Karanja Lad

Karanja or Karanja Lad is a city and a municipal council in Washim district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Karanja is also known as Karanja Lad and is mainly referred to as such. The town is named after Saint Karanj. Lad is referred for the name of jain community whose caste is Lad. Karanja is a holy place for Hindus and Jains. It is the birthplace of Shri Nrusimha Saraswati Swami Maharaj, believed to be the second incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.There is a large lake in Karanja Lad known as "Rishi Talao". The town was looted twice by the famous Maratha sardar Prataprao Gujar on the orders of the then sole sovereign Hindu King, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Karanja was ruled by Nawab Subhan Khan, whose "mahal" is currently used as a Municipal Council Office. His Godowns is used as the Karanja police station. He has built a lot of structures around Karanja Lad. He constructed a wall and four doors around Karanja, namely the Delhi Gate, the Darwha Gate, the Mangrul Gate and the Poha Gate. His name and period of ruling is embossed on the Municipal Office, all gates and all structures erected by him. He had also built a big mosque in the Astana Area of Karanja Lad. The "Nawab Subhan Khan Masjid" mosque is named after him.DemographicsAs of the 2001 Indian census, Karanja had a population of 60,158. Males made up 52% of the population and females 48%. Karanja has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy rate is 78%, and female literacy is 67%.