The
Holkar were a prominent
DhangarThe Dhangar caste is primarily located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The literal translation of the name Dhangar is "Wealthy". The Dhangars of the Northern or Southern India are reasonably considered to belong to the same race. The word Dhangar is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Dhenu' i.e....
family, who ruled as
RajaRaja is the Hindustani term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
s and later Maharajas of Indaur (better known as
IndoreIndore is the largest city and commercial capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . It is also known as The City of Holkars. The city was built by a holkar, Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of India. Located in the Narmada river valley in the western part of the state of Madhya...
) in Central
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
as an independent member of the Maratha Confederacy until 1818, and afterwards as a
princely stateThere were as many as 568 states in India before independence. A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entity of British rule in India that was not directly administered by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-The British...
-under protectorate- of British India with a 19-guns salute (21 guns locally; a rare high rank) until India's independence, when the state acceded to the Indian government.
They are one of the prestigious dynasties whose name became associated with the very title of the ruler, which was generally known as
Maharaja Holkar or Holkar Maharaja, while the official full title was Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shri (personal name)
Holkar Bahadur, Maharaja of Indore, with the colonial style of His Highness.
Malharrao Holkar (born 1694, died 1766) established the family's rule over Indore.
The
Holkar were a prominent
DhangarThe Dhangar caste is primarily located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The literal translation of the name Dhangar is "Wealthy". The Dhangars of the Northern or Southern India are reasonably considered to belong to the same race. The word Dhangar is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Dhenu' i.e....
family, who ruled as
RajaRaja is the Hindustani term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
s and later Maharajas of Indaur (better known as
IndoreIndore is the largest city and commercial capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . It is also known as The City of Holkars. The city was built by a holkar, Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of India. Located in the Narmada river valley in the western part of the state of Madhya...
) in Central
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
as an independent member of the Maratha Confederacy until 1818, and afterwards as a
princely stateThere were as many as 568 states in India before independence. A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entity of British rule in India that was not directly administered by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-The British...
-under protectorate- of British India with a 19-guns salute (21 guns locally; a rare high rank) until India's independence, when the state acceded to the Indian government.
They are one of the prestigious dynasties whose name became associated with the very title of the ruler, which was generally known as
Maharaja Holkar or Holkar Maharaja, while the official full title was Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shri (personal name)
Holkar Bahadur, Maharaja of Indore, with the colonial style of His Highness.
Establishment of Holkar rule
Malharrao Holkar (born 1694, died 1766) established the family's rule over Indore. He commanded Maratha armies in Malwa region in the 1720s, and in 1733 was granted the
IndoreIndore is the largest city and commercial capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . It is also known as The City of Holkars. The city was built by a holkar, Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of India. Located in the Narmada river valley in the western part of the state of Madhya...
state as a fief by the
PeshwaThe Peshwa were Brahmin Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chattrapatis , who began commanding Maratha armies and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. Prior to 1700 one Peshwa received the status of king for eight or nine years...
. By the time of his death, he ruled much of Malwa, and was acknowledged as one of the five virtually independent rulers of the Maratha Cconfederacy.
He was succeeded by Rajmata Ahilya Devi Holkar (reigned 1767-1795), his daughter-in-law. She was born in the village 'Chaundi' in
MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's third largest state by area and second largest by population....
. She moved the capital to
MaheshwarMaheshwar is a town in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh state, in central India. It is located 13 km east of National Highway 3 and 91 km from Indore, the commercial capital of the state. The town lies on the north bank of the Narmada River.-Etymology:The name Maheshwar comes from...
, south of Indore on the
Narmada RiverThe Narmada the Periplus Maris Erythraei calls it the Nammadus.. The British Raj called it the Nerbudda or Narbada[] is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. Narmada is a Sanskrit word meaning 'the Giver of Pleasure'...
. Rani Ahilyadevi was a great builder and patron of many
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
temples, who embellished Maheshwar and Indore. She also built temples at sacred sites outside her kingdom, from
DwarkaDwarka , also spelled Dvarka, Dwaraka, and Dvaraka, is a city and a municipality located in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat state in India. Dwarka , also known as Dwarawati in Sanskrit literature is rated as one of the seven most ancient cities in the country...
in
GujaratGujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
east to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at
VaranasiVaranasi , also commonly known as Benares or Banaras and Kashi , is a city situated on the left bank of the River Ganga in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, regarded as holy by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains...
on the Ganges.
