House of Scindia
Country	Gwalior State
Founded	1731
Founder	Ranoji Scindia
Current head	Jyotiraditya Scindia
Final ruler	Jiwajirao Scindia (Gwalior) later theRajpramukh)
Titles	Raja of Gwalior Maharaja of Gwalior Vakil of theMughal Empire Rajpramukh of Madhya Bharat
Estate(s)	Gwalior Fort Shinde Chhatri Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior Samudra Mahal, Mumbai
Deposition	1948 (Gwalior State) 1971 (Rajpramukh under the Indian Union)

House of Scindia or earlier known as the Sendrak was aMaratha royal house. They claim descent from the mythicalNagas beings, often associated with serpent worship, that ruled the erstwhileGwalior State in central India.Ranoji Scindia rose as a prominent military commander underPeshwaBajirao I.^[1][2][3][4] Ranoji and his descendants, along withHolkars, played a leading role during theMaratha ascendancy in northern India in the 18th century. The Gwalior State became aprincely state during theBritish Raj in the 19th and the 20th centuries. AfterIndia's independence in 1947 and the abolition of princely states, several members of the Scindia Dynasty went on to enter Indian politics.^{[citation needed]}

The Scindia dynasty was founded byRanoji Scindia, a personal servant and soldier of PeshwaBajirao I.^[1][2][3][4] 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 Bajirao to promote as commanders of his troops talented young men who were barely out of their teens such asMalhar Rao Holkar, the Pawar (Puar) brothers, Pilaji Jadhav, Fateh Singh Bhosale and Ranoji. None of these men belonged to families that held hereditaryDeshmukhi rights under earlier rulers such as the Deccan Sultanates.^[5][6] The Shindes or Scindias had served asshiledars (cavalrymen) under theBahmani Sultanate and played an important role in the state of affairs and heldPatilki of Kumberkerrab.^[7][3]

There are otherwise several anecdotes about the origin of the Scindhias (Shindes), especially those recorded bySir John Malcolm.^[8]Stewart Gordon states the cultivator, etc. origin of otherMarathas.^[9]

During theSecond Anglo-Maratha War,Daulat Rao Scindia suffered major defeats at theAssaye andLaswari, leading him to sign theTreaty of Surji-Anjangaon in 1803 and surrender extensive territories to theEast India Company.^[10] Although still nominally a seniorMaratha chief, Scindia increasingly entered into direct arrangements with the British, often at moments when theMaratha Confederacy depended on unified action. Contemporary Maratha correspondence and later nationalist writings repeatedly portray his conduct as a breach of Maratha solidarity, noting that separate settlements and refusals to coordinate weakened the Confederacy’s resistance at decisive stages.^[11]

Over the following decades, Scindia’s court deepened its engagement with British authority. The dynasty pursued independent diplomacy with the Company, seeking favourable terms for the preservation ofGwalior even as British influence expanded acrossNorth India.^[12] Several accounts describe these choices as politically expedient steps that undermined broader Maratha leverage. Critics writing after the fall of the Confederacy have characterised Scindia’s approach during this era not simply as accommodation but as conduct that edged into open abandonment of Maratha interests at moments when collective strength might have altered the balance of power.

These accusations intensified dramatically during theIndian Rebellion of 1857.Jayajirao Scindia remained officially loyal to the British even as large portions of the Gwalior contingent mutinied and joined rebel leaders likeRani Lakshmibai andTatya Tope.^[13] Rebel correspondence, as well as later nationalist narratives, describes Scindia’s refusal to support the uprising as a decisive blow to the rebellion in central India. His cooperation with British authorities, alongside his suppression of rebel-aligned forces, is widely interpreted as enabling the British recapture ofGwalior and sealing the strategic collapse of resistance in the region.^[14]

The magnitude of Scindia’s decision was captured in the remark attributed to Governor-GeneralLord Canning: “If Scindia joins the rebels, I shall pack up tomorrow and go to the hills.”^[15] The statement reflects the British understanding that a Scindia defection would have tipped the rebellion’s military balance, potentially transforming the uprising into a successful struggle forindependence. The dynasty’s loyalty to the Company at this critical moment has therefore remained one of the most frequently cited examples of a princely house whose choices shaped the outcome of both theMaratha decline and the failure of the1857 revolt.

