Raoji and Babaji Appaji Phanse

The administrative and physical landscape of the historic city of Baroda (now Vadodara) underwent a profound transformation at the turn of the nineteenth century. While the ruling Gaekwad dynasty consolidated its sovereign authority over Central Gujarat, the daily governance, military campaigns, and diplomatic relations of the state were largely directed by a class of aristocratic Maratha families who had migrated from Western Maharashtra. Foremost among these administrative elites was the Phanse (alternatively spelled Fanse) family. Operating as hereditary Prime Ministers (Diwans) and military generals, the Phanse family steered Baroda through a volatile era marked by internal rebellions, financial crises, and the establishment of British paramountcy.

The enduring legacy of this family remains inscribed within the urban geography of Vadodara, preserved in municipal wards named in their honour, grand residential mansions (wadas), and sacred architectural monuments situated along the banks of the Vishwamitri River.

Historical Origins and Genealogical Foundations

The ancestral lineage of the Phanse family traces back to the seventeenth-century foundations of the Maratha Empire. The family patriarch, Prayagji Anant Phanse, was an esteemed military officer who served as the Subedar (fortress commander) of the strategic Satara and Parli forts during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji the Great. Prayagji famously defended the Satara fort against the Mughal forces of Emperor Aurangzeb. During the siege, the Mughals detonated gunpowder mines beneath the Manglai bastion, collapsing the structure and burying Prayagji under the debris. Having survived the collapse, he was rescued by his soldiers and subsequently rewarded with hereditary land grants at Chinchner and Degaum by Rajaram Maharaj, establishing the family’s aristocratic status.

The family’s connection to Gujarat commenced in the mid-eighteenth century when their descendants entered the service of the expanding Gaekwad dynasty. In local oral histories and municipal records, the name “Apaji” or “Appaji” frequently appears. This is a reflection of Maratha patronymic naming conventions. Joti Prayag, the son of the patriarch Prayagji, carried the alias Appaji. His descendants incorporated “Appaji” as a middle name or patronymic identifier, which is why the two most prominent brothers in Baroda’s history are identified as Raoji Appaji Phanse and Babaji Appaji Phanse. While some modern databases list an “Appajipura” as a potential municipal zone associated with the family, real estate and geographical registries clarify that Appajipura is actually a locality situated in eastern Bengaluru, Karnataka, and has no historical or spatial connection to the Phanse legacy in Vadodara.

Below outlines the genealogical progression and administrative positions held by the Phanse family in Baroda:

– First Generation

Prayagji Anant Phanse: Served as the Subahdar of Satara and Parli Forts under Shivaji the Great.

– Second Generation

Joti Prayag Phanse (alias Appaji): Ancestral military commander in Satara.

– Third Generation

Chimnaji Appaji: Military commander who was slain at the Battle of Songadh.

Bhaskar Appaji: High-ranking administrator who established the family’s foundational roots in Gujarat.

– Fourth Generation

Raoji Appaji Phanse (Raoba): Son of Bhaskar Appaji. Served as the Diwan of Baroda (1793–1803) and was the primary architect of the British-Gaekwad alliance.

Babaji Appaji Phanse (Rakhmaji Appaji): Younger biological brother to Raoji. Renowned military general who led the Mulukgiri campaigns and later took charge of state administration.

Sitaram Raoji Phanse: Adopted son of Raoji. Succeeded him briefly as Diwan under Anandrao Gaekwad.

– Fifth Generation

Vithalrao Babaji Phanse: Son of Babaji Appaji. Served as the Diwan of Baroda under Maharaja Sayajirao II.

Bhaskarrao Vithal Phanse (Bhau Bhaskar): Grandson of Babaji Appaji. Revenue collector and the builder of the historic Bhaskar Vitthal Wada in Vadodara.

Narayan Sitaram Phanse: Son of Sitaram. Served as the Shikkenavis (Keeper of the State Seal) under Sayajirao II.

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Raoji Appaji Phanse: Diplomacy and the Subsidiary Alliance

Raoji Appaji Phanse, frequently referred to in historical documents as “Raoba,” was appointed as the Diwan of Baroda during the reign of Maharaja Govindrao Gaekwad, who ascended the throne in 1793. Raoji was originally dispatched from Pune by the Peshwa’s prime minister, Nana Fadnavis, to assist in stabilizing the administrative machinery of the Gaekwad state. His administration coincided with a period of intense civil strife and financial insolvency. The state had become heavily dependent on Arab mercenary soldiers, who gradually amassed significant political power, effectively holding the treasury and members of the royal family hostage to secure their exorbitant wages.

