Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar was a Maratha General during the Peshwa Period. He is renowned as the builder of the
Varadvinayak
Varadvinayak, also spelt as Varadavinayaka, is one of the Ashtavinayak temples of the Hindu deity Ganesha. It is located in Mhad village situated in Khalapur taluka near Karjat and Khopoli of Raigad District, Maharashtra, India. The temple ...
temple in Mahad.
Military career
Biwalkar rose to be a Sardar of the Maratha Peshwas. He was Sar-Subedar (governor) of
Kalyan
Kalyan (Pronunciation: əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) of Thane district. K ...
and the Northern Konkan during the reigns of Peshwas
Baji Rao I
Baji Rao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740), born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal (Pronunciation: ad͡ʒiɾaːʋ bəlːaːɭ, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Nizam-ul ...
and
Balaji Baji Rao
Baji Bajirao (8 December 1720 – 23 June 1761), also known as Nana Saheb I, was the 8th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy in India. He was appointed as Peshwa in 1740 upon the death of his illustrious father, the Peshwa Bajirao I.
During ...
. He faithfully served the Peshwas in subduing the rebellion of Damaji Gaikwad in March 1751.
The Destruction of Maratha Naval Power
Biwalkar's major historical role is in the conflict between the Peshwas and
Tulaji Angre, a son of the great Maratha
Koli
Koli may refer to:
Places
* Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland
* Koli National Park, a national park in Finland
* Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran
* Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific
Other uses
* Koli people ...
admiral
Kanhoji Angre
Kanhoji Angre (Marathi: कान्होजी आंग्रे, anʱod͡ʒiː aːŋɡɾe, also known as Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré (August 1669 – 4 July 1729) was a chief of the Maratha Navy in present-day India. Kanhoji became k ...
. The first Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath had pacified the Angres in 1713, getting Kanhoji to recognize the supremacy of the Maratha Chhatrapati
Shahu. Through the reigns of Baji Rao I and Balaji Baji Rao, the Angres had carved out a semi-autonomous fiefdom, nominally subordinate to the Maratha kingdom.
After the death of Kanhoji Angre, his sons continually feuded with each other.
Kolaba Fort
Kolaba Fort located at Alibag beach is an old fortified maritime base in Alibag, Konkan, India. It is situated in the sea at a distance of 1–2 km from the shores of Alibag, 35 km south of Mumbai, in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, ...
was controlled by Manaji Angre. Sambhaji Angre retained the fortresses of
Suvarnadurg
Suvarnadurg ( mr, सुवर्णदुर्ग - translation: ''Golden Fort'', also spelt ''Severndroog'' in English, a spelling sometimes also used for Savandurga) is a fort that is located between Mumbai and Goa on a small island in the ...
and
Vijayadurg and was succeeded by his half-brother Tulaji. Tulaji was ambitious and capable and did not wish to be subordinate to the Peshwa. He plundered the ships of all nations and began to levy contributions from the Peshwa's own territories. Tulaji styled Balaji Vishwanath as an usurper, and intrigued with the Kolhapur Bhonsle rulers,
Tarabai
Tarabai Bhosale (Pronunciation: ̪aːɾabaːi ''née'' Mohite) was the regent of the Maratha Empire of India from 1700 until 1708. She was the queen of Rajaram Bhonsale, and daughter-in-law of the empire's founder Shivaji. She is acclaimed ...
and
Rajaram II of Satara
Rajaram Bhonsle II, also known as Ramaraja, was the sixth monarch of Maratha Empire.V.S. Kadam, 1993. ''Maratha Confederacy: A Study in its Origin and Development.'' Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi. He was an adopted son of Chhattrap ...
.
In the words of Kincaid & Parasnis:
:''To Ramaji Mahadev Biwalkar the turbulence of Tulaji Angre was particularly obnoxious...It was Ramaji Mahadev's duty to collect the Angre tribute, but, so far from paying it, Angre cut off the noses of the unfortunate men sent to collect it. He followed up this insolence by storming the fort of Ratnagiri, held by Amatya Bawadekar in the Peshwa's interest. To punish the searover was impossible, so long as he held the great forts of Suvarnadurg and Vijayadurg ; so, with a skill sharpened by hatred, Ramaji Mahadev strove to unite in a league against Tulaji, his brother Manaji Angre, the English and the Peshwa. The alliance of the English and of Manaji was easily obtained. But the Peshwa was for long reluctant to call in foreign aid against a Maratha subject. At last Tulaji's excesses and Ramaji's instances won Balaji over. On the 19th March, 1755, a treaty was signed by the English and the Marathas.
