Kolhapur State

Kolhapur State कोल्हापूर रियासत
Princely State of British India
← 1710–1947 →
Flag Coat of arms
Kolhapur 1896
History
•	Established	1710
•	Independence of India	1947
Area
•	1901	8,332 km2 (3,217 sq mi)
Population
•	1901	910,011
	Density	109.2 /km2  (282.9 /sq mi)
Today part of		Maharashtra, India
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Kolhapur State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India

Kolhapur State or Kolhapur Maratha Kingdom (1710–1949) was a Maratha princely State of British India, under the Deccan Division of the Bombay Presidency, and later the Deccan States Agency.^[1] It was considered the most important of the Maratha principalities among with the other being Baroda State, Gwalior State and Indore State. Its rulers, of the Bhonsle dynasty, were entitled to a 19-gun salute - thus Kolhapur was also known as a 19-gun State. The state flag was a swallow-tailed orange pennant.^[2]

History

Shahu of Kolhapur (r. 1894 -1922)

The New Palace, Kolhapur

Maharani Tarabai.

Kolhapur State, together with its jagirs or feudatory vassal estates (including Ichalkaranji), covered an area of 3,165 square miles (8,200 km²). According to the 1901 census, the state population was 910,011, of which 54,373 resided in Kolhapur Town. In 1901, the state enjoyed an estimated revenue of £300,000.^[3]

The Maharajas of Kolhapur have a common ancestry with the Bhonsle dynasties of Tanjore and Satara, claiming descent from the Maratha royal clan Bhonslà. The states of Satara and Kolhapur came into being in 1707, because of the succession dispute over the Maratha kingship. Shahuji, the heir apparent to the Maratha kingdom, captured by the Mughals at the age of nine, remained their prisoner at the death of his father Sambhaji, the elder son of Shivaji Maharaj the founder of the Maratha Empire in 1689. The Dowager Maharani Tarabai (a widow of Rajaram Chhatrapati, younger son of Shivaji Maharaj) proclaimed her son Shivaji II, as Chhatrapati Maharaj under her regency. The Mughals released Shahu under certain conditions in 1707, and he returned to claim his inheritance. He defeated the regent at the Battle of Khed and established himself at Satara, forcing her to retire with her son to Kolhapur. By 1710 two separate principalities had become an established fact. Shivaji II and Tarabai were soon deposed by the other widow of Rajaram, Rajasbai. She installed her own son, Sambhaji II as the new ruler of Kolhapur. Sambhaji II signed the Treaty of Warana in 1731 with his cousin Shahu to formalize the two separate seats of Bhonsle family. The British sent expeditions against Kolhapur in 1765 and 1792; Kolhapur entered into treaty relations with the British, after the collapse of the Maratha confederacy in 1812. In the early years of the 19th century the British invaded again, and appointed a political officer to temporarily manage the state.^[4]

A Brahmin regent called Daji Krishna Pandit was installed by the British to govern the state in 1843 at a time when the natural heir to the throne was underage. He took direction from a political agent of the East India Company and among their actions were reforms to the tax of land. These reforms caused much resentment and, despite Kolhapur having refrained from involvement in the previous Anglo-Maratha Wars, a revolt against the British began in 1844. The rebellion began with soldiers locking themselves into hill-forts such as those as Panhala and Vishalgad, and then spread to Kolhapur itself. Both the regent and the political agent were captured by the militia forces led by Babaji Ahirekar.^[5]

The last ruler of Kolhapur was HH Maharaja Chhatrapati Shahaji II. After Indian independence in 1947, Kolhapur acceded to the Dominion of India on 14 August 1947 and merged into Bombay State on 1 March 1949. In 1960 Bombay state was divided by languages into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. ^[6] The boundaries of former Kolhapur state correspond very closely with those of modern-day Kolhapur district in Maharashtra state.

