Pratap Singh Bhosale (18 January 1793 – 14 October 1847) was the last

Chhatrapati Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit language.The word ‘Chhatrapati’ is a Sanskrit language compound word (tatpurusha in Sanskrit) of '' chhatra'' (''parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and ''pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). This title was used ...

of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...

, Satara from 1808 to 1819. However, political power was under the control of

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. He was also the Raja of Satara until 1839, when he was replaced with Shahaji of Satara by the British.

Descent

He was born in the

Bhonsle The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest ...

clan of

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 ...

caste.

Early life

Pratap Singh was the eldest son of

Shahu II of Satara Shahu Bhonsle II (1763 – 3 May 1808 CE) was the titular Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire. A member of the Bhonsle clan, he was succeeded by his son Pratap Singh, Raja of Satara Shahu was nominal ruler in Maratha Empire. During his reign, t ...

, whom he succeeded, and a descendant of

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...

, the founder of the Maratha Empire.

Emperor

He was dethroned and stripped of his powers and personal possessions in 1839. He was exiled to

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...

and granted an allowance for his maintenance. Rango Bapuji Gupte, a loyal Sardar to him, long fought unsuccessful legal battles in London on his behalf. He was succeeded by his brother, Appa Saheb, under the title Shreemant Maharaj Shaji Raja Chhatrapati of Satara. Appa Saheb then became known as Raja Shahaji.

Reign

Pratap Singh built Pune-Satara Road, a palace called 'Rajwada' that was used as a court for 150 years. It is now in possession of the ''vanshaj'' of Udayan Maharaj). Pratap Singh High School was started around 1851. Dr

Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

was a pupil of this school until 4th standard. Pratap Singh's wife started a Private Library in Satara town in 1851 that was open to the public of Satara. The library now known as Nagar Vachanalaya, was once Chhatrapati Pratap Singh Maharaj (Thorle) Nagar Vachanalay Satara. He built the Satara-Medha-Mahabaleshwar Road in

Mahabaleshwar Mahabaleshwar () is a small town and a municipal council in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus because Krishna river has its origin here. The British colonial rulers developed the town as a hill station ...

(a hill station for Britishers he established Malcom Peth named for the contemporary Governor of Bombay (Now Mumbai) 48 km from Satara) State. Rajpath 2 ways from Rajwada to Powai Naka was built by him. He started two schools for English, Persian, Marathi, and Sanskrit in Satara. Modern Satara is his creation as Chhatrapati Shahu I's RangMahal was burned in a fire, following which he built Jal Mandir Palace as a residence for him and his family where now Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale live.

Descent

Early life

Emperor

Reign

References

Further reading