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PREFACE

The Daphales of Jath is one of the ancient Maratha \

families of Maharashtra. The Daphale family is a high caste

Maratha family. Its founder Satvajirao was Shivaji's

contemporary. Satvajirao and his entire family were in the

limbo of oblivion. The contribution of the Daphales to

Maratha history has somehow been side tracked. The

contribution of the Daphales or the entire Daphale family

was in obscurity. The erstwhile Jath State is in the present

SanglJ district. The reasons for selecting the topic are

varied. When we read the accounts and contributions of

various Maratha families to the historical development of

Western Maharashtra the Daphales are scantily mentioned and

therefore proper placement of the work and achievements of

the family deserve adequate attention and a place in the

account of the history of Western Maharashtra. I am a

permanent resident of a small village in Sangli district.

Since my school days the name of Vijaysinh, the last ruler,

was reverberating in my ears. His progressive policies were

discussed by elders of my village from time to time. These

discussions aroused my curiosity and interest in this topic.

/-

It is my objective to write a coherent history of the

Daphales of Jath.

Among the various kinds of history, now-a-days local

history is gaining importance. In the most advanced nations

like the United Kingdom, local history has been stressed by

 Uv)

scholars. The writing of local history is a milestone in

writing national history. By writing local history a process

of writing of regional history is initiated. Therefore the

topic pertaining to local history has been selected.

During the course of the present research I have

studied original sources, both published and unpublished and

the secondary sources. Before collecting the sources I made

a survey of historical literature on the topic. Since the

second half of the 19th century a few writers have written

books on the Daphales. In 1867 Damodar Devaji Jatkar wrote a

book in Marathi, "Daphale Deshmukh Jahagirdar (Jath Karajgi

Vagaire).” The next attempt was made in 1872 to write

history of various historical families. In this attempt

Dr.G.S.Sardesai published a detailed Genealogy of the

Daphale family in 1908. In 1912 another book was written

about the Daphales under the title "Chavan urf Daphale", by

M.R.Parandekar. The next important source is published in

1912. Shri G.D.Dalvi wrote a book, entitled "Maratha

Kulancha Itihas, Chavan urf Daphale Gharanyachi Kaifiyat."

The next attempt to write history of the Jath State was made

by Shri.V.G.Bhide, entitling "Jath Sansthancha Sanskshipta

Itihas” in 1924. Besides the above literature unpublished
original documents are housed in the Pune and Bombay
Archives. In the Pune Archives there are 65 Rumals throwing
light on the Daphales of Jath. And also unpublished original

correspondence about the Daphales in English is preserved in

the Pune Archives. The other documents relating to the

 <v)

Satara Maharaja, Satara Residency and the Deccan

Commissioners Files which are at Pune are useful for this

purpose. In the Bombay Archives there are volumes of

political documents, specially volumes 25th and 26th of

1857, 25th, 28th, 29th, 30th and 38th of 1858 and documents

relating to the merger of the Jath State into the Indian

Union are kept in the files. These original unpublished

documents were used extensively in the present study.

There are several published primary sources spread over

at various places in Bombay and Pune Archives and Sangli

Collectorate's Hu2ur Record. There are Annual Reports of the

Administration of the Bombay Presidency, the Jath State, and

the Daphalapur Estate. Besides these primary sources there

is a volume on the Deshmukhi and Khawaskhani Watans: Brief

Settlement which contains Exhibits, throwing ample light on

the topic under study. In the realm of secondary sources I

have consulted many books, magazines, and News papers both

English and Marathi. I am indebted to the authors and

publishers of these books.

As to the methodology, I have used historical method

throughout my work. Whenever it was necessary, I have made

internal and external criticisms. I have used imaginative

faculty whenever necessary to link up instances and events.

I have tried to observe strict objectivity in my study. This

work has been divided into nine chapters.

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The first chapter deals with the physical features of

the state. It also contains references to the myths and

legends prevailing in the Jath area and its relation to the

stories in Ramayana and Mahabharata. Formerly Jath area was

under the rule of Satvahana, Chalukyas of Badami, Silahar^

and Yadav dynasties. The second chapter is devoted to the

early history of the Daphale family and the career of

Satvajirao Daphale, the founder of the Jath State. In the

third chapter the history of the Jath State is traced from

1706 to 1816. In this chapter the careers of the rulers

namely Yesubai, Yeshwantrao, Amritrao-I, and Khanajirao have

been elaborated. Thepolitical activities of Yesubai, her

relations with the Nizam of Hydrabad and Chhatrapati Shahu

and the Peshwas have been analysed. The fourth chapter is

devoted to the political activities of the Jath state from

1816 to 1857. In this chapter the political careers of

Renukabai, the installation of Raja Pratapsinh of Satara,

the treaties between Daphale and British in 18ZQ, the treaty

between Daphale and the Raja of Satara 1822 and its

significance has been studied. The fifth chapter is about

the assessment of the role played by the Jath State in the

uprising of 1857. It also deals with the political scenario.

Chapter Six is devoted to the life and career of Ramrao-II,

who ruled the state from 1893 to 1928. The chapter

illuminates his benevolent acts. The chapter also deals with

the origin and merger of the Daphalapur Estate in the Jath

state in 1917. The seventh chapter is also fully utilised

 (vii)

for depicting the career and achievements of the last ruler

Vijaysinh Daphale: Vijaysinh's political activities such as

his role in the Chamber of Princes, various pieces of

Legislation and the way of unfolding the gates of freedom

and democracy to his subjects. His work as the President of

the Maratha Educational Conference is highlighted. The topic

deals with the Praja-Parishad movement in the Jath State

which was the order of the day. The most important and

historical event of his career was the merger of the Jath

state into the Indian Union in 1948. If Satvajirao is to be

credited with the founding of the state, Vijaysinh may be

given the credit of showing the light of Independence to his

subjects by merging the state into the Union. The ei_ghth

chapter surveys, the general administration of the state.

The various aspects such as the definition of the Deshmukhi

Watan, the nature of the state and powers and functions of

the Ruler, Diwan and the powers and functions of various

officials, the land revenue system, the revenue policy,

taxes and Judiciary have been described. The last and the

ninth chapter is an epilogue which contains a brief summary

of discussions in the preceding chapters and the research

findings.

I have sincerely made an attempt to collect all

available literature, documents and tried to weave a

corporate picture of the times of Daphales. I have also

attempted to analyse their relations with the neighbouring

powers, their contributions to the contemporary history and

 (viii)

also attempted to allocate a justified place to this family

in the rise and fall of the princely states in Western

Maharashtra. This also may be, in my humble opinion, an

authentic and systematic record of the Daphale family and

its rulers. I hope this will serve the purpose of general

readers as well as scholars.

Kolhapur. V.N.Hanmane

8th August, 1994