1.
Shinde
–
Shinde is a clan and surname among the Prominent Royal Families of Maratha people of India. Variations of the name include Scindia, Scindhia, Sindhia, Sindia, Sindhe, the Scindia/Shinde dynasty was founded by Maharaja Ranoji Rao Scindia, who was the son of Maharaja Jankoji Rao Scindia, the Deshmukh of Kanherkhed, a village in Satara District, Maharashtra. The Scindia dynasty was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who was the son of Jankojirao Scindia, the Deshmukh of Kanherkhed, Peshwa Baji Raos career saw the strengthening of the Maratha Empire. Ranoji was in charge of the Maratha conquests in Malwa in 1726, Ranoji established his capital at Ujjain in 1731. His successors included Jayajirao, Jyotibarao, Dattajirao, Jankojirao, Mahadji Shinde, the Scindhia state of Gwalior became a major regional power in the latter half of the 18th century and figured prominently in the three Anglo-Maratha Wars. They held sway over many of the Rajput states, and conquered north India, after the death of Daulatrao, Maharani Baiza Bai ruled the empire, saving it from the British power, till the adopted child Jankoji Rao took over the charge. Jankoji died in 1843, and his widow Tarabai Raje scindia successfully maintained the position, the Scindia family ruled Gwalior until Indias independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, when the Maharaja Jivajirao scindia acceded to the Government of India. Gwalior was merged with a number of princely states to become the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat. George Jivajirao served as the states rajpramukh, or appointed governor, from 28 May 1948 to 31 October 1956, in 1962, Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia, the widow of Maharaja Jiwajirao, was elected to the Lok Sabha, beginning the familys career in electoral politics. She was first a member of the Congress Party, and later became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Her son Madhavrao Scindia was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971 representing the Congress Party and his son, Jyotiraditya Scindia, also in the Congress Party, was elected to the seat formerly held by his father in 2004. Vijayarajes daughters have supported the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vasundhara Raje Scindia contested and won five parliamentary elections from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Under the Vajpayee government from 1998 onwards, Vasundhara was in charge of different ministries. In 2003 she led the Bharatiya Janata Party to its largest majority in Rajasthan, in 2013 again, she led Bharatiya Janata Party to a thumpin win in the state of Rajasthan, winning over 160 out of the 200 seats in the assembly elections. Her other daughter, Yashodhara Raje Scindia, contested elections from Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh and won in 1998,2003 and 2013. Upon the BJPs win in the state, she became the states Minister for Tourism, Sports, vasundharas son Dushyant Singh entered the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Rajasthan. The Scindia served the Peshwa, and were also Shiledars under the sultanates of the Deccan, Born c 1720, died 25 July 1755. Vacant 15 January 1761 –25 November 1763 Kadarji Rao Scindia Died, Born c.1730, died 12 February 1794
2.
Hindu
–
Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
3.
Maratha
–
The Maratha is a group of castes in India found predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Marathas are people of India, famed in history as yeoman warriors and they reside primarily in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The general body of lists are often at variance with each other. The term Maratha originally referred to the speakers of the Marathi language, in the 17th century, it emerged as a designation for soldiers serving in the armies of Deccan sultanates. A number of Maratha warriors, including Shivajis father, Shahaji, by the mid-1660s, Shivaji had established an independent Maratha kingdom. After his death, Marathas fought under his sons and defeated Aurangzeb in the war of 27 years, the Confederacy remained the pre-eminent power in India until their defeat by the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Maratha War. By 19th century, the term Maratha had several interpretations in the British administrative records, in the Thane District Gazetteer of 1882, the term was used to denote elite layers within various castes, for example, Maratha-Agri within Agri caste, Maratha-Koli within Koli caste and so on. In the Pune District, the words Kunbi and Maratha had become synonymous, the Pune District Gazetteer of 1882 divided the Kunbis into two classes, Marathas and other Kunbis. The 1901 census listed three groups within the Maratha-Kunbi caste complex, Marathas proper, Maratha Kunbis and Konkani Marathas, the Kunbi class comprised agricultural workers and soldiers. The upper-class Marathas proper claimed Rajput descent with Kshatriya status, and included princes, some of the Maratha clans claiming Rajput descent include Bhonsales, Chavans, and Pawar. Gradually, the term Maratha came to denote an endogamous caste, from 1900 onwards, the Satyashodhak Samaj movement defined the Marathas as a broader social category of non-Brahmin groups. These non-Brahmins gained prominence in Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement, in independent India, these Marathas became the dominant political force in the newly-formed state of Maharashtra. The empire also resulted in the relocation of substantial numbers of Maratha and other Marathi-speaking people outside Maharashtra. Today several small but significant communities descended from these live in the north, south. These descendant communities tend often to speak the languages, although many also speak Marathi in addition. Notable Maratha families outside Maharashtra include Scindia of Gwalior, Gaekwad of Baroda, Holkar of Indore, Puar of Dewas & Dhar, Ghorpade of Mudhol, and Bhonsle of Nagpur. These Brahmins supported the Maratha claim to Kshatriya status, but their success in political alliance was sporadic. Marathas have dominated the politics of Maharashtra since its inception in 1960
4.
