Miraj Senior was one of two

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

s during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

: '

Miraj Junior Miraj Junior was one of two Maratha princely states during the British Raj: 'Miraj Senior' and Miraj Junior. The two states separated in 1820. It was under the southern division of the Bombay Presidency, forming part of the southern Maharashtra, M ...

' and Miraj Senior. The two states separated in 1820. It was under the southern division of the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

, forming part of the southern Mahratta

Jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

s, and later the

Deccan States Agency The Deccan States Agency, also known as the Deccan States Agency and Kolhapur Residency, was a political agency of British India, managing the relations of the British government of the Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states and ...

. Miraj Senior measured in area. According to the 1901 census, the population was 81,467. In 1901, the state enjoyed revenue estimated at £23,000, and paid £800 in tribute to the

. The Raja resided in the town of

Miraj Miraj (Pronunciation: iɾəd͡z ) is a city in Sangli District and also in Maharashtra, India, that was founded in the early 10th century. It was an important jagir of the Adil Shahi court of Bijapur. Shivaji Maharaj stayed in Miraj for ...

(population 18,425 in 1901), which was a junction on the Southern Maratha Railway.

History

The State of Miraj was founded before 1750 and was the former capital of the pre-British State of

Sangli Sangli () is a city and the district headquarters of Sangli District in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. It is known as the Turmeric City of Maharashtra due to its production and trade of the spice. Sangli is situated on the banks o ...

. In 1820, the state was divided between a Senior and Junior branch. The territory of both branches was widely scattered among other native states and British districts. The rulers of the

Patwardhan dynasty The Patwardhan dynasty was an Indian dynasty established by the Chitpavan Brahmin Patwardhan family, ruling several parts of the Maratha Empire from 1733 till 1948, when it acceded to the Dominion of India. At its peak, various branches of the ...

used the title of

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

, and were of the same clan that ruled nearby

Jamkhandi Jamakhandi is a city in Bagalkot district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It was the capital of the former princely state of Jamkhandi. It is located 90 km towards west from District headquarter. It is the first princely state to mer ...

. Raja Govind Rao Patwardhan, 1st Ruler of Miraj, began as a cavalry commander, distinguished himself in several expeditions against the

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

and

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

, established the

ascendancy in southern India and pushed the Maratha conquests to the frontier of Mysore. Miraj Senior acceded to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

on 8 March 1948 and is currently a part of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. Miraj is also famous for its musicians, and doctors. In the mid-nineties it had municipal corporation in combination with Sangli and thus lost the edge it had over the neighboring twin city of Sangli for two centuries.

Rulers

The rulers of Miraj state belonged to the Patwardhan dynasty and bore the title 'Rao'.Princely States of India
/ref>

Raos

*17.. - 1771 Govindrao (d. 1771) *1771 - 1775 Vamanrao (d. 1775) *1777 - 1782 Hariharrao (b. c.1765 - d. 1782) *1782 - 1801 Chintamanrao (b. 1775 - d. 1801) *1801 - 1820 Gangadharrao I

After the split

*1820 - 1833 Ganpatrao I *1833 - 1855? Narayanrao I *1855? - 1870 Gangadharrao II *1833 - 1875 Ganpatrao II "Tatya Sahib Patwardhan" * 6 June 1875 - 1939 Gangadharrao III "Bala Sahib Patwardhan" (b. 1866 - d. 1939) (from 1 January 1903, Sir Gangadhar Rao II) *11 Dec 1939 – 15 August 1947 Narayanrao II "Tatya Sahib Patwardhan" (b. 1898 - d. 1984) * Shrimant Madhavrao “Rao Saheb” Patwardhan I (b. 1923 - d. 1999) * Shrimant Gangadharrao IV “Bala Saheb” Patwardhan (b. 1946 - * Shrimant Vasant Raje Patwardhan (b. 1944 - d. 1991) * Rajkumari Yamuna Vasant Patwardhan / Naykude (b. 1948 - * Yuvraj Agastyanand Vasant Raje Patwardhan (b. 1974 - * Shrimant Keshav Rao/Patwardhan (b. 1985 - * Shrimant Arjun Rao/Patwardhan (b. 1992 -

References

External links