The Scindia dynasty was founded byRanoji Scindia, who was the son of Jankojirao Scindia, thePatil ofKanherkhed, a village inSatara District,Maharashtra.^[16]PeshwaBaji Rao's career saw the strengthening of theMaratha Empire. Ranoji was in charge of theMaratha conquests inMalwa in 1726. Ranoji established his capital atUjjain in 1731. His successors included Jayajirao, Jyotibarao, Dattajirao, Jankojirao,Mahadji Shinde andDaulatrao Scindia.The Scindias became a major regional power in the latter half of the 18th century, and figured prominently in the threeAnglo-Maratha Wars.They held sway over many of theRajput states, and conquered north India. In 1818, after accepting the terms of asubsidiary alliance with the British, the family shifted their base from Ujjain toGwalior.^{[citation needed]}

After the defeat of the allied Maratha states by the British in theThird Anglo-Maratha War of 1818, Daulatrao Shinde was forced to accept local autonomy as aprincely 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.^{[citation needed]}

The Scindia dynasty ruled Gwalior until India's independence from theUnited Kingdom in 1947, when theMaharajaJivajirao Scindia acceded to the Government of India. Gwalior was merged with a number of other princely states to become the new Indianstate ofMadhya Bharat. Jiwajirao Scindia served as the state'srajpramukh, or appointed governor, from 28 May 1948 to 31 October 1956, when Madhya Bharat was merged intoMadhya Pradesh.^{[citation needed]}

In 1962,Vijayraje Scindia, the widow of Maharaja Jiwajirao, was elected to theLok Sabha, beginning the family's career in electoral politics.^[17] She was first a member of theCongress Party, and later became an influential member of theBharatiya Janata Party. Her sonMadhavrao Scindia was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971 representing the Jansangh Party, he joined Congress in 1980 and served until his death in 2001. His son,Jyotiraditya Scindia, joined theCongress Party and was elected to the seat formerly held by his father in 2004. He later joined theBharatiya Janata Party on 11 March 2020.^{[citation needed]} Vijayaraje's daughters have supported theBharatiya Janata Party.Vasundhara Raje Scindia contested and won fiveparliamentary elections fromMadhya Pradesh andRajasthan. Under the Vajpayee government from 1998 onwards, Vasundhara was in charge of several different ministries. In 2003 she led the Bharatiya Janata Party to its largest majority inRajasthan, and became the state'sChief Minister.^[18] In 2013 again, she led Bharatiya Janata Party to a thumping 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 assembly elections fromShivpuri in Madhya Pradesh and won in 1998, 2003 and 2013 and alsolok sabha 2004, 2009 from Gwalior. Upon the BJP's win in the state, she became the state's Minister for Tourism, Sports and Youth Affairs. Vasundhara's sonDushyant Singh entered the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Rajasthan.^[19]

The heads of the Royal House of Scindia include:

• Ranoji Rao Shinde (1731 – 19 July 1745). Died 19 July 1745.
• Jayappa Rao Shinde (1745 – 25 July 1755). Born c. 1720, died 25 July 1755.
• Jankoji Rao Scindia I (25 July 1755 – 15 January 1761). Born in 1745. died 15 January 1761.
• Dattaji Rao Scindia (Regent 1755 – 10 January 1760). Died 10 January 1760.
• Vacant 15 January 1761 – 25 November 1763
• Kadarji Rao Scindia (25 November 1763 – 10 July 1764) Died ?.
• Manaji Rao Scindia (10 July 1764 – 18 January 1768) Died ?.
• Mahadaji Scindia (18 January 1768 – 12 February 1794). Born 3 December 1730, died 12 February 1794.
• Daulat Rao Shinde (12 February 1794 – 21 March 1827). Born 1779, died 21 March 1827.
• Jankoji Rao Scindia II (18 June 1827 – 7 February 1843). Born 1805, died 7 February 1843.
• Jayaji Rao Scindia (7 February 1843 – 20 June 1886). Born 19 January 1835, died 20 June 1886.
• Madho Rao Scindia (20 June 1886 – 5 June 1925). Born 20 October 1876, died 5 June 1925.
• Jivajirao Scindia (Maharaja 5 June 1925 – 15 August 1947, Rajpramukh 28 May 1948 – 31 October 1956. Last Maharaja, later Rajpramukh) Born 26 June 1916, died 16 July 1961.
• Madhavrao Scindia (1961–2001), the last reigning Maharaja, before the abolishment of the monarchy in 1971.

• Jyotiraditya Scindia (2001–present)
• Mahaaryaman Scindia (heir apparent)

The Royal House of Scindia awards twoorders of chivalry; these knighthoods were instituted byMaharaja Madho Rao Scindia in 1900 and 1907, respectively, and include:

• Mansab-i-Aswadi (Order of the Snake), awarded in three grades
• Gwalior Medal, awarded in three grades^[21]

• Yule, Sir Henry; Burnell, Arthur Coke (1903), William Crooke (ed.),Hobson-Jobson: a Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive, London: J. Murray,OCLC 4718658
• Hope, John (1863).The House of Scindea – A Sketch by John Hope. Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green, London.
• Neelesh Ishwarchandra Karkare (2017).Tawaareekh-E-ShindeShahi.ISBN 978-93-5267-241-7.

• Media related toScindia at Wikimedia Commons

• Scindia dynasty
• Dynasties of India
• Surnames of Indian origin
• Maratha clans
• Hindu dynasties

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