Baroda State

Baroda State Princely State [[Mughal Empire|←]] 1721–1949 [[India|→]] Flag Baroda state in 1909 History  - Established 1721  - Independence of India 1949

Baroda State was an Indian princely state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until 1947 when it succeed to newly formed, India. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its capital, during the British Raj it was part of the Baroda Residency. It was one of the largest and wealthiest princely state of British India, with wealth coming from lucrative cotton business as well as rice, wheat and sugar.^[1] At the time of Indian independence, only five rulers—the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Maharaja of Mysore, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir state, the Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda and the Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior—were entitled to a 21-gun salute.^[2] It formally merged with the Union of India, on May 1, 1949, prior to which an interim government was formed in the state.^[3]

History

Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad III (1863 – 1939), Maharaja of Baroda

Baroda derives its native name, Vadodara from Sanskrit word, vatodara, (In the heart of Banyan (Vata) tree), though also has another name, Virakshetra or Virawati (land of warriors), mentioned alongside Vadodara, by 17th century Gujarati poet, Premanand Bhatt, native to the city. Its named has been mentioned as Brodera by early English travellers and merchants, from which its later name Baroda was derived.^[4] Geographically it comprised tracts of land, measuring over 8000 sq. miles, spread across the present Gujarat state, this was subdivided into four prant (state), namely Kadi, Baroda, Navsari and Amreli, which included coastal portions of the state, in the Okhamadal region near Dwarka and Kodinar near Diu.^[5]

The Marathas first attacked Gujarat in 1705. By 1712, a Maratha leader Khande Rao Dabhade grew powerful in the region and when he returned to Satara in 1716, he was made the senapati (commander in chief). Thereafter during the "Battle of Balapur" in 1721, one of his officers, Damaji Gaekwad was awarded the title Shamsher Bahadur or Distinguished Swordsman. Damaji died in 1721 and was succeeded by his nephew Pilajirao.^[6]

Thus the Baroda State was founded in 1721, when the Maratha general Pilaji Gaekwad conquered Songadh from the Mughals. Prior to this Pilajirao was appointed as general to collect revenues from Gujarat by the Peshwa, the effective ruler of the Maratha Empire, who had taken over the region north and south of Surat from the Mughals to established the Sarkar of Surat. Songadh remained the headquarters of the "House of Gaekwad" till 1866.^[7][8]After the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805), the East India Company wrested control of much of Gujarat from the Marathas. However the Gaekwads of Baroda (Vadodara), made a separate peace with the British, and acknowledged British sovereignty in return for retaining local self-rule.

Silver rupee of Sayaji Rao II of Baroda (ruled 1819-47), naming the Mughal emperor Muhammad Akbar II, dated AH 1238 (= 1822-23 CE). The prominent Nagari letter sa stands for Sayaji Rao and we also see a curved sword, one of the dynastic symbols of the Gaekwads and seen also on the Baroda state flag.

Silver rupee of Sayaji Rao III of Baroda (ruled 1875-1939), showing his portrait. This coin is dated 1955 in the Vikrama era (= 1897 CE).

Although the Gaekwads trace their origins to 1720, it was not until considerably later that Baroda can be truly thought of as an independent state. The first coins issued by the Gaekwads were issued by Manaji Rao (ruled 1789-93) and they followed the Maratha pattern of naming the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, distinguishing themselves only by the placement of an extra mark or letter to indicate the issuer. Manaji, for example, placed a Nagari letter ma on his coins. After 1857, since the Mughal emperor had been formally deposed, it no longer made any sense to issue coins in his name, so the designs were changed and coins were issued in the name of "the Commander of the Sovereign Band," a title of the Gaekwad. The legends on these coins were still in Persian and the coins themselves were still hand-struck. Finally, in stages during the 1870's, Nagari legends and different designs were introduced and also milled coins began to be issued, eventually featuring the portrait of the Gaekwad on them.

Following the death of Sir Khanderao Gaekwad (1828–1870), the popular Maharaja of Baroda, in 1870, it was expected that his brother, Malharrao (1831–1882), would succeed him. However, Malharrao had already proven himself to be of the vilest character and had been imprisoned earlier for conspiring to assassinate Khanderao. As Khanderao's widow, Maharani Jamnabai (1853–1898) was already pregnant with a posthumous child, the succession was delayed until the gender of the child could be proven. The child proved to be a daughter, and so upon her birth on 5 July 1871, Malharrao ascended the throne.

