Miraj Senior was one of two

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

princely states during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

: ' Miraj Junior' and Miraj Senior. The two states separated in 1820. It was under the southern division of the Bombay Presidency, forming part of the southern Mahratta

Jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

s, and later the Deccan States Agency. Miraj Senior measured in area. According to the 1901 census, the population was 81,467. In 1901, the state enjoyed revenue estimated at £23,000, and paid £800 in tribute to the

. The Raja resided in the town of

Miraj Miraj (Pronunciation: iɾəd͡z ) is a city that is part of the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad metropolitan region in Sangli district, Maharashtra. Founded in the early 10th century, Miraj was an important jagir of the Bijapur Sultanate. Chhatrapa ...

(population 18,425 in 1901), which was a junction on the Southern Maratha Railway.

History

The State of Miraj was founded before 1750 and was the former capital of the pre-British State of

Sangli Sangli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Sāṁgalī''; ) is a metropolitan town and the headquarters of Sangli District in Maharashtra, in south-western India. It has earned the nickname "Turmeric City of India" for being the hub of the Asia's largest produ ...

. In 1820, the state was divided between a Senior and Junior branch. The territory of both branches was widely scattered among other native states and British districts. The rulers of the Patwardhan dynasty used the title of

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

, and were of the same clan that ruled nearby Jamkhandi. Raja Govind Rao Patwardhan, 1st Ruler of Miraj, began as a cavalry commander, distinguished himself in several expeditions against the

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

and

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali (''Haidar'alī''; ; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's ...

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, established the

ascendancy in southern India and pushed the Maratha conquests to the frontier of Mysore. Miraj Senior acceded to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, * * was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its Indian independence movement, independence, India had be ...

on 8 March 1948 and is currently a part of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. Miraj is also famous for its musicians, and doctors. In the mid-nineties it had municipal corporation in combination with Sangli and thus lost the edge it had over the neighboring twin city of Sangli for two centuries.

Rulers

The rulers of Miraj state belonged to the Patwardhan dynasty and bore the title 'Rao'.Princely States of India
/ref> Sardar Ganpatrao Olekar ( kavthe mahakal) Province

Raos

*17.. - 1771 Govindrao Patwardhan (d. 1771) *1771 - 1777 Vamanrao Patwardhan (d. 1777) *1777 - 1782 Hariharrao Patwardhan (b. c.1765 - d. 1782) *1782 - 1801 Chintamanrao Rao I Patwardhan (b. 1776 - d. 1851) *1801 - 1820 Gangadharrao I Patwardhan

After the split

*1820 - 1833 Ganpatrao I Patwardhan *1833 - 1875 Ganpatrao II Patwardhan "Tatyasaheb" * 6 June 1875 - 1939 Gangadharrao II Patwardhan "Balasaheb" (b. 1866 - d. 1939) (from 1 January 1903, Sir Gangadhar Rao II) *11 Dec 1939 – 15 August 1947 Narayanrao II Patwardhan "Tatyasaheb" (b. 1898 - d. 1984) * Shrimant Madhavrao “Raosaheb” Patwardhan I (b. 1923 - d. 1999) * Shrimant Gangadharrao III “Balasaheb” Patwardhan (b. 1946 - * Shrimant Vasant Raje Patwardhan (b. 1944 - d. 1991) * Rajkumari Yamuna Vasant Naykude (b. 1948 - * Yuvraj Agastyanand Vasant Raje Patwardhan (b. 1974 - * Shrimant Keshav Rao/Patwardhan (b. 1985 - * Shrimant Arjun Rao/Patwardhan (b. 1992 -

References

External links