Gwalior State
–
Gwalior State was an Indian kingdom and princely state during the British Raj. It was ruled In subsidiary alliance with the British by the Scindia dynasty of the Marathas and was entitled to a 21-gun salute. The state took its name from the old town of Gwalior, which, although never the capital, was an important place because of its strategic location. The state was founded in the early 18th century by Ranoji Sindhia, under Mahadji Sindhia Gwalior State became a leading power in northern India, and dominated the affairs of the confederacy. The Anglo-Maratha Wars brought Gwalior State under British suzerainty, so that it became a state of the British Indian Empire. Gwalior was the largest state in the Central India Agency, under the supervision of a Resident at Gwalior. In 1936, the Gwalior residency was separated from the Central India Agency, after Indian Independence in 1947, the Sindhia rulers acceded to the new Union of India, and Gwalior state was absorbed into the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat. The state had an area of 64,856 km2, and was composed of several detached portions. The northern section consisted of a block of territory with an area of 44,082 km2. The Malwa section, which included the city of Ujjain, had an area of 20,774 km2 and it was made up of several detached districts, between which portions of other states were interposed, and which were themselves intermingled in bewildering intricacy. In 1940 Gwalior State had 4,006,159 inhabitants, the predecessor state of Gwalior was founded in the 10th century. It was annexed by the Delhi Sultanate and was a part of it till 1398 and it again became a part of the Mughal empire from 1528 to 1731. The head of the received a patent of rank from the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Ranoji fixed his headquarters in the ancient city of Ujjain, which became the capital of the Sindhia dominion, and on 19 July 1745 he died near Shujalpur. He left three sons, Jayappa, Dattaji, and Jotiba, and two illegitimate, Tukaji and Mahadji. Jayappa succeeded to the territories of Ranoji, but was killed at Nagaur in 1759 and he was followed by his son Jankoji, who was taken prisoner at the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 and put to death, and Mahadji succeeded. Madhavrao I, popularly known as Mahadji, and his successor Daulatrao took a part in shaping the history of India during their rule. Mahadji returned from the Deccan to Malwa in 1764, and by 1769 reestablished his power there, in 1772 Madhavrao Peshwa died, and in the struggles which ensued Mahadji took an important part, and seized every chance of increasing his power and augmenting his possessions
5.
Maratha Empire
–
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian power that existed from 1674 to 1818 and ruled over much of the Indian sub-continent. The Marathas are credited to an extent for ending the Mughal rule in India. The Marathas are Hindu warrior group from the western Deccan Plateau that rose to prominence by establishing a Hindavi Swarajya, known for their mobility, the Marathas were able to consolidate their territory during the Mughal–Maratha Wars and later controlled a large part of India. Chhattrapati Shahu, grandson of Shivaji, was released by Mughals after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, following a brief struggle with his aunt Tarabai, Shahu became ruler and appointed Balaji Vishwanath and later, his descendants, as the peshwas or prime ministers of the empire. Balaji and his descendants played a key role in expansion of Maratha rule, the empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south to Peshawar in the north, and Bengal and Andaman Islands in the east. In 1761, the Maratha Army lost the Third Battle of Panipat to Ahmad Shah Abdali of the Afghan Durrani Empire which halted their imperial expansion into Afghanistan, ten years after Panipat, the young Peshwa Madhavrao Is Maratha Resurrection reinstated Maratha authority over North India. In a bid to manage the large empire, Madhavrao I gave semi-autonomy to the strongest of the knights. They became known as the Gaekwads of Baroda, the Holkars of Indore and Malwa, the Scindias of Gwalior and Ujjain, the Bhonsales of the Nagpur and the Puars of Dhar and Dewas. In 1775, the East India Company intervened in a Peshwa family succession struggle in Pune, the Marathas remained the preeminent power in India until their defeat in the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha Wars which left the East India Company in control of most of India. A large portion of the Maratha empire was coastline, which had secured by the potent Maratha Navy under commanders such as Kanhoji Angre. He was very successful at keeping foreign naval ships, particularly of the Portuguese and British, securing the coastal areas and building land-based fortifications were crucial aspects of the Marathas defensive strategy and regional military history. The Maratha Empire is also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, the historian Barbara Ramusack says that the former is a designation preferred by Indian nationalists, while the latter was that used by British historians. Maratha power was fragmented among several discrete fragments, although at present, the word Maratha refers to a particular caste of warriors and peasants, in the past the word has been used to describe Marathi people, including Marathas themselves. Shivaji was a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhosle clan who is considered to be the founder of the Maratha empire. Shivaji led a resistance to free the Maratha people from the Sultanate of Bijapur and he created an independent Maratha kingdom with Raigad as its capital and successfully fought against the Mughals to defend his kingdom. He was crowned as Chhatrapati of the new Maratha kingdom in 1674, the state Shivaji founded was a Maratha kingdom comprising about 4. 1% of the subcontinent, but spread over large tracts. At the time of his death is was dotted with about 300 forts, about 40,000 cavalry,50,000 foot soldiers and naval establishments all over the west coast. Over time, the kingdom would increase in size and heterogeneity, Shivaji had two sons, Sambhaji and Rajaram
6.
