Newalkar Maharaja of Jhansi | |
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Details | |
Style | In the local Marathi, Sanskrit, Hindustani and Persian (local Bundeli) languages |
First monarch | Raghunath Rao I |
Last monarch | Damodar Rao[1] |
Formation | 1769 |
Abolition | 5 April 1858 |
Residence | Jhansi Fort, Jhansi |
Newalkar dynasty were Marathi Karhade Brahmins, who were the Maharajas of Jhansi from 1769 to 1858. Their family deity was goddess Mahalakshmi.[2][3] The Newalkars were sardars under Peshwa Madhavrao I, and later became Maharajas of Jhansi in Central India as an independent member of the Maratha Confederacy until 1818. Later, their kingdom became a princely state under the protectorate of British India.
The dynasty was founded with Raghunath Hari Newalkar,[3] who joined the service of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire, and quickly rose to the ranks of Subedar.[4] The Newalkar Maharajas of Jhansi are a great patron of arts and music.[5] The name of the dynasty was associated with the title of the ruler, who was known informally as Newalkar Maharaja.
The Nevalkar family belongs to Gautama gotra and to the Karhade sub-section of Maharastra Brahmanas.
Raghunath Hari Newalkar (1769–1794) in whose family the Subedarship became hereditary, its last ruler being Rani Laxmi Bai.