History

Heraldry

Maharashtra State

Bombay and Princely States

Bombay/Mumbai

Jahwar

Janjira

Jath

Kolhapur

Sawantwadi

History

In the 17th Century, the Marathas rose under the leadership of Chhatrapati Shivaji against the Mughals who were ruling a large part of India. After the third Anglo-Maratha war, the empire ended and most of Maharashtra became part of Bombay state under a British Raj.

With the arrival and subsequent involvement of the Honourable British East India Company in Indian politics, the Marathas and the British fought the three Anglo-Maratha wars between 1777 and 1818, culminating in the annexation of Peshwa-ruled territory in Maharashtra in 1819, which heralded the end of the Maratha empire.

The British governed the region as part of the Bombay Presidency, which spanned an area from Karachi in Pakistan to most of the northern Deccan. A number of the Maratha states persisted as princely states, retaining local autonomy in return for acknowledging British sovereignty. The largest princely states in the territory of present-day Maharashtra were Nagpur, Satara and Kolhapur. Satara was annexed to Bombay Presidency in 1848, and Nagpur was annexed in 1853 to become Nagpur Province, later part of the Central Provinces. Berar, which had been part of the Nizam of Hyderabad’s kingdom, was occupied by the British in 1853 and annexed to the Central Provinces in 1903. A large part of present day Maharashtra called Marathwada remained part of the Nizam's Hyderabad state during British rule. The British rule was marked by social reforms and an improvement in infrastructure as well as revolts due to their discriminatory policies.

After Indian independence, unification was demanded of all Marathi speaking regions under one state. The first state reorganization committee created the current Maharashtra state on May 1, 1960. The Marathi-speaking areas of Bombay state, Deccan states and Vidarbha (which was part of Central Provinces and Berar) united to form the current state.

Heraldry

The seal of Maharashtra shows a lamp encircled by a legend in Marathi, all in the Hindu colour bhagwa (orange). The inscription means Maharashtra Government

Æ See illustration in the head of this article

Maharashtra Police

The emblem of Maharashtra Police consists of a five-pointed star charged with a disc showing a right hand.

Above is the name of the service in Maratha script and below is the motto:

which means: PROTECT THE RIGHTEOUS AND CONTROL & DESTROY THE EVILDOERS.