Princely state
–
A princely state, also called native state or Indian state, was a nominally sovereign monarchy under a local or regional ruler in a subsidiary alliance with a greater power. At the time of the British withdrawal,565 princely states were recognised in the Indian subcontinent, apart from thousands of zamindaris. Rulers of salute states entitled to a gun salute of eleven guns and above received from the British the style of Highness, while the Nizam of Hyderabad had the unique style of Exalted Highness. At the other end of the scale, the principality of Lawa covered an area of 49 km2, or smaller than Bermuda. Some two hundred of the states had an area of less than 25 km2. The era of the princely states effectively ended with Indian independence in 1947, by 1950, almost all of the principalities had acceded to either India or Pakistan – thirteen to Pakistan and the rest to India. During this time, the princely states were merged into unions, each of which was headed by a former ruling prince with the title of Rajpramukh. In 1956, the position of Rajpramukh was abolished and the federations dissolved, the Indian Government formally derecognised the princely families in 1971, followed by the Government of Pakistan in 1972. The widespread expansion of Islam during this time brought many principalities into tributary relations with Islamic sultanates, notably the Delhi Sultanate, in the south, however, the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire remained dominant until the mid-17th century, among its tributaries was the future Mysore Kingdom. The Turco-Mongol Mughal Empire brought a majority of the existing Indian kingdoms and principalities under its suzerainty by the 17th century, beginning with its foundation in the early 16th century. The advent of Sikhism resulted in the creation of the Sikh Empire in the north by the early 18th century, at the same time, the Marathas carved out their own states to form the Maratha Empire. Through the 18th century, former Mughal governors formed their own independent states, India under the British Raj consisted of two types of territory, British India and the Native states or Princely states. In general the term British India had been used also to refer to the regions under the rule of the East India Company in India from 1774 to 1858, the term has also been used to refer to the British in India. More prestigious Hindu rulers often used the title Raja, Raje or a variant such as Rana, Rao, also in this class were several Thakurs or Thakores and a few particular titles, such as Sardar, Mankari, Deshmukh, Sar Desai, Raja Inamdar, Saranjamdar. The most prestigious Hindu rulers usually had the prefix maha in their titles, as in Maharaja, Maharana, Maharao, etc. The states of Travancore and Cochin had queens regnant styled Maharani, generally the female forms applied only to sisters, spouses and widows, there were also compound titles, such as rajadhiraj, Raj-i-rajgan, often relics from an elaborate system of hierarchical titles under the Mughal emperors. For example, the addition of the adjective Bahadur raised the status of the one level. Furthermore, most dynasties used a variety of titles, such as Varma in South India
7.
British Raj
–
The British Raj was the rule by the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, or direct rule in India, the resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign states, the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The British Raj extended over almost all present-day India, Pakistan and this area is very diverse, containing the Himalayan mountains, fertile floodplains, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, a long coastline, tropical dry forests, arid uplands, and the Thar desert. In addition, at times, it included Aden, Lower Burma, Upper Burma, British Somaliland. Burma was separated from India and directly administered by the British Crown from 1937 until its independence in 1948, among other countries in the region, Ceylon was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. Ceylon was part of Madras Presidency between 1793 and 1798, the kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan, having fought wars with the British, subsequently signed treaties with them and were recognised by the British as independent states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of 1861, however. The Maldive Islands were a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965, India during the British Raj was made up of two types of territory, British India and the Native States. In general, the term British India had been used to also to the regions under the rule of the British East India Company in India from 1600 to 1858. The term has also used to refer to the British in India. The terms Indian Empire and Empire of India were not used in legislation, the monarch was known as Empress or Emperor of India and the term was often used in Queen Victorias Queens Speeches and Prorogation Speeches. The passports issued by the British Indian government had the words Indian Empire on the cover, in addition, an order of knighthood, the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, was set up in 1878. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, during the partition of Bengal the new provinces of Assam and East Bengal were created as a Lieutenant-Governorship. In 1911, East Bengal was reunited with Bengal, and the new provinces in the east became, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, there were 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in August 1947. The princely states did not form a part of British India, the larger ones had treaties with Britain that specified which rights the princes had, in the smaller ones the princes had few rights. Within the princely states external affairs, defence and most communications were under British control, the British also exercised a general influence over the states internal politics, in part through the granting or withholding of recognition of individual rulers. Although there were nearly 600 princely states, the majority were very small
8.