Rulers of Kolhapur

Rajas

• 1710 – 2 Aug 1714 Shivaji II (b. 1696 – d. 1726)
• 2 Aug 1714 – 18 Dec 1760 Sambhaji II (b. 1698 – d. 1760)
• 20 Dec 1760 – 17 Feb 1773 Rani Jiji Bai (f) – Regent(b. 1716 – d. 1773)
• 22 Sep 1762 – 24 Apr 1813 Shivaji III(b. 1756 – d. 1813)
• 24 Apr 1813 – 2 Jul 1821 Sambhaji III (b. 1801 – d. 1821)
• 2 Jul 1821 – 3 Jan 1822 Shivaji IV (b. 1816 – d. 1822)
• 2 Jul 1821 – 3 Jan 1822 Shahaji -Regent (b. 1802 – d. 1838)
• 3 Jan 1822 – 29 Nov 1838 Shahaji
• 29 Nov 1838 – 4 Aug 1866 Shivaji V (b. 1830 – d. 1866)
• 29 Nov 1838 – 1845 Rani Sai Bai (f) -Regent (d. 1861)
• 4 Aug 1866 – 30 Nov 1870 Rajaram II Nagaji Rao (b. 1850 – d. 1870)
• 30 Nov 1870 – 12 Oct 1871 Rani Tara Bai (f) – Regent (b. 1855 – d. 1874)
• 12 Oct 1871 – 25 Dec 1883 Shivaji VI Chhatrapati Narayana Rao (b. 1863 – d. 1883)
• 25 Dec 1883 – 17 Mar 1884 Rani Anand Bai (f) – Regent
• 17 Mar 1884 – 1900 Shahu Chhatrapati Jashwant (b. 1874 – see below)

Maharajas

• 1900 – 6 May 1922 Shahu Chhatrapati Jashwant (see above; d. 1922)
• 17 Mar 1884 – 20 Mar 1885 Jaisinhrao Ghatge -Regent
• 6 May 1922 – 26 Nov 1940 Rajaram III Chhatrapati (b. 1897 – d. 1940)
• 26 Nov 1940 – 18 Nov 1942 Tara Bai (f) -Regent (1st time) (b. 1904 – d. ....)
• 18 Nov 1942 – 28 Sep 1946 Shivaji VII Chhatrapati (b. 1941 – d. 1946)
• 22 Nov 1942 – 31 Mar 1947 Tara Bai (f) -Regent (2nd time) (s.a.)
• 31 Mar 1947 – 15 Aug 1947 Shahaji II Chhatrapati (b. 1910 – d. 1983)

Family tree

^{[7] [8]}

See also

• Maratha
• Maratha Empire
• List of Maratha dynasties and states
• List of princely states of British India (alphabetical)
• Maharajas of Kolhapur
• Panhala Fort

References

External links

• Media related to Kolhapur State at Wikimedia Commons
• Kolhapur History and Genealogy royalark
• Mumbai and Princely States Heraldry

Kolhapur district topics
History	Battle of Kolhapur Kolhapur State Panhala Fort Shahu IV of Kolhapur
Geography	Panchganga River Chitri Dam Kudnur Dam Radhanagari Dam Tillari (Forebay) Dam Tillari (Main) Dam
Cities and towns	Ajra Uttur(Kolhapur) Chandgad Gadhinglaj Halkarni Hatkanangale Harali Ichalkaranji Jaysingpur Kadgaon Kagal Kolhapur Mahagaon, Gadhinglaj Mugruwadi Murgud Nesari Shirol
Transport	Amba Ghat Kolhapur Airport MH SH 134 NH 4 NH 204
Visitor's attractions	Bhavani Mandap Jyotiba Temple Khasbag Kumbhoj Mahalakshmi Temple Narsobawadi Rajarampuri Rankala Lake Shalini Palace Shree Chhatrapati Shahu Museum Siddhagiri Gramjivan Museum
Culture	Kolhapuri chappal Maharashtra Film Company Veg kolhapuri
Education	D. Y. Patil College of Engineering and Technology Private High School Kolhapur R.C.S.M. Govt Medical College and CPR Hospital Rajaram College St. Xavier's School Shivaji University Vidyapeeth Highschool
Lok Sabha Constituencies	Hatkanangle ‡ Kolhapur
Vidhan Sabha Constituencies	Hatkanangle ‡ Hatkanangale Ichalkaranji Shahuwadi Shirol Kolhapur Chandgad Kagal Karvir Kolhapur North Kolhapur South Radhanagari
Taluka/Tehsil	Gadhinglaj Taluka Shirol Taluka
Stadiums	Rajarshi Shahu Stadium Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Stadium Khasbag Wrestling Stadium
See Also: Districts of Maharashtra Footnote: ‡ This constituency also has portions in Sangli district

Coordinates: 16°41′N 74°14′E / 16.683°N 74.233°E / 16.683; 74.233