The Gandekars (prominently known as The Pant Sachiv family) are the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

of erstwhile

Bhor State Bhor State was one of the 9-gun salute Maratha princely states of Deccan States Agency. It was the only state belonging to the Poona Agency under the Bombay Presidency, which became later part of the Deccan States Agency. Along with Akkal ...

, who were rulers of the

from 1699 to 1948 Previously they served as

Sachiv The Sachiv (the Chief Secretary) was an important member of the ministry in the Maratha Empire. Sachiv was one of the Ashta Pradhans of Maratha Empire during the rule of Chachtrapathi Shivaji. Later during the reign of Rajaram I, the office beca ...

s to

Chhatrapati Chhatrapati is a royal title from Sanskrit used to denote a king. The word "Chhatrapati" is a Sanskrit language compound word of '' chhatra'' ('' parasol'' or ''umbrella'') and '' pati'' (''master/lord/ruler''). This title was used by the Ho ...

s of

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

and later became independent rulers of the

Bhor Bhor () is a town and a municipal council in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Geography Bhor is located at . It has an average elevation of 588 metres (1929 feet). Demographics India census, Bhor had a populat ...

princely state. Under 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 ...

, the ''Pant Sachiv Family'' are classified as first class Sardars.In 1917 the Ruler of Bhor was granted a permanent salute of 11 guns.

History

The family of the Pant Sachiv is descended from

Shankaraji Narayan Pant Sachiv 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 Kingdom. He also served as Imperial Secretary (''Sacheev'') d ...

, who was in 1697 appointed as hereditary Pant Sachiv and was awarded an estate or

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 ...

and other hereditary rights () for his services by

Rajaram I Rajaram I (Rajaram Bhonsale, ; 24 February 1670 – 3 March 1700), also known as Ram Raaje, was the third king ( Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Kingdom, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of Shivaji, the founder of t ...

, the third Chhatrapati of the Maratha state. The family name of Pant Sachiv's is Gandekar.The Gandekars are

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

s and were residents of Gandapur, a village, (now extinct) near

Paithan Paithan (), historically Pratiṣṭhāna ɾə'tɪʂʈʰanə is a town with municipal council in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra, Maharashtra, India. Paithan is located south of present-day Aurangabad on the banks of the ...

. The family deity of Bhor Royal family is Lord

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

. According to C. Ovans, the estate of the Pant Sachiv family consisted of 552 villages in 1838.

Family tree

First generation

Shankaraji Narayan Gandekar 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 Kingdom. He also served as Imperial Secretary (''Sacheev'') d ...

(1665-1707), was the first of a series of hereditary Sachivs (Marathi for Secretary) hailing from the Marathi-

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

family. Shankaraji first joined service under Pant Pradhan Moropant Pingale as an ordinary clerk. Within a few years of service, he was able to prove his high ability and valour and was appointed as ''Pant Sachiv'' by

in 1697.

Second generation

Shankaraji Narayan married and had one son: *

Naro Shankaraji Gandekar 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 ...

- 2nd ruler of

Third generation

* Chimnajirao I Narayanrao - 3rd ruler of Bhor and nephew of Naro Shankaraji.

Fourth generation

Chimnajirao I married and had three son's: * Sadashivrao Chimnajirao - 4th ruler of Bhor * Anandrao Chimnajirao * Ragunathrao Chimnajirao - 5th ruler of Bhor.

Fifth generation

Ragunathrao Chimnajirao married and had a son: *Shankarrao I Ragunathrao - 6th ruler of Bhor.

Sixth generation

Shankarrao I Ragunathrao adopted his Father's nephew as his son: *Chimnajirao II Shankarrao - 7th ruler of Bhor.

Seventh generation

Chimnajirao II Shankarrao had adopted his nephew as his successor: *Ragunathrao I Chimnajirao - 8th ruler of Bhor.

Eighth generation

Ragunathrao I Chimnajirao had adopted his nephew as his successor: *Chimnajirao III Ragunathrao - 9th ruler of Bhor.

Ninth generation

Chimnajirao III Ragunathrao married and had a son: *

Shankarrao Chimnajirao Gandekar Shrimant Raja Shankarrao Chimnajirao Gandekar, was the 10th ruler of the princely state of Bhor of British Raj during the reign (12 February 1871 – 17 July 1922). With Doctrine of lapse of the Satara State in 1849, the Pant Sachiv became a ...

- he was the 10th ruler of Bhor. He succeeded to the throne on 12 February 1871 as a minor. He was invested with full ruling powers on 20 July 1874 by the

upon reaching maturity. The Raja was awarded with personal salute of 11 guns at the

Delhi Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by Britain at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was he ...

of 1911. He died on 17 July 1922.

Tenth generation

Raghunathrao Shankarrao Gandekar Maharaja, 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 State, Bhor of British Raj during the reign (1922–195 ...

- He was the 11th ruler with the title

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 ...

of Bhor.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite book, title=A Short history of the Bhor State, url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.206843, first=V. G., last=Ranade, year=1930, publisher=Bhor History of Pune district Indian families Hindu families People from the Maratha Empire Indian Hindus