in the district was opened in 1831. Every village has one or more resident families as Christian and every village has its own church for worship. Ahmednagar's Christians are called Marathi Christians and a majority of them are Protestants. Notable people C Ramchandra - Music Director and Playback singer. Meher Baba - spiritualist, has Ashram's in Meherabad & Meherazad, Ahmednagar Balasaheb Bharde (1912–2006), Former Minister, former speaker of the State Legislative Assembly and Padma Bhushan recipient. Anna Hazare - social activist Zaheer Khan, Indian Cricketer born at Shrirampur City on 7 October 1978, who has been a Key member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. He also played for Worcestershire in County Cricket and plays for Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. He is currently the second-most successful Indian pace bowler in Test match cricket, behind Kapil Dev. B. J. Khatal-Patil Ex. Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra, a senior Maharashtra leader and a veteran Congressman. Indurikar Maharaj - comedian kirtankar, and social educator Dagdu Maruti Pawar (1935–1996), a Marathi author and poet known for his contributions to Dalit literature. He was born in Dhamangaon, Akole taluka. Ajinkya Rahane, Indian cricketer born at Ashvi village, Sangmner on 6 June 1988. Bhausaheb Thorat (12 Jan 1924-14 Mar 2010), a leader of farmers and Indian National Congress legislator. He was well known in the cooperative movement, founder of the Sangamner Cooperative Sugar Mill, and former president of the Sangamner taluka and State Cooperative Bank. He is recognized for his work in Sangamner taluka and Akole taluka. Concerned about global warming, Bhausaheb Thorat has led a campaign to plant 45 million trees every year. In the epic Ramayana, the sage Agastya turned the arid Dandakaranya into a green heaven through a massive drive of tree planting. A book, The Man Who Planted Trees, an allegorical tale by French author Jean Giono, also inspired Bhausaheb Thorat. For this, he started the Dandakaranya Abhiyaan in June 2006 at Sangamner. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil - member of parliament and a former minister, Padma Bhushan recipient Vithalrao Vikhe Patil - Indian industrialist, the founder of the first sugar factory in the cooperative sector in India at Loni, in Maharashtra and the founder of a group of industries and institutions composed of Institute of Business Management and Rural Development, Padmashri Dr. Vithalrao Vikhe Patil Foundation's Medical College and Hospital and Padmashri Dr. Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited'', operating under