Malharrao spent money liberally, nearly emptying the Baroda coffers (he commissioned a pair of solid gold cannon and a carpet of pearls,among other expenses) and soon reports reached the Resident of Malharrao's gross tyranny and cruelty. Malharrao further attempted to cover up his deeds by poisoning the Resident, Colonel R. Phayre C.B. with a compound of arsenic. By order of the Secretary of State for India, Lord Salisbury, Malharrao was deposed on 10 April 1875 and exiled to Madras, where he died in obscurity in 1882.^[9] With the throne of Baroda now vacant, Maharani Jamnabai called on the heads of the extended branches of the dynasty to come to Baroda and present themselves and their sons in order to decide upon a successor.

Makarpura Palace, built by Maharaja Khende Rao in 1870

Kashirao and his three sons, Anandrao (1857–1917), Gopalrao (1863–1938) and Sampatrao (1865–1934) walked to Baroda from Kavlana-a distance of some 600 kilometers-to present themselves to Jamnabai. Eventually Gopalrao was selected by the British Government as successor and was accordingly adopted by Maharani Jamnabai, on 27 May 1875. He was also given a new name, Sayajirao. He ascended the gaddi (throne) at Baroda, 16 June 1875 but being a minor reigned under a Council of Regency until he came of age and was invested with full ruling powers on 28 December 1881. The Maharajah of Baroda, Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad III, became one of most important rulers of the state, founding numerous institutions, including the Bank of Baroda on 20 July 1908. The bank, along with 13 other major commercial banks of India, was nationalised on 19 July 1969, by the Government of India; it is today the third largest bank of India. ^[10]

Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda, built by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1890

By the beginning of the 20th century, the four largest states—Hyderabad State, Mysore, Jammu and Kashmir, and Baroda State were directly under the authority of the Governor-General of India, in the person of a British Resident. ^[11]In 1911, Baroda State spanned 8,182 km² (3,159 sq mi), and the population was 2,032,798 persons as per the 1911 census of India.^[12] The state was very wealthy. The Pittsburgh Press reported in 1927 that the diamond necklace, which contained the Star of the South diamond, was a part of a royal collection worth $10,000,000 at the time, housed in the Nazarbaug Palace (built 1721) in Baroda city; another important part of the collection was a cloth embroidered with precious stones and seed pearls, made to cover the tomb of Mohammed.^[13][14]

In 1930s, Baroda Residency was combined with the princely states of northern Bombay Presidency into the "Baroda, Western States and Gujarat Agency". A newly reformed State Legislative Assembly known as Baroda State Praja Mandal assembled at Thol village, 20 miles from Ahmedabad, on October 27, 1940, with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as its president. ^[15]

Post-independence of India, an interim government under Prime Minister Dr. Jivraj Narayan Mehta, son-in-law of Manubhai Mehta, then Dewan of Baroda state. was inaugurated in the State, on Sept 4, 1948, by the then Maharaja at a special Durbar in the Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda.^[16] Finally on May 1, 1949, Baroda State, the third largest state of the British India formally merged with the Union of India,^[3][17] Initially, Baroda merged with the Bombay state, and then, on 1 May 1960, when the two new states of Gujarat and Maharashtra were formed, it became part of Gujarat, with Dr. Jivraj Narayan Mehta becoming the first Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Baroda State Railway

The state owned the Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway (GBSR), which started in 1862 with the first narrow-gauge in India, it was a 8 miles (13 km) of an NG railway line from Dabhoi to Miyagam.^[18], a metre gauge railway line was later added. After independence, in 1949 this railways merged with the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway.

Baroda State Navy

In late 18th century, the Baroda state established a Naval set up at Billimora, a port about 40 miles south of Surat, known as Bunder Billimora Suba Armor. Here a fleet of 50 vessels was stationed, which included mostly sails, cargo vessels for trading and military vessels to secure the sea from Portuguese, Dutch and French. ^[7]

When political alignments changed, after the Second Anglo-Maratha war, a joint expedition of British and Baroda state troops under Colonel Walker, then resident of Baroda, appraoched Kathiawad in 1808, and eventually obtained bonds from the chiefs of Okha-mandal and from the maritime states of Kathiawad renouncing piracy. Then in 1813, the Baroda government acquired the parganah of Kodinar (in present Junagadh district), where at port of Velan a small fleet of four frigates with 12 pounder guns on each for the protection of the trade between Bombay and Sindh was established. These four armed vessels were named Anandprasad, Sarsuba, Anamat Vart and Anne Maria, which was purchased from the Shah of Iran, and was known as 'Shah Kai Khusru' till then. ^[7]

Gaekwad Maharajas of Baroda

Kirti Mandir, the cenotaph of the Gaekwads in Baroda.