The death of Maharaja Govindrao Gaekwad in 1800 triggered a severe succession crisis. Seizing upon the vulnerability of the court, the Arab mercenaries rebelled against Raoji Appaji’s authority. Recognising that the Poona court could offer no military or financial assistance, Raoji took the historic and controversial step of allying with the British East India Company. He entered into direct negotiations with Jonathan Duncan, the British Governor of Bombay, and Major Alexander Walker.

Backed by British artillery and cavalry, the joint forces defeated the rebel Maratha claimant, Malharrao Gaekwad of Kadi, and successfully dismantled the armed monopoly of the Arab mercenaries. This military intervention culminated in the Subsidiary Treaty of 1802 and the definitive Treaty of 1805, which permanently established a British subsidiary force in Baroda. To secure the long-term loyalty of the Phanse family, Governor Jonathan Duncan granted a royal Sanad to Raoji Appaji on 8 June 1802. This agreement guaranteed that the office of the Diwan would remain hereditary within Raoji’s family, elevating them to a quasi-dynastic status within the state. Raoji governed Baroda with absolute administrative authority until his death in 1803.

Babaji Appaji Phanse: Military Conquest and Revenue Consolidation

Following the demise of Raoji Appaji, his adopted nephew, Sitaram Raoji Phanse, was formally installed as the Diwan. However, Sitaram lacked the administrative acumen and political steel of his predecessor, prompting the British Resident, Major Alexander Walker, to look elsewhere for effective governance. The real executive power was quietly transferred to Sitaram’s uncle, Babaji Appaji Phanse, who had served as a distinguished General of the Baroda army under Maharajas Govindrao and Anandrao. Major Walker maintained a secret preference for Babaji’s decisive leadership, and with the connivance of the British residency, Sitaram was systematically sidelined, allowing Babaji to assume full control of the state’s administration.

Babaji Appaji’s historical legacy is defined by his pacification of the turbulent outlying provinces of Gujarat, specifically the peninsula of Kathiawar and the Mahi Kantha region. Prior to his administration, the Gaekwad state collected its tribute through highly destructive annual military expeditions known as Mulukgiri. These campaigns caused widespread agricultural devastation and local economic ruin.

Babaji, accompanied by a British military escort under Major Walker, reformed this system by negotiating fixed, long-term tribute settlements directly with the local Rajput chiefs of Kathiawar. This policy brought peace to the region, stabilized Baroda’s external revenue streams, and established Babaji’s reputation in contemporary Maratha records as the “Conqueror of Kathiawar“. He was instrumental in navigating the complex political landscape of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, safeguarding Baroda’s interests during the rapid expansion of British influence in India.

Toponymy and Spatial Planning: Raopura and Babajipura

The physical expansion of Baroda outside the old walled city during the nineteenth century was heavily guided by the Phanse brothers, resulting in the establishment of two major municipal wards named in their honour.

Historically designated as Sadashiv Peth, a bustling commercial and residential sector was renamed Raopura in the early 1800s to honour Diwan Raoji Appaji Phanse. Raoji established his official headquarters, administrative offices, and personal residence within this sector. The historical prominence of this site is highlighted by the early postal history of the state. In 1877, the British administration established Baroda’s second municipal post office directly within the spacious Raoji Appaji’s Wada in Raopura. This grand mansion housed the postal and telegraph services of the city for three decades until the structure tragically collapsed in 1907, prompting the construction of the modern Head Post Office opposite the Surya Narayan Temple.

The western expansion of Baroda, situated near the Dandia Bazaar area, was developed under the direction of General Babaji Appaji Phanse. This area was named Babajipura in his honour, and its associated police chowki still bears his name today. As Maratha military officers, court officials, and scholars migrated to Baroda, they settled predominantly in Babajipura, establishing grand wadas and making it the primary aristocratic enclave of the city. The area was systematically developed with roads, drainage channels, and temple complexes commissioned by Babaji, serving as