Sandur State was a

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

of India 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 him ...

, part of the

Madras States Agency The Madras States Agency was an agency of India. Founded in 1923, it consisted of these five princely states (by precedence) : * Travancore, ruled by a Maharaja with a hereditary salute of 19-guns; * Cochin, ruled by a Maharaja with a heredita ...

. Its capital was the town of

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 Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: म ...

History

From 1731 until the accession to India, the Sandur state was ruled by

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 a ...

royals. In 1776 – 1790 its territory was annexed to the

Mysore Kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...

. Between 27 October 1817 and 1 July 1818 Sandur was annexed to the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...

's Dominions. In 1801,

Bellary Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. History Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956. The Ballari ...

district was transferred to

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, and the Rajas of Sandur came under the political authority of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. On 1 July 1818 Sandur formally became a British protectorate. The area of the state was 433 km². (161 sq. mi.); its population in 1901 was 11,200. The military sanatorium of Ramandurg is located in a range of hills on the western border of the district. The

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 ...

of Sandur acceded to the Union of India on 10 August 1947. The ruler commanded an estimated annual revenue of Rs.3,500/-. Sandur remained a separate territorial entity till 1 April 1949 when it was merged with the neighbouring Bellary district of

Madras State Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and ...

(the previous directly ruled colonial

Madras Province The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

). Sandur state was later incorporated into

Bellary district Bellary, officially known as Ballari (pronounced ), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Kalyana-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka un ...

, then part of the Madras Presidency. In 1953, Bellary District was transferred to

Mysore State Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later India, Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's c ...

, which was later renamed

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

. The instrument of accession to the Dominion of India was signed by

Yeshwantrao Ghorpade Maharaja Srimant Yeshwantrao Hindurao Ghorpade (13 November 1908 - 11 October 1996) was the ruler of the princely state of Sandur from 1928 to 1949. He was the last Rajah of Sandur and presided over the accession of the state to the Dominion of I ...

on 10 August 1947, thereby merging Sandur State with the

in 1949. After formation of states on linguistic basis, Sandur was transferred to the

in 1956. Raja Yeshwantrao continued playing an influential and active role in public life, till his death in 1996. He was succeeded by is son, M. Y. Ghorpade as the titular Raja. M. Y. Ghorpade served as a state Minister for Finance, Rural Development & Panchayats, Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Member of Parliament the Indian Parliament (Lok Shabha).

Royal insignia

Arms

A fess, argent, thereon a "ghorpad" (monitor lizard) fesswise, proper; in the base, pink, a cannon, proper; in the chief, pink, a "Shiv Linga" vert, between two tower or. Helmet: with visor, all or. Crest: A "Chhatra" (parasol) on a wreath, all or. Supporters: Elephants with raised trunks, dexter, the rear left foot, and sinister, the front feet on the compartment, all proper. Motto: "Hindurao" in Marathi, azure on a pink riband. Compartment: Vines and creepers proper. Lambrequins: Argent and azure.

Royal standard

Rectangular 4x7, swallow-tailed, saffron in colour, with a white strip at the hoist. Near the hoist, in the centre - a golden sun in splendour of saffron rays having a "Ghoo" in centre with natural colouring, under a saffron "Chhatra" of having bistre spots.

Royal Titulature

Rulers

The male line has failed several times, necessitating adoptions from junior branches of the family. The right to adopt an heir and successor was confirmed by a British sanad of adoption in 1862. * 1713 – 1731 Sidhoji Rao I (b. c.1683 – d. 1731) * 1731 – 15 March 1776

Murari Rao Murari Rao Ghorpade (1699-1779), known simply as Murari Rao, was an army general in the Maratha Army from Gooty who administered the fort of Tiruchirappalli and surrounding areas from 1741 to 1743. His administration marks the only period of Marat ...

(b. c.1699 – d. 1779) * 1790 – 1796 Sidhoji Rao II (b. 1783 – d. 1796) * 1796 – 27 Oct 1817 Shiva Rao II (1st time) (d. 1840; cfr. below) * 27 Oct 1817 – 1 July 1818 annexed to the Maratha Peshwa's Dominions * 1 July 1818 – 2 May 1840 Shiva Rao II (2nd time) (s.a.) * 2 May 1840 – 1861

Venkata Rao II Venkata or Venkat may refer to: * Venkata (hill) or Venkatadri, one of the seven sacred peaks of Tirumala hill in Andhra Pradesh, India ** Venkateswara ("the Lord of Venkata"), a form of the Hindu god Vishnu Places in India * Venkatagiri, Nellore ...

* 1861 – 1878

Shivashanmukha Rao Raja Srimant Shivashanmukha Rao Venkata Rao Hindurrao Ghorpade (17 October 1847 - 3 May 1878) was a member of the Ghorpade Dynasty who served as the Raja of Sandur State from 1861 to 1878. His reign was noted for its progressive reforms. Early ...

* 3 May 1878 – 3 Dec 1892

Ramachandra Vitthala Rao 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 of the princely state of Sandur from 1878 to 1892. Early life Ramachandra Vitthala Rao ...

* 3 Dec 1892 – 24 Jul 1927

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 ...

* 5 May 1928 – 15 Aug 1947

Diwans

* J. G. Firth (1885-1897) * T. Kodandarama Nayudu (1897-1914) * A. Subbaraya Mudaliar * T. Ramachandra Iyer

References

External links and sources

*
Indian Princely States, as archived on www.uq.net.au - Genealogy of Sandur princely state
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