• Pilaji Rao Gaekwad (1721–1732)
• Damaji Rao Gaekwad (1732–1768)
• Govind Rao Gaekwad (1768–1771)
• Sayaji Rao Gaekwad I (1771–1789)
• Manaji Rao Gaekwad (1789–1793)
• Govind Rao Gaekwad (restored) (1793–1800)
• Anand Rao Gaekwad (1800–1818)
• Sayaji Rao II Gaekwad (1818–1847)
• Ganpat Rao Gaekwad (1847–1856)
• Khande Rao Gaekwad (1856–1870)
• Malhar Rao Gaekwad (1870–1875)
• Maharaja Sayyaji Rao III (1875–1939)
• Pratap Singh Gaekwad (1939–1951)
• Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad (1951–1988)
• Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad (1988 - )

Present Line of Succession to the Baroda Throne

The Gaekwad dynasty follows the standard of male primogeniture in matters of succession. The present line of succession is as follows:

1. Yuvraj Samarjitsingh Gaekwad, Yuvaraj Sahib of Baroda (25 April 1967-). Only son of Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad, the present Yuvaraj Has two daughters, Padmaja Raje (b 2006) and Narayani.
2. Shrimant Prince (Maharajkumar) Sangramsinhrao Gaekwad, the Heir Presumptive (6 August 1941-). Younger brother of the present Maharaja.
3. Shrimant Maharajkumar Pratapsinhrao Sangramsinhrao Gaekwad (26 August 1971-). Only son of Sangramsinhrao Gaekwad.
4. Shrimant Rajkumar Sayajirao Khanderao Gaekwad (6 April 1947-). Great-grandson of Sayajirao Gaekwad III by the Maharaja's younger son Shivajirao (1890–1919) and through Shivajirao's son Khanderao (1916–1991). Has two daughters.
5. Shrimant Rajkumar Anandrao Khanderao Gaekwad (28 September 1948-). Younger brother of Sayajirao Khanderao Gaekwad. Has two sons.
6. Shrimant Shivajirao Anandrao Gaekwar (21 September 1983-). Elder son of Anandrao Khanderao Gaekwad.
7. Shrimant Udaysingh Anandrao Gaekwar (3 December 1990-). Younger son of Anandrao Khanderao Gaekwad.
8. Shrimant Satyajitsinhrao Duleepsinhrao Gaekwad (2nd March 1960/3rd March 1962-). Great-grandnephew of Sayajirao Gaekwad III through the Maharaja's elder brother Anandrao, Himmat Bahadur, CIE (1857-1917), through Anandrao's son Chandrasinhrao (b. 1894-?) and through his grandson Duleepsinhrao (b. c1920-?)
9. Shrimant ? Satyajitsinhrao Gaekwad (199?-). Son of Satyajitsinhrao.
10. Professor Shrimant Gautam Bhadrasinhrao Gaekwad. (15 May 1935-). Grandnephew of Sayajirao III through the Maharaja's elder brother Anandrao, Himmat Bahadur, CIE (1857-1917) and through Anandrao's younger son Bhadrasinhrao, CIE (1896-1946)

Historiography

In 2007, Gujarat State Department of Archives started digitising six lakh files, including aroda state registers, prints, maps, abhinandan patra or maan patra (felicitation letters) offered to the erstwhile King by different provincial states and organisation, aagna patrika (gadgets), huzur orders, and volumes of letters exchanged and agreements of the princely state with other provincial states and the British Raj, currently housed at the 'Southern Circle Record Office' at Vadodara, where a permanent exhibition had also been set up. ^[19]

See also

• List of Indian princely states

Further reading

• Foote, Robert Bruce (1898). The geology of Baroda State. Addison. 
• Mukerjea, Satyavrata. Baroda State. Government Printing, 1921.
• Gadre, A. S. (2007). Important Inscriptions from the Baroda State - (Volume 1). READ BOOKS. ISBN 1406711365. http://books.google.com/books?id=v47SWFtJkwwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Baroda+State%22+-inpublisher:icon&cd=2#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Gupte, Balkrishna Atmaram (1922). Selections from the Historical records of the Hereditary minister of Baroda, consisting of letters from Bombay, Baroda, Poona and Satara governments. University of Calcutta. http://www.archive.org/stream/selectionsfromhi00guptuoft#page/n5/mode/2up. 
• F. A. H Elliot. The Rulers of Baroda. Baroda State Press 1934. ASIN B0006C35QS. 
• Gense, James. The Gaikwads of Baroda. D.B. Taraporevala Sons & Co 1942. ASIN B0007K1PL6. 
• Kothekara, Santa. The Gaikwads of Baroda and the East India Company, 1770-1820. Nagpur University. ASIN B0006D2LAI. 
• Gaekwad, Fatesinghrao

