Chintamanrao Dhundirao Patwardhan

Early life

Chintamanrao Dhundirao was born on 14 February 1890 in a Brahmin family of Sangli State. Shrimant Dhundiraj Chintamanrao alias Tatyasaheb- Patwardhan the 2nd ruler of Sangli State died without male issue on 12 December 1901, and Vinayakrao Bhausaheb, who was the adopted grandson of Shrimant Chintamanrao Appasaheb I (1st ruler of Sangli), was selected by Government as successor. He is named as Chintamanrao Dhundirao and was succeeded as Raja of Sangli on 15 June 1903. During this time he was still studying at Rajkumar College, Rajkot. After his college education and becoming major, he was invested with full ruling powers on 2 June 1910, by Captain Birk (who was appointed by the Sangli Durbaar as the administrator during the ruler's adolescence). On 26 June 1910 he married Saraswatibai, daughter of Moropant Vishvanath Joshi of Amaravati. Saraswatibai was awarded on 3 June 1929 the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal of the First Class in recognition of her public services in the cause of the womanhood of State. Chintamanrao has always taken a keen interest in the administration of his State, and has introduced several reforms.