Sindkhed Raja is a town and a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

in Buldhana

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the birthplace of Rajmata Jijabai, mother of

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 ...

Shivaji Maharaj. Sindkhed was ruled by Koli

Chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

Etymology

There are many legends associated with name of this city. According to one legend, the name Sindkhed is derived from the name of king Sindhurama, who is said to have established this city in ancient time. While other believes that this area was known as 'Siddha Kshetra' (holy land of seers), which over a period of time got abbreviated to Sindkhed.

History

Not much is known about history of this place in ancient time and the Middle ages. In 1450 A.D., this area was given as jagir to a local Qazi by Ala-ud-Din Ahmad Shah Bahmani of the

Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...

. By 1550, this area came under rule of powerful Jadhav dynasty, which ruled the paragana of Sindkhed until 1724. During this period, they kept on shuffling their suzerainty with

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

and Ahmadnagar Sultanate as per situation. Emergence of

Nizam of Hyderabad 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 wh ...

in south India changed political dynamics in this area. The area come under influence of the Nizam by 1724 when Chandrasen Jadhav defected to his court. During the later part of 18th century, this area came under influence of the Shinde dynasty, which ruled it for about 60 years. In 1803, the Nizam of Hyderabad recaptured Sindkhed and restored the rule of Jadhav dynasty. The family lost possessions of the city in 1851 owing to an act of rebellion by Arab troops under their command leading to Sindkhed's downfall. After the decline of the Nizam's rule, this area came under direct British rule.

Tourist attractions

Jijau Palace

Sindkhed Raja is famous for the palace of Lakhojirao Jadhav. This palace was built in the late sixteenth century by Lakhuji Jadhav, father of Jijabai. Jijabai was born in this place on 12 January 1598.

Jijau Shrushti

Jijau Shrushti is a Jijabai's memorial, it is situated on a hill near Sindkhed Raja. It is famous for Jijabi's birth anniversary celebration events.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Sindkhed Raja had a population of 16,434. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Literacy rate of Sindkhed Raja city is 82.03% marginally lower than state average of 82.34%. In Sindkhed Raja, Male literacy is around 89.58% while female literacy rate is 73.97%. About 75% of population is employed in agriculture sector.

Administration

Sindkhed Raja is an administrative headquarters of Sindkhed Raja Taluka.

Office of Sub-Divisional Officer (Revenue)

During reorganization of revenue Sub-Divisions during 2013, Government of Maharashtra established a new revenue sub-divisional office at Sindkhed Raja. Its jurisdiction includes Sindkhed Raja and Deulgaon Raja Tahsils. The office was inaugurated by then guardian minister of district Mr. Hasan Mushrif on 15 August 2013. Dr. Vivek Ghodke was the first Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Sindkhed Raja.

Cultural legacy

Sindkhed Raja is the birthplace of Jijabai, mother of Maratha king Shivaji, (founder 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 ...

). * In the state of

Jijabai is regarded as an ideal mother. Her upbringing of Shivaji is a subject of folklore. * The 2011, Marathi film '' Rajmata Jijau'' is based upon life of Jijabai.

References

{{Buldhana district Cities and towns in Buldhana district Talukas in Maharashtra