Sayajirao Gaekwad III

Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas which ruled parts of present-day Gujarat. Early life Sayajirao was born into a Maratha family in the village of Kavlana in Malegaon taluka of Nashik district, as Gopalrao Gaekwad, second son of Kashirao Bhikajirao (Dada Sahib) Gaekwad (1832–1877) and Ummabai. He belonged to a cadet branch of the Gaekwad dynasty, descended from a morganatic marriage of the first Raja of Baroda, and so was not expected to succeed to the throne. Matters of succession Following the death of Sir Khanderao Gaekwad, the popular Maharaja of Baroda, in 1870, it was expected that his brother, Malharrao, would succeed him. However, Malharrao had already proven himself to be of the vilest character and had been earlier imprisoned for conspiring to assassinate his brother. As Khanderao's widow, Maharani Jamnabai (1853–1898) was already pregnant with a posthumous child, the succession was delayed until the sex of the child could be proven. The child proved to be a daughter, and so upon her birth on 5 July 1871, Malharrao ascended the throne.