• Biography of Maharaja Sayajirao III by Daji Nagesh Apte. Sayajirao of Baroda: The Prince and the Man. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 9780861322145. 
• Gaekwar, Sayaji Rao. Speeches and addresses of Sayaji Rao III, Maharaja Gaekwar of Baroda. H. Milford 1933. ASIN B000855T0I. 
• Rice, Stanley. Life of Sayaji Rao III, Maharaja of Baroda. Oxford university press 1931. ASIN B00085DDFG. http://www.archive.org/details/LifeOfSayajiRaoIiiMaharajaOfBaroda. 
• Clair, Edward. A Year with the Gaekwar of Baroda. D. Estes & co 1911. ASIN B0008BLVV8. http://www.archive.org/stream/yearwithgaekwaro00weedrich#page/n9/mode/2up. 
• MacLeod, John. Sovereignty, Power, Control: Politics in the State of Western India, 1916-1947. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9004113436. 
• Kamerkar, Mani. British Paramountcy: British-Baroda Relations, 1818-1848. Popular Prakashan. ASIN B000JLZE6A. 
• Kooiman, Dick. Communalism and Indian Princely States: Travancore, Baroda and Hyderabad in the 1930s. Manohar Pubns. ISBN 9788173044212. 
• Desai, Govindbhai. Forty Years in Baroda: Being Reminiscences of Forty Years' Service in the Baroda State. Pustakalaya Sahayak Sahakari Mandal 1929. ASIN B0006E18R4. 
• Maharaja of Baroda. The Palaces of India. Viking Pr. ISBN 9780002116787. 
• Doshi, Saryu. The royal bequest: Art treasures of the Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery. India Book House. ISBN 9788175080096. 
• Moore, Lucy. Maharanis; the extraordinary tale of four Indian queens and their journey from purdah to parliament. Viking Press. ISBN 0670033685. 

References

1. ^ "India Has Rich State In Baroda". Hartford Courant. Aug 16, 1927. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/808132672.html?dids=808132672:808132672&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Aug+16%2C+1927&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=India+Has+Rich+State+In+Baroda&pqatl=google. 
2. ^ "Salute States". http://www.royalark.net/India/salute.htm. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Rulers Farewell Message". Indian Express. May 1, 1949. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5Hw-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=4UsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5018,2762425&dq=baroda-state&hl=en. 
4. ^ Gazetteer, p. 25
5. ^ Gazetteer, p. 26
6. ^ Gazetteer, p. 31, 32
7. ^ ^{a b c} "280 years ago, Baroda had its own Navy". The Times of India. Sep 27, 2010. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/280-years-ago-Baroda-had-its-own-Navy/articleshow/6638897.cms. 
8. ^ Gazetteer, 32
9. ^ "DEPOSITION OF THE GAEKWAR OF BARODA". The Times of India. April 26, 1875. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=GRA18750705.2.12. 
10. ^ 28 May, 2010, 04.34PM IST,ET Now (2010-05-28). "Growth potential for Bank of Baroda is pretty high: Arihant". The Economic Times. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Views/Recommendations/articleshow/5985388.cms. 
11. ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV (1907), p. 92.
12. ^ Somerset Playne, R. V. Solomon, J. W. Bond, Arnold Wright (2006). "The State of Baroda". Indian states: a biographical, historical, and administrative survey (illustrated ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. 9. ISBN 9788120619654. 
13. ^ "Baroda City of Palace". The Pittsburgh Press. Aug 14, 1927. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0kAbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P0oEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3086,6808320&dq=baroda-state&hl=en. 
14. ^ "Gaekwad's Star of the South diamond sold". The Times of India. 2007-03-28. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Gaekwads_Star_of_the_South_diamond_sold/articleshow/1825284.cms. 
15. ^ "Will Democracy Stand the Test?". Indian Express. Oct 29, 1940. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3ZI-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=3UsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5708,5438614&dq=baroda-state&hl=en. 
16. ^ "Gaekwar Inaugurates Responsible Government". Indian Express. September 5, 1948. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xdI-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=k0wMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3890,6471046&dq=baroda-state&hl=en. 
17. ^ "Kher's Appeal to people &Service for Cooperation". The Indian Express. May 2, 1949. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5Xw-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=4UsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1263,2862239&dq=baroda-state&hl=en. 
18. ^ "Indian Railways Some Fascinating Facts: First Gauge Lines". Indian Army Official website. 
19. ^ "Erstwhile Gaekwad state’s archives being digitised". Indian Express. Dec 27, 2007. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/erstwhile-gaekwad-states-archives-being-digitised/254807/. 

• "Baroda State". Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 7. Oxford at the Clarendon Press. 1908. pp. 25–84. http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V07_031.gif. 
• Detailed history and genealogy of Baroda state Royalark

External links

• Genealogy of princely states of Baroda at Queensland University
• Coins of Baroda State