Lably
Skip to content

Kolhapur State

Maratha princely state of India (1710–1949)

  • 6 min read
  • 3 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Marathi people, Princely state and Deccan Plateau

Lab · Class 6–12Archaeology & Discovery

Kolhapur State, together with its jagirs or feudatory vassal estates (including Ichalkaranji), covered an area of 3,165 square miles (8,200 km2). According to the 1901 census, the state population was 910,011, of which 54,373 resided in Kolhapur Town. In 1901, the state enjoyed an estimated revenue of £300,000.

History

The Maharajas of Kolhapur have a common ancestry with the Bhonsle dynasty of Satara, being direct descendants of the Maratha King Shivaji. The states of Satara and Kolhapur came into being in 1707, because of the succession dispute over the Maratha throne. Shahuji, the heir apparent to the Maratha kingdom, captured by the Mughals at the age of nine, remained their prisoner at the death of his father Sambhaji, the elder son of Shivaji the founder of the Maratha Empire, in 1689. The Dowager Maharani Tarabai (widow of Rajaram I) proclaimed her son Shivaji II, as Chhatrapati under her regency. The Mughals released Shahu under certain conditions in 1707, and he returned to claim his inheritance. He defeated the regent at the Battle of Khed and established himself at Satara, forcing her to retire with her son to Kolhapur. By 1710, two separate principalities had become an established fact. Shivaji II and Tarabai were soon deposed by Rajasbai, the other widow of Rajaram. She installed her own son, Sambhaji II as the new ruler of Kolhapur. In the early years of his rule, Sambhaji made an alliance with the Nizam to wrest the Maratha kingdom from his cousin, Shahu. The defeat of the Nizam by Bajirao I in the Battle of Palkhed in 1728 led to the former ending his support for Sambhaji. Sambhaji II signed the Treaty of Warna in 1731 with his cousin Shahuji to formalize the two separate seats of Bhonsle family.

The British sent expeditions against Kolhapur in 1765 and 1792; Kolhapur entered into treaty relations with the British, after the collapse of the Maratha confederacy in 1818. In the early years of the 19th century the British invaded again, and appointed a political officer to temporarily manage the state.

A regent called Daji Krishna Pandit was installed by the British to govern the state in 1843 at a time when the natural heir to the throne was underage. He took direction from a political agent of the East India Company and among their actions were reforms to the tax of land. These reforms caused much resentment and, despite Kolhapur having refrained from involvement in the previous Anglo-Maratha Wars, a revolt against the British began in 1844. The rebellion began with soldiers locking themselves into hill-forts such as those as Panhala and Vishalgad, and then spread to Kolhapur itself. Both the regent and the political agent were captured by the militia forces led by Babaji Ahirekar. Ahirekar was killed in December 1844 and the revolt crushed.

The last ruler of Kolhapur was Maharaja Shahaji II. After Indian independence in 1947, Kolhapur acceded to the Dominion of India on 14 August 1947 and merged into Bombay State on 1 March 1949. In 1960 Bombay state was divided by languages into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The boundaries of former Kolhapur state correspond very closely with those of modern-day Kolhapur district in Maharashtra state.

Sign in to keep reading

2 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Notable people

Dutch RepublicPredecessor state of the Netherlands (1581–1795)Mandatory PalestineBritish mandate territory (1920–1948)LuftwaffeAir force of Nazi Germany (1935–1945)Second French EmpireFrance under Napoleon III (1852–1870)HispaniaRoman province (218 BC – 472 AD)Chola EmpireMedieval Indian empire (848–1279)