Rango Bāpuji Gupte (??? – Missing 5 July 1857) born into a marathi "Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu" family was an Indian diplomat, freedom fighter, and a

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

. The rulers at Satara were one of the last independent branches of the

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 ...

. After the British dissolved the state in 1839, ruler Pratapsinh sent Rango Bapuji Gupte to England to defend the case in front of the British Parliament. He stayed there for 14 years without much success. After returning to India, he became "one of the masterminds behind the 1857 revolt", known as the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

. He met Nanasaheb Peshwe and

Tatya Tope Tantia Tope (also spelled Tatya Tope, : ̪aːt̪ʲa ʈoːpe 16 February 1814 — 18 April 1859) was a notable commander in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Early life Born as Ramachandra Panduranga Yewalkar to a Marathi Deshastha Brahmin fami ...

and started building armed organizations in Satara,

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

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 ...

, and Belgaon. However, when his plan was exposed, many of the fighters he had recruited were killed and Gupte went underground. In 1857, he went to

Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

to attend a religious ceremony at his relative Prabhakar Viththal Gupte's residence near Jambhali Naka. When British police arrived to arrest him, Gupte escaped in the disguise of an old woman and was never found again. In his memory the Jambhali Naka has been named as Rango Bapuji Chowk. It is said that Gupte lived incognito in the

Darwha Darwha is a town and a municipal council in Yavatmal district in the state of Maharashtra, India. History Locals believe Rango Bapuji Gupte, a freedom fighter had lived incognito in the town. The town is also famous for 'Golibar Chowk', squa ...

town in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra. A memorial named 'Char Bhinti' in Satara honors Rango Bapuji Gupte.

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