The adopted son of Malhar Rao Haolkar, Tukojirao Holkar (ruled 1795-1797) briefly succeeded Rani Ahilyadevi upon her death.
Yashwantrao Holkar- Extending the Holkar dominion
His son
Yashwantrao HolkarMaharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shri Yashwantrao Holkar Bahadur, Maharaja of Indore, was born in 1776.Historical novelist N. S...
(reigned 1797-1811) (also called as Jaswant Rao) succeeded him upon his death. He decided to free the Delhi Mughal Emperor Shah Alam from the British but was unsuccessful. Admiring his bravery, Shah Alam gave him the title of "Maharajadiraj Rajrajeshwar Alija Bahadur".
Yashwantrao Holkar defeated the combined armies of
ScindiaScindia, anglicized from Shinde, and also spelled as Sindhia, Sindia, is a Maratha family in India which included rulers of the Gwalior State in the 18th and 19th centuries, collaborators of the colonial British government during the 19th and the 20th centuries until India became independent, and...
and Peshwa Bajirao II at Hadapsar, near Pune in 1802. The Peshwa fled from Poona, scared of being killed by Yashwantrao Holkar - owing to his(Bajirao's) killing Vitthojirao Holkar a few years earlier. Bajirao quit Poona and fled to Bassein where the English offered him allurements to sign the Subsidiary Treaty in return for the throne. Meanwhile, Yashwantrao made Amrutrao as the next Peshwa in Pune. After deliberating for over a month and after threats that his brother would otherwise be recognised as Peshwa, Bajirao II signed the treaty surrendering his residual sovereignty and allowing the English to put him on the throne at Poona.
Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar saw that rest of the Kings were not ready to unite and were interested in personal benefits, he was the last to sign a treaty with the British on 24 December, 1805 at a place called Rajghat (Treaty of Rajghat). He was the only King in India to whom the British approached to sign a peace treaty. He didn’t accept any condition which would affect his self respect. The British recognised him as a sovereign King and returned all his territories. They accepted his dominion over
JaipurJaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan state, India. Jaipur is the former capital of the princely state of Jaipur...
, Udaipur,
KotaKota formerly known as Kotah, is a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. Situated on the banks of Chambal River, the city is the trade centre for an area in which cotton, millet, wheat, coriander and oilseeds are grown; industries include cotton and oilseed milling, textile weaving,...
,
BundiBundi is a city and a municipality of approximately 88,000 inhabitants in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. It is of particular architectural note for its ornate forts, palaces, and stepwell reservoirs known as baoris...
, and some Rajput Kings. They also accepted that they would not interfere in the matters of Holkars.
Yaswantrao Holkar was a gifted military leader, and battled the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
in the
Second Anglo-Maratha WarThe Second Anglo-Maratha War was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India.-Background:...
. After some early victories, he made peace with the British.
Battle of Mahidpur
Maharaja Malharrao Holkar (III) succeeded Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar at an age of 4 years. Maharani Tulsibai Holkar looked after the administration. However, Dharama Kunwar and Balaram Seth with the help of Pathans and Pindaris, who had secretly joined hands with the British, plotted to imprison Tulsibai and Malharrao. When Tulsibai learnt about this, she beheaded both of them in 1815 and appointed Tatya Jog. Due to this, Gaffur Khan Pindari secretly signed a treaty with the British on 9 November, 1817 and accordingly killed Tulsibai on 19 December, 1817.
The British, led by Sir Thomas Hislop, attacked on 20 December, 1817 and defeated the army led by 11-year-old Maharaja Malharrao Holhar (III), 20-year-old Harirao Holkar and 20-year-old Bhimabai Holkar in the
Battle of MahidpurThe Battle of Mahidpur was fought during the Third Anglo-Maratha War between the Marathas and the British led by Sir Thomas Hislop at Mahidpur, a town in the Malwa region, on 20 December 1817....
