Raja Srimant Ramachandrarao Vitthala Rao Ghorpade CIE (29 March 1850 – 3 December 1892) was a member of the Ghorpade Dynasty who served as the

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

of the princely state of Sandur from 1878 to 1892.

Early life

Ramachandra Vitthala Rao was born on 29 March 1850 in

Sanduru Sanduru (often written Sandur) is a town in Bellary District in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative seat of Sanduru taluka. Sandur was ruled by the Ghorpade royal family of the Marathas.The present scion of Sandur is Ajai ...

to Venkata Rao, the Raja of Sandur, a princely state under the jurisdiction of the Bellary District of the Madras Presidency. Ramachandra Vitthala Rao was educated in private.

Reign

Ramachandra Vitthala Rao succeeded his brother Shivashanmukha Rao as Raja on 3 May 1878 when the latter died without any offspring. Ramachandra Vitthala Rao celebrated his official coronation on 5 February 1879. In 1882, Ramachandra Vitthala Rao leased 40,000 acres of forests in Sandur state to the Madras government. In September 1885, J. G. Firth a retired tahsildar in Bellary was appointed the Agent of the Madras government to Sandur state. He was subsequently appointed as the first diwan of Sandur. Ramachandra Vitthala Rao was made a

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

in July 1892.

Death

Ramachandra Vitthala Rao died on 3 December 1892 at Bellary where he had gone for treatment. Ramachandra Vitthala Rao was succeeded by his son

Venkata Rao III Raja Shrimant Venkatarao Ramchandrarao Ghorpade (10 July 1892 – 24 July 1927) was the ruler of the princely state of Sandur from 1892 to 1927. The state was administered by a council of regency till 1913 when he was invested with full ruling ...

. {{s-end 1850 births 1892 deaths Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire