Surgana State | |||||||
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Princely State ofBritish India | |||||||
Late 18th century–1948 | |||||||
![]() Surgana State in Nasik Agency during British India | |||||||
Capital | Surgana | ||||||
Demonym | koli[1][2][3] | ||||||
Area | |||||||
• 1901 | 932.4 km2 (360.0 sq mi) | ||||||
Population | |||||||
• 1901 | 11,532 | ||||||
• 1921 | 14,912 | ||||||
Legislature | |||||||
• Upper house | Pawar | ||||||
History | |||||||
• Established | Late 18th century | ||||||
1948 | |||||||
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Today part of | Maharashtra, India |
Surgana State was aprincely state of theBombay Presidency during the era of theBritish Raj.[4] It was the only state belonging to the Nasik Agency. Its capital wasSurgana inNashik District of present-dayMaharashtra. It was ruled byPawar dynasty ofkoli.[1][2][3]
Surgana State's last ruler signed theinstrument of accession to join India in March 1948.
Surgana State was founded before the 1800s by the Maratha Pawar family.[1][2] Surgana State was converted into aBritish protectorate in 1818 after they attacked a British police party passing through Surgana and were defeated.[5] The British made the cousin of the Deshmukh, Bhikaji Rao as the new chief as he helped them against thePeshwa. Bhikaji Rao was murdered in the riot caused by the mother of Malharrao and her brother-in-law, Pilaji. Pilaji was captured and executed by the British. The descendants of Malharrao were allowed the share in revenues of the state in 1846 and were granted an allowance grant in 1877. The chief of the state had powers to elect a Representative Member of the Chambers of Princes from 1921 to 1947. In March 1948, the last chief Dhairyashil Rao signed the Gujarat States Merger Agreement and ceded the state to India.
Later Dhairyashil Rao also served as the Member of theRajya Sabha in 1952–1968 and 1972–1978.
The Princely State was bordered on the south by Peinth in Nasik, and in the west by theBansda andDharampur States.
The rulers of the state bore the titledeshmukh.[6][7]