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Baroda State बड़ोदा रियासत Period Maratha Empire       ←     1721 – 1949      →      Republic of India
Flag	Coat of arms

Baroda State was a princely state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until 1949 when it acceded to the newly formed Union of India. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its capital, during the British Raj its relations with the British were managed by the Baroda Residency. At the time of Indian independence, only five rulers—the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Maharaja of Mysore, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir state, the Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda and the Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior—were entitled to a 21-gun salute. Baroda formally acceded to the Union of India, on 1 May 1949, prior to which an interim government was formed in the state.

Baroda state in 1909

Gaekwad Maharajas of Baroda

• Pilaji Rao Gaekwad (1721–1732)
• Damaji Rao Gaekwad (1732–1768)
• Sayaji Rao Gaekwad I (1768–1778)
• Fatehsinh Rao Gaekwad I (1778–1789)
• Manaji Rao Gaekwad (1789–1793)
• Govind Rao Gaekwad (1793–1800)
• Anand Rao Gaekwad (1800–1818)
• Sayaji Rao II Gaekwad (1818–1847)
• Ganpat Rao Gaekwad (1847–1856)
• Khande Rao Gaekwad (1856–1870)
• Malhar Rao Gaekwad (1870–1875)
• Sayajirao Gaekwad III (1875–1939)
• Pratap Singh Gaekwad (1939–1951)
• Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad II (1951–1971)

All the royal titles in India were abolished in 1971.

Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad III (1863–1939), Maharaja of Baroda

Makarpura Palace, built by Maharaja Khende Rao in 1870

Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda, built by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1890

Baroda State, 1896

Silver rupee of Sayaji Rao II of Baroda (ruled 1819-47), naming the Mughal emperor Muhammad Akbar II, dated AH 1238 (= 1822-23 CE). The prominent Nagari letter sa stands for Sayaji Rao and we also see a curved sword, one of the dynastic symbols of the Gaekwads and seen also on the Baroda state flag.



Silver rupee of Sayaji Rao III of Baroda (ruled 1875-1939), showing his portrait. This coin is dated 1955 in the Vikrama era (= 1897 CE).