Ranjitsinhrao Gaekwad (8 May 1938 – 10 May 2012) was an Indian politician.

Early life and education

Born 8 May 1938 at

Ootacamund Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located northwest of Coimbatore, and is the headquarters of N ...

, Ranjitsinhrao Gaekwad was the second son of Maharaja

Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad Shrimant Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad (29 June 1908 – 19 July 1968), who belonged to the Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas, was the ruling Maharaja of Baroda. He succeeded to the throne upon the death of his grandfather Sayajirao ...

(r. 1939–1951), and Maharani Shantadevi Gaekwad (d. 2002), daughter of Sardar Hausrkar Mansinhrao Subbarao of Hasur in

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 ...

. Her daughter,

Mrunalini Devi Puar Mrunalini Devi Puar (25 June 1931 – 2 January 2015) was an Indian educator and Chancellor of a recognized Indian university with more than 35,000 students. Biography Puar was an educator and Maharani of Dhar State. She was a member of the Gaek ...

was the Chancellor of The

Maharaja Sayajirao University Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a public university on April 30, 1949 and was renamed after ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

. He also obtained post graduate degree in

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

from

. He was the younger brother of

Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad Fatehsinghrao Prataprao Gaekwad II (2 April 1930 – 1 September 1988) was an Indian politician, cricketer, and titular Maharaja of Baroda from 1951 until 1988. In the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India promulgated in 1971, the Govern ...

, who was the titular Maharaja of Baroda from 1951 to 1971. In the 26th amendment to the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

promulgated in 1971, the Government of India abolished all official symbols of princely India, including titles, privileges, and remuneration ( privy purses).

Death

Ranjitsinh died on 10 May 2012, aged 74, in

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

Career

Gaekwad was a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

for two terms from Baroda from 1980 to 1989. Ranjitsinhrao Gaekwad was also a well-known painter.

In His Memory

Raja Ravi Verma Award By Shubhanginiraje

A two days festival of The Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad Festival of Arts is annually organized, in his memory at the Durbar Hall in Laxmi Vilas Palace. This festival celebrates the spirit of Ranjitsinh Gaekwad’s life as an artist and musician many prominent artists like Ustad

Fazal Qureshi Ustad Fazal Qureshi ( born 13 February 1961) is an Indian tabla player. Born to the tabla player Ustad Allah Rakha, under the guidance of his father and guru, with the inspiration drawn from his brother, Ustad Zakir Hussain, he has also becom ...

Anand Bhate Anand Bhate (born 29 April 1971) is an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana. He is popular for his classical singing of songs from the Marathi film '' Balgandharva'' (2011). Early life and training Anand was born in Pune, India i ...

, Sukhad Mande, and many more live performances. During the festival, the

Raja Ravi Varma Raja Ravi Varma () (29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. His works are one of the best examples of the fusion of European academic art with a purely Indian sensibility and iconography. Especially, he was notable f ...

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

for Excellence in the Field of Visual Arts was presented to veteran artist

Jayant Parikh Jayant Parikh (born 2 April 1940) is an Indian modern contemporary artist, printmaker, and muralist. He is a student of N. S. Bendre, K. G. Subramanyan and Sankho Chaudhuri. He lives and works in Vadodara, India. Biography Jayant Parik ...

and posthumously to artists late Jyotsna Bhatt and late Rini Dhumal. A scholarship is also given to meritorious MSU Faculty of Performing Arts students.

References

External links

Genealogy of princely state of Baroda
at ''

Queensland University The University of Queensland is a public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone universities, an i ...

''
Ranjitsinh Gaekwad's bust
to be installed in Kirti Mandir, Vadodara {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaekwad, Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh 2012 deaths People from Vadodara 1938 births India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni

Ranjitsinh Ranjitsinh is an Indian people, Indian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ranjitsinh Disale, Indian teacher * MK Ranjitsinh Jhala, Indian author * Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil, Indian politician * Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad ...

Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat