, such as Bajaj and Tata Motors, which also extend their support for research to educational institutions.
But beyond the industrial and corporate buzz, the citizens of this city are also very typical. Known as Punekars, they have typical traits of intelligence, wit and sarcasm.
Thus, Pune has evolved its own culture of which every Punekar feels proud.
Unfortunately, in the recent past, this city has also been in the news for not having such good things. Some irresponsible people tarnish the reputation of this city. Their personal actions ruin the image of Pune city. Whether it is indulgence in drugs, road traffic accidents, or the recent Porsche incident, all such incidences are due to personal actions. Unfortunately, in the recent past this city has been in the news for negative things. It was surprising for me to receive calls from parents concerned about whether Pune would be a safe place for their children to pursue higher studies? A city which is known for its safe environment, especially for girls, is now being subjected to such criticism! I have often seen girls riding two-wheelers even late in the night, and today, the same city is considered unsafe due to the irresponsible actions of a few people.
Pune citizens need to come together in a collective effort to revive the city’s shine. We, as Punekars, need to bring back the reputation and culture of this city so that, once again, we can feel proud of the rich culture and heritage of ‘Amche Pune.’