:
:''...The English were to command the allied fleets. Their reward was to be the forts of Bankot and Himmatgad together with five villages and also half the ships captured by the allies. The remaining forts, with their treasures and armament, were to become the property of the Peshwa.
:''...On the 2nd April the allied fleet reached Suvarnadurg. Eighty miles south of Bombay, Suvarnadurg stood on a low irregular island about a quarter of a mile from the shore. The fortifications were built out of the solid rock and the channel was protected by three forts named Goa, Fatehdurg, and Connoidurg. On the 2nd and 3rd April, Commodore James bombarded Angre's fortresses without result. On the 4th April the outer strongholds struck their colours. Only Suvarnadurg remained. But for months past Ramaji Mahadev had been corrupting its garrison. Thus, when a landing party from the ships disembarked to carry it by storm, they met with little or no resistance.''
:
:''On the fall of the outer forts, Tulaji had fled to Vijayadurg, where he remained in safety until the following year. The approach of the monsoon made Commodore James anxious to return to Bombay, which he did on the 17th May. Ramaji Mahadev, reinforced by a strong body of troops under Shamsher Bahadur, the son of Bajirao and Mastani, took all Tulaji's lands in the neighbourhood of the conquered fortress. Another detachment under Khandoji Mankar drove Tulaji's soldiers from the villages near Vijayadurg. The attack on Vijayadurg itself was postponed until the next dry season...''
:''
Clive
Clive is a name. People and fictional characters with the name include:
People Given name
* Clive Allen (born 1961), English football player
* Clive Anderson (born 1952), British television, radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister
...
was the senior military officer and took command of the troops. On the 7th February, 1756, the fleet sailed from Bombay. Khandoji Mankar's force had been camped round Vijayadurg since the previous November and was engaged with Tulaji Angre in negotiations for its surrender. On seeing the great strength of the English armada, Tulaji fled in terror from the doomed stronghold and took shelter in Khandoji Mankar's lines. Neither Khandoji Mankar nor Ramaji Mahadev wished any longer to storm Vijayadurg, since Tulaji was in their power and could be forced to surrender it at any moment. But the English commanders resented the separate negotiations of the Marathas, and on the 12th April, 1756, their attack began. By 6-36 p.m. Angre's entire fleet had been destroyed and the English colours flew over Vijayadurg. Tulaji spent the rest of his life in captivity, first in Chandan Wandan fort near Satara and afterwards at Sholapur. The Peshwa annexed his lands.''
Buildings
Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar's built several temples and other civic buildings. His mansion in Kalyan (Subedarwada) survived into the 20th century. In 1765 he built an irrigation tank, ''Pokhran'' that still survives. Situated at Parnaka Kalyan West it is spread over an area of 20,000 sq ft and is 70 ft deep. His house in
Thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talu ...
was the district judge's office during the British administration. In Thane he repaired the temple of Koupineshwar, which was built in Shilahara era. His most famous relic is the temple of Varadavinayak at Mahad.
Varadavinayak
In 1725 he built (or restored) the
Varadavinayak temple in Mahad. Today this is regarded as one of the
Ashtavinayak
Ashtavinayaka ( mr, अष्टविनायक) literally means "eight Ganeshas" in Sanskrit. Ganesh is the Hinduism/Hindu deity of unity, prosperity, learning, and removing obstacles. The term refers to eight Ganeshas. Ashtavinayaka yat ...
, the 8 major
Ganesh
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...
temples of
Maharashtra. The temple is located three kilometers off the
Pune-Mumbai highway near
Khopoli
Khopoli (also known as Campoolie) is an industrial city in the Khalapur taluka of Raigad district, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, at the base of the Sahyadri mountains. Patalganga River, which is the tailrace channel of the Tata Hydroele ...
.
Ganeshotsav
Biwalkar built a large mansion known as the Subedarwada in Kalyan. During the freedom struggle in 1906
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya ( IAST: ''Lokmānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence ...
visited Kalyan and stayed at the mansion. Tilak revived and popularized the annual Ganesh festival through public celebrations (Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav) in order to bring people closer and awaken them towards the cause of freedom struggle.
While the Subedarwada is no longer in existence, the annual Ganesh Utsav celebrations continue. A school was founded in 1896 at the side of the Subedarwada. The descendants of Ramji Mahadev continue to live in a rented house nearby.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biwalkar, Ramji Mahadev
People from Maharashtra
Warriors of the Maratha Empire