. Holkars had nearly won the war but at the deciding moment Nawab Abdul Gaffur Khan betrayed and left the battlefield along with his army. The British gave the Jahagir of Jawara to Gaffur Khan for this betrayal. The treaty was signed on 6 January, 1818 at
MandsaurMandsaur or Mandsour is a city in the Malwa region and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District.-Origin of name:...
. Bhimabai Holkar didn't accept the treaty, and kept attacking the British by guerilla methods. Maharani Laxmibai of Jhanshi took inspiration from Bhimabai Holkar and fought against the British. At the conclusion of this
Third Anglo-Maratha WarThe Third Anglo-Maratha War was a final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India, which left the Company in control of most of India....
, the Holkars lost much of their territory to the British and were incorporated into the
British RajThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
as a
princely stateThere were as many as 568 states in India before independence. A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entity of British rule in India that was not directly administered by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-The British...
of the
Central India AgencyThe Central India Agency was a political unit of British India, which covered the northern half of present-day Madhya Pradesh state. The Central India Agency was made up entirely of princely states, which were under native rulers...
.
Yashwantrao II (reigned 1926-1947) ruled Indore state until shortly after India's independence in 1947, when he acceded to the Indian Government.
IndoreIndore is the largest city and commercial capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . It is also known as The City of Holkars. The city was built by a holkar, Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of India. Located in the Narmada river valley in the western part of the state of Madhya...
became a district of
Madhya BharatMadhya Bharat , also known as Malwa Union was a former state in west-central India. Madhya Bharat was created on 28 May, 1948 from 25 former princely states, which were formerly part of the British Raj's Central India Agency and Jivaji Rao Scindia became its Rajpramukh...
state, which was merged into
Madhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh was originally the largest state in India until November 1, 2000 when the state of Chhattisgarh was carved out...
state in 1956.
The current Princess of Indore, Sabrina Holkar (daughter of Richard Holkar) finished her education in the U.S. and is married to Jewish-Indian Real Estate developer Ari Ellis. They live in Union Square in Manhattan.
Holkar Maharajas of Indore
- Malharrao Holkar
Malhar Rao Holkar was a noble of the Maratha Empire, in present day India. Malhar Rao is particularly known for being the first Maratha Subhedar of Malwa in Central India. Born in a Dhangar family he was the first prince from the Holkar family which ruled the state of Indore...
(I) (r. 2 November 1693 - 19 May 1766 CE)
- Malerao Khanderao Holkar (r. 23 August 1766 - 5 April 1767 CE)
- Punyaslok Rajmata Ahilyadevi Holkar (as a regent) (r. 5 April 1767 - 13 August 1795 CE)
- Tukojirao Holkar (I) (r. 13 August 1795 - 29 January 1797 CE)
- Kashirao Tukojirao Holkar(r. 29 January 1797 - 1798CE)
- Yashwantrao Holkar
Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shri Yashwantrao Holkar Bahadur, Maharaja of Indore, was born in 1776.Historical novelist N. S...
(I) (r. 1798 - 27.11.1811 CE)
- Malharrao Yashwantrao Holkar (III) (r. November 1811 - 27 October 1833 CE)
- Martandrao Malharrao Holkar (r. 17 January 1834 - 2 February 1834 CE)
- Harirao Vitthojirao Holkar (r. 17 April 1834 - 24 October 1843 CE)
- Khanderao Harirao Holkar (III) (r. 13 November 1843 - 17 February 1844 CE)
- Tukojirao Gandharebhau Holkar
General Maharaja Sir Tukojirao Holkar XI Bahadur, GCSI, CIE, Kaiser-i-Hind , was the Maharaja Holkar of Indore from 1844-1886.He was crowned on 27 June 1844....
(II) (r. 27 June 1844 - 17 June 1886 CE)
- Shivajirao Tukojirao Holkar (r. 17 June 1886 - 31 January 1903 CE)
- Tukojirao Shivajirao Holkar (III) (r. 31 January 1903 - 26 February 1926 CE)
- Yashwantrao Holkar (II) (r. 26 February 1926 - 1961)
- Usha Devi Maharani Sahiba Holkar XV Bahadur, Maharani of Indore (r. 1961 - present)
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