Mudhoji II (died 15 July 1840), also known as Appa Sahib, of the
Bhonsale dynasty, ruled the
Kingdom of Nagpur
The Kingdom of Nagpur was an Indian kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries. It came under the rule of the Marathas of the Bhonsle dynasty in the mid-18th century and became part of the Maratha Empire. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the st ...
in central India from 1816 to 1818. His reign coincided with the Third Anglo-Maratha War between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company, which ended with the defeat of the Marathas.
On the death of Raghoji II Bhonsle, Raghoji II Bhonsale in 1816, his son Parsaji was soon supplanted and murdered by Mudhoji II. A treaty of alliance providing for the maintenance of a subsidiary force by the British was signed in this year,
a British resident having been appointed to the Nagpur court since 1799. In 1817, on the outbreak of war between the British and the Peshwa, Appa Sahib threw off his cloak of friendship, and accepted an embassy and title from the Peshwa. His troops attacked the British, and were defeated in the action at Sitabuldi Fort, Sitabaldi, and a second time round Nagpur city. As a result of these battles, the remaining portion of Berar Province, Berar and the territories in the Narmada River, Narmada valley were ceded to the British. Appa Sahib was reinstated to the throne, but shortly afterwards was discovered to be again conspiring, and was deposed and forwarded to Allahabad in custody, while the British placed his successor Raghuji Bhonsle III, Raghoji III Bhonsale, a minor, on the Nagpur throne. On the way, however, he bribed his guards and escaped, first to the Mahadeo Hills and subsequently to the Punjab region, Punjab. Raja Mansingh of Jodhpur gave him asylum at Man Mandir in Jodhpur against the wishes of British. When British sent forces against Man Singh, he stood surety for Appa Saheb. Appa Saheb remained in Jodhpur, where he died on 15 July 1840 at 44 years while in exile.
References
* Hunter, William Wilson, Sir, et al. (1908). ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', Volume 17. 1908-1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Maratha Chiefs in the Maratha Confederacy
People from the Maratha Confederacy
19th-century Indian royalty
1840 deaths
Maharajas of Nagpur
Year of birth unknown
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