Shrimant Maharaja Sir Khanderao II Gaekwad, Sena Khas Khel Shamsher Bahadur,

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI) # ...

(1828–1870) was the Maharaja of

Baroda State Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its ...

from 1856 to 1870.Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey by Arnold Wright - 1922 - Page 833

Early life

He was born in 1828.

Reign

He was the third son of Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad II. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his eldest brother and the king Ganpat Rao Gaekwad on 19 November 1856 and reigned till his death on 28 November 1870. He was knighted as

in 1861. He commissioned the Pearl Carpet of Baroda, which he intended to donate to Prophet

Muhammad's Tomb Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Qub ...

in Medina, however he died before the donation could take place. He died suddenly in 1870 and was succeeded by his brother Malharrao Gaekwad but Malharrao was later deposed by British and widow of Kanderao II, Maharani Jamnabai Sahib Gaekwad, later adopted a boy from the related family, who became the next ruler of Baroda State -

Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Ga ...

. During his reign, the Baroda State started the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway, known as

Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway (GBSR) or Gaikwad Baroda State Railway was a narrow gauge railway line owned by the Princely State of Baroda, which was ruled by the Gaekwar dynasty. History The railway track has the distinction of being the fir ...

. It was started in the year 1862.A portable India by Jug Suraiya, Anurag Mathur - 1994.

Religious views

Although a Hindu himself, the Maharaja supposedly had an admiration of Islam, and that was the reason for his desire to gift the pearl carpet to Prophet Muhammad's tomb.

Early life

Reign

Religious views

References

Notes

Citations

Further reading