Bhor State was one of the 9-

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

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 as a ...

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. It was the only state belonging to the

Poona Agency Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

under the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

, which became later part of the Deccan States Agency. Along with Akkalkot State,

Aundh State Aundh State was a Maratha princely state in the British Raj, in the Deccan States Agency division of the Bombay Presidency. The Principality of Aundh covered an area of 1298 square kilometers with the population of 88,762 in 1941. The capital ...

, Phaltan State, Nimsod State and Jath State, it was one of the Satara Jagirs. The state merged with the newly independent Indian union in 1948. Situated among the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, the state covered an area of 2,396 square kilometres, and had a population of 137,268 in 1901. The town of Bhor, once the capital of the state, is located in the state of Maharashtra, about 51 kilometres south of

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, adjacent to Bhatghar Dam.Lord

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

is the family deity of the

Gandekar The Gandekars (prominently known as The Pant Sachiv family) are the royal family of erstwhile Bhor State, who were rulers of the Bhor State from 1699 to 1948 Previously they served as Sachivs to Chhatrapatis of Maratha Empire and later beca ...

s, the former rulers of the state. The seal of the state had images of

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, '' Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi ...

and

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

. Every year Ramanavami is celebrated with pomp and grandeur at Bhor Rajwada, the palace of the royal family.

History

The

Jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

(

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of ...

), which was the forerunner of the state, was granted to Shankaraji Narayan Gandekar for his services as the ''Pant Sachiv'', one of the eight hereditary Maratha ministers, by

Rajaram Chhatrapati Rajaram Bhosle I (Pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒaɾaːm – 3 March 1700) was the third ''Chhatrapati'' of Maratha Empire, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of the Shivaji, the founder of the empire and younger half- ...

in 1697.The jagir remained part 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 S ...

until the 1818 when Peshwa rule came to an end. The jagir then became part of the shortly lived Satara state with an agreement signed with the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

in 1820. In 1838–39,the state experienced uprising by the Ramoshi against the British.It is believed that personalities associated with the deposed Bajirao II instigated the troubles. Personal emblem of Raghunathrao Pant Sachiv

Personal emblem of Raghunathrao Pant Sachiv

, the ruling family of Bhor belonged to a Hindu caste of

Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Bra ...

community. They used the Maratha title ''Pant Sachiv'' until 1935 when the ruler was granted a 9 gun salute and the title of Raja by the British The family deity of the rulers was Lord

.Every year the family celebrated the festival of Ramanavami with pomp and grandeur at the Bhor Rajwada (palace). The seal of the state also had images of

and

with two swords and a bell at the bottom. The state also controlled other historic forts such as Rajgad, Rohida and Sarasgad.

Raghunathrao Shankarrao Gandekar Raja Sir Raghunathrao Shankarrao Gandekar (also known as Babasaheb Pandit Pant Sachiv) (20 September 1878 – 27 August 1951) was the 11th ruler of the princely state of Bhor of British Raj during the reign (1922–1951). During his reign, ...

was the last Raja of the state. During his reign, he implemented many reforms such as abolition of untouchability, freedom of association and introduction of representative government. He signed the accession to the Indian Union on 8 March 1948 which ended the separate existence of Bhor state.

Rulers

Bhor Hindu rulers used the titles of "Pant Sachiv" and "Raja".

Pant Sachivs

* 1697 - death 1707

Shankaraji Narayan Sacheev Shankaraji Narayan Gandekar (1665–1707), also known as Shankaraji Narayan Sacheev or Shankaraji Narayan, was a popular Minister (''Pradhan'') and Count (''Sardar'') of the Maratha Empire. He also served as Imperial Secretary (''Sacheev'') du ...

* 1707 - death March 1737

Naro Shankaraji Shrimant Naro Shankaraji Gandekar Pant Sachiv (also known as Naro Shankar) was a Sardar of the Maratha Empire. He was the hereditary Pant Sachiv (Chief Secretary) during Chhatrapati Shahu I reign. After the death of his father Shankaraji Narayan ...

* 1737 - death 1757 Chimnaji I * 1757 - death 1787 Sadasiv Rao * 1787 - death 1791 Raghunath Rao * 1797 - death 1798 Shankr Rao I * 1798 - death 1827 Pantsachiv Chimnaji Rao II * 1827 – death 1837 Pantsachiv Raghunath Rao I Chimnaji Rao * 1837 - death 12 February 1871 Pantsachiv Chimnaji Rao III Raghunath Rao

Rajas

* (12 February 1871 - 17 July 1922) - His Highness Raja Shrimant Shankarrao Chimnajirao Pandit Pant Sachiv *(18 July 1922 -15 August 1947) - Raja Shrimant Sir Raghunathrao Shankarrao Babasaheb Pandit Pantsachiv "Baba Sahib" ; (died 1951), last ruler

Gallery

File:Laxmi Vilas Bungalow, Pune.jpg, 1930s Portrait of Lakshmi Vilas Palace,

Royal family.

References

Sources

* * {{Coord, 18, 10, N, 73, 51, E, region:IN-MH_type:city_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title Salute states Princely states of Maharashtra History of Pune district 1697 establishments in India 1948 disestablishments in India