Maharaja Srimant Yeshwantrao Hindurao Ghorpade (13 November 1908 - 11 October 1996) was the ruler of the

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, ...

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 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 ...

. He was also an ardent wildlife conservationist and member of the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

Early life and education

Yeshwantrao was born on 13 November 1908 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 ...

, the capital of Sandur state to Bhujangrao Yeshwantrao Raje Ghorpade, the jagirdar of Gajendragad and his wife, Tarabai Sahib Ghorpade. Yeshwantrao had his education at Baldwin High School,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and Holkar College,

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

and graduated from the

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

. On 5 May 1928, he succeeded his deceased cousin,

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 ...

as the Raja of Sandur and was formally installed on 20 June 1928.

Reign

Yeshwantrao ruled as the Rajah of Sandur till the state's accession to Indian on 10 August 1947. The state was initially governed by an administrator till 5 February 1930 when he assumed full administrative powers. Yeshwantrao's reign is notable for his social and administrative reforms apart from his efforts at wildlife conservation. Yeshwantrao abolished untouchability and opened the gates of Hindu temples to all castes through legislation in 1932. In 1931, he set up a legislature comprising an upper and a lower house, the Sandur State Council. The famous writer and wildlife conservationist,

Madhavaiah Krishnan Madhaviah Krishnan (30 June 1912 – 18 February 1996), better known as M. Krishnan, was a pioneering Indian wildlife photographer, writer and naturalist. Early life M. Krishnan was born in Tirunelveli on 30 June 1912 and was the youngest of e ...

was an employee of the Sandur State Civil Service and was instrumental in drawing the Rajah's attention to wildlife conservation. After independence, Ghorpade served as Vice-President of the Expert Committee of Wildlife Conservation in India.

Honours

Yeshwantrao was a recipient of the King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

Silver Jubilee medal (1935), King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

coronation medal (1937) and the

Indian Independence Medal The Indian Independence Medal was instituted by the Dominion of India and approved by King George VI by way of a Royal Warrant dated 21 July 1948. It was a commemorative medal for service with the Indian armed forces at the time of independence i ...

(1948).

References

1908 births 1996 deaths Members of the Bombay Natural History Society {{s-end