Madho Rao Scindia
Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior
Maharaja Sir Madho Rao Scindia of Gwalior (20 October 1876 – 5 June 1925), was the 5th Maharaja of Gwalior belonging to the Scindian dynasty of the Marathas. Madho Rao acceded to the throne in 1886 and ruled until his death in 1925. He was noted by the British Government as a progressive ruler of a princely state. He was married twice, but only had children with his second wife in 1913, one son and one daughter, to whom King George V and Queen Mary stood sponsors. He was succeeded by his son, Maharajdhiraja Maharaja Sir George Jivaji Rao Scindia, 6th Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior. His daughter married, but died without children in 1934. The Maharaja of Gwalior is also known as the rejected suitor of Gayatri Devi's mother, the glamorous Princess Indira of Baroda (Indira Devi), who broke off her engagement (contracted between her parents and her fiance) by letter. The Maharaja then married Gajararaje from the Rane family of Goa. Later on, Gajararaje's sisters were married into the notable Sardar families of Gwalior, which included the Angre, Shitole & the Mahadik Families. The Maharaja received a number of honours and decorations from the United Kingdom and other Indian States. He was appointed Honorary Aide-de-camp to King Edward VII in 1901, in recognition of his support during the Boxer Rebellion in
China. In May of the following year, he received the honorary degree LL.D. from the University of Cambridge. An interesting story is that Madho Rao, the Maharajah of Gwalior, helped to fund the completion of a set of mosaics in the Church of the Ascension in Timoleague, County Cork, Ireland. The mosaics are of particular note, begun in 1894 by Mr. Robert Augustus Travers of Timoleague House in memory of family members, continued in 1918 by his son Robert in commemoration of his father and brother who were killed at Gallipoli. The last phase of the mosaics was at the expense of the Maharajah of Gwalior, installed as a memorial to his friend and physician, Lt. Col Crofts IMS from Councamore (near Timoleague), who had saved the life of his son. The mosaic was completed by Italian workmen in 1925, ten years after the doctor's death. The mosaic, most likely designed by the Church of Ireland architect W.H. Hill, is a blend of the European and the Islamic. The series of stained glass windows include a Warrington over the altar (east window), glass by Lavers, Westlake and also Mayer elsewhere. The architect Jeremy Williams wrote in "A Companion Guide to Architecture in Ireland 1837-1921" that "this building was a monument to a living friendship enshrined in a hidden masterpiece of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Ireland" and that it "transcended the sectarian divide between Irish Catholic and Protestant, the Indian Muslim and Hindu, personal friendship breaking up distinctions of caste and colour."
Army of Gwalior. Gwalior, once a medieval stronghold of The Mahrattas was also one of the largest and most Important Indian Princely States. HH The Maharaja Scindia (Ruler of the state) maintained a large local force, which was organised into a Cavalry Brigade, consisting of three regiments of Lancers, a Battery of Artillery and a Mountain Battery. In addition there was a Sapper company and an Infantry Training Battalion. Although not Crown forces, all were available to the Empire for defense in time of need.
House of Scindia (anglicized from Shinde) is a Hindu Maratha Royal House that ruled the erstwhile Gwalior State in central India. It had the patil-ship of Kanherkhed in the district of satara and was founded by Ranoji Shinde, who started as a personal servant of the Peshwa Bajirao I. Ranoji and his descendants, along with their rivals the Holkars, played a leading role during the Maratha ascendancy in northern India in the 18th-century. The Gwalior State became a princely state during the British Raj in the 19th and the 20th-centuries. After India's independence in 1947 and the abolition of princely states, several members of the Scindia (Shinde) family went on to enter Indian politics. The Scindia (Shinde) dynasty was founded by Ranoji Shinde, a Kunbi (Sub caste of Maratha) personal servant & Soilder of Peshwa Bajirao I. Ranoji prospered early under
Bajirao because of the favorable circumstances created by the appointment of Bajirao as the Peshwa at the age of twenty.This had evoked jealousy from senior officials like Anant Ram Sumant, Shripatrao Pant Pratinidhi, Khanderao Dabhade and Kanhoji Bhosle.This led Baji Rao to promote as commanders of his troops, talented young men who were barely out of teens such as Malhar Rao Holkar, the Pawar (Puar) brothers, Pilaji Jadhav, Fateh Singh Bhosale and of course, Ranoji. None of these men belonged to families that held hereditary Deshmukhi rights under earlier rulers such as the Deccan Sultanates. The Shindes or Scindias had served as shiledars (cavalrymen) under the Bahmani Sultanate and played an important role in the state of affairs and held Patilki of Kumberkerrab The Scindia dynasty was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who was the son of Jankojirao Scindia, the Patil of Kanherkhed, a village in Satara District, Maharashtra. Peshwa Baji Rao's 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 and Daulatrao Scindia.The Scindias 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. In 1818, after accepting the terms of a subsidiary alliance with the British, the family shifted their base from Ujjain to The Gwalior. After the defeat of the allied Maratha states by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War of 1818, Daulatrao Shinde was forced to accept local autonomy as a princely state within British-occupied India and to give up Ajmer to the British. 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 and adopted a child from close lineage named Jayajirao. The Scindia family ruled Gwalior until India's independence from the United Kingdom in 1947.
Awards: Collar, sash and star of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Stars of the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of Merit of Philip the Magnanimous.
