Shahu Mharaj
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    • Shahu Mharaj

    Shahu IV of Kolhapur

    Shahu IV of Kolhapur

    Shahu IV (also known as Rajarshi Shahu) (26 July 1874-6 May 1922) was the first Maharaja of the Indian princely state of Kolhapur between 1884 and 1922.

    Accession

    Shahu was born on 26th July 1874 as Yeshwantrao Ghatge, eldest son of Appasaheb Ghatge, chief of Kagal (senior) by his wife Radhabai, a daughter of the Raja of Mudhol in present-day Karnataka. He was adopted by Anandibai, widow of Raja Shivaji IV, in March 1884. Several generations of inter-marriage had ensured that Shahu's family was connected intimately with the ruling dynasty of Kolhapur, which is apparently what rendered him a suitable candidate for adoption, despite his not being a male-line member of the Bhonsle dynasty. A council of regency was appointed by the British government of India to oversee affairs of state during Shahu's minority. Shahu was invested with ruling powers upon coming of age in 1894. There is one college named Rajaram college built by Shahu Maharaja

    Social reform

    Shahu maharaj is credited with doing much to further the lot of the lower castes, and indeed this assessment is warranted. He did much to make education and employment available to all: he not only subsidized education in his state, eventually providing free education to all, but also opened several hostels in Kolhapur for students hailing from many different non-brahmin communities, thereby facilitating the education of the rural and low-caste indigent. He also ensured suitable employment for students thus educated, thereby creating one of the earliest Affirmative action programs in history. Many of these measures were effected in the year 1902.

    Shahu's other initiatives included restricting Child marriage in his state and the encouragement of intercaste marriage and widow remarriage. He long patronized the Satya Shodhak Samaj but later moved towards the Arya Samaj. Under the influence of these social-reform movements, Shahu arranged for several non-brahmin youths to be trained to function as priests, in defiance of timeless convention which reserved the priesthood for those of the brahmin caste. However, he faced opposition from many including Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak , the very famous patriot of that time. After Shahu Maharaj's death, this reform died its natural death.

    Chhatrapati Shahu was very fond of wrestling and encouraged it in his kingdom.Many wrestlers from all over India came to Kolhapur as wrestling enjoyed royal patronage in Kolhapur.

    The Indian postal department has issued a stamp dedicated to Shahu. On the first-issue citation, the government of India hails Shahu as "A social revolutionary, a true democrat, a visionary, a patron of the theatre, music and sports and a prince of the masses. Chhatrapati Shahu was a many-splendoured personality who thought and acted far ahead of his times."

    Personal life

    In 1891, Shahu was wed to Lakshmibai née Khanvilkar (1880-1945), daughter of a Maratha nobleman from Baroda. They were the parents of four children:

    1.Rajaram II, who succeeded his father as Maharaja of Kolhapur.

    2.Radhabai 'Akkasaheb' Puar, Maharani of Dewas (senior) (1894-1973) who married Raja Tukojirao III of Dewas (Senior) and had issue:

    • Vikramsinhrao Puar, who became Maharaja of Dewas (Senior) in 1937 and who later succeeded to the throne of Kolhapur as Shahoji II.

    3.Sriman Maharajkumar Shivaji (1899-1918)

    4.Srimati Rajkumari Aubai (1895); died young

    Chhatrapati Shahu of Kolhapur died on May 6, 1922. He was survived by his wife, his elder son Rajaram and his daughter Radhabai.

    Full name and titles

    His full official name was: Colonel His Highness Kshatriya-Kulawatasana Sinhasanadhishwar, Shrimant Rajashri Sir Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj Sahib Bahadur, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO

    During his life he acquired the following titles and honorific names:

    Honours

    Legacy

    Once the late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said, "Dams are not just constructions of cement and concrete, but in fact are places of pilgrimage in the modern India." This was not the first vision towards this development as Kolhapur’s King Shahu Maharaj realized it almost 100 years before and decided to construct Radhanagari Dam, which is considered the first dam in India, on 18th February 1907. The place of the dam was decided and construction of houses for labourers and officials was started which took almost two years, so the foundation stone for the dam was laid down in 1909. In those days, there were neither engineering experts nor the availability of a skilled labor force; hence work progressed at a very slow rate. There is a story about the shortage of funds also in air but King Shahu Maharaj was determined to complete the project so that the water for irrigation would be available in abundance so it would add to the per capita income of Kolhapurkars.

    Radhanagari Dam was completed in 1935 and since 1938 has been working at full capacity. Normally it is said that Indian kings and rulers overlooked the problems of common citizens but Radhanagari Dam is the living illustration of Shahu Maharaj's vision towards the development and welfare of common citizens.

    Over the years Radhanagari Dam has provided water for irrigation; after Indian independence, the nearby forest area was converted into the “Dajipur Reserve Forest” and some tourist facilities started to attract the tourists from all over India.

    Next year being the century year of the foundation stone of this, the oldest dam of the country, the Maharashtra government has come forward with a developmental plan to increase the tourist facilities in order to attract tourists from all over the globe. The plan's budgeted expanses are estimated at Rs. 47 crores and recently the first installment of Rs. 7.5 crores was handed over to district administration. The plan includes the construction of a memorial to Shahu Maharaj; a sum of Rs. 2 crores are allotted for the construction of new buildings for the Taluka administration, Panchayat Samiti, police stations, etc.

    According to sources, the Dajipur forest is being developed for tourism on the pattern of eco- tourism. The Tourism Ministry of India has already handed over a sum of Rs. 8 crores for this purpose. In the near future, the funds received from the central government will be transferred to district administration which will boost efforts to put Kolhapur on the world tourism map; the Deccan Odyssey, the Maharashtra tourism train which is presently halting for few hours at Kolhapur will surely have a stay of at least for one day from the next year.

    The centurion dam Radhanagari, the visionary project of Shahu Maharaj, which worked as means of increase in per capita income by providing water for irrigation is once again proving a reason for growth in per capita income, this time by boosting the tourism to area.
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