Jai Vilas Mahal
–
The Jai Vilas Mahal, also known as the Jai Vilas Palace), is a nineteenth century palace in Gwalior, India. It was established in 1874 by Jayajirao Scindia, the Maharaja of Gwalior and is still the residence of his descendants the former royal Maratha Scindia dynasty and it is a fine example of European architecture, designed and built by Sir Michael Filose. A combination of styles, the first storey is Tuscan, the second Italian-Doric. The area of the Jai Vilas palace is 1,240,771 square feet, the interior of the Durbar Hall is decorated with gilt and gold furnishings and adorned with a huge carpet and gigantic chandeliers. It is 100 feet long,50 feet wide and 41 feet in height, bizarre items fill the rooms, cut-glass furniture, stuffed tigers and a ladies-only swimming pool with its own boat. The cavernous dining room displays the pièce de résistance, a railway with a silver train that carried after-dinner brandy
9.
Jayajirao Scindia
–
Jayajirao Scindia of the Scindia dynasty of the Marathas was the ruling Maharajah of Gwalior from 1843 to 1886 under the British rule. Jayajirao was born as Bhagirath Shinde, son of Hanwant Rao on 19 January 1835, the erstwhile Maharaja of Gwalior, Jankojirao II, died in 1843 without leaving an heir leading his widow Tara Bai to adopt Bhagirath Rao. Bhagirath Shinde succeeded the Gwalior gaddi under the name of Jayajirao Sindhia on 22 February 1843, Mama Sahib, the maternal uncle of Jankojirao II, was chosen as regent. Dada Khasgiwale, the comptroller of the Shinde household overthrew Mama Sahib as the regent nearly leading to a civil war, the British East India Company decided to interfere by withdrawing their Resident Colonel Alexander Speirs and demanding the surrender of Dada Khasgiwale was demanded. A British force under Sir Hugh Gough moved on Gwalior, on 29 December followed the simultaneous battles of Panniar and Maharajpur, in which the Gwalior army was annihilated. Khasgiwale was arrested by the British and was sent to Benares Jail where he died in 1845, a treaty was then made, under which certain lands to the value of 1. When in 1857, the Indian rebellion against the British began, Jayajirao, whose ancestors had fought, on 1 June 1858 Jayajirao led his forces to Morar to fight a rebel army led by Tatya Tope, Rani Lakshmibai and Rao Sahib. This army had 7,000 infantry,4,000 cavalry and 12 guns while he had only 1,500 cavalry, his bodyguard of 600 men and 8 guns. He waited for their attack which came at 7 oclock in the morning, in attack the rebel cavalry took the guns. The Maharaja and the reminder fled without stopping until they reached Agra, in 1882 land was ceded by the state for the Midland section of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway. Jivajirao constructed many new buildings like Moti Mahal, Jai Vilas Palace, Kampoo Kothi, Victoriya Building, Gorkhi Dwar Gate and he reconstructed the Koteshwar Mandir and constructed about 69 Shiva temples across his state. He gave Rs.1.5 million for the reconstruction of Gwalior forts boundary wall, in 1886 Gwalior fort and Morar cantonment, with some other villages, which had been held by British troops since 1858, were exchanged for Jhansi city. In 1861, Jayajirao was created a Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India and his photos appeared in the London press and was regarded as the friend of the British Empire. In 1877, he became a Counsellor of the Empress and later on a GCB, Jayajirao married Chimnabai Kadam in 1843 and Laxmibai Gujar in 1852. Balwantrao Shinde was the his eldest son from Laxmibai, Jayajirao married his third wife Babuibai Sawant in 1873 and fourth wife Sakhyabai. Jayajirao and Sakhyabai had a son, his fourth but only surviving son, Jayajirao died in 1886 at Gwalior and was conferred a personal salute of 21 guns
_as_seen_in_the_Illustrated_London_News.gif)
Media related to Scindia at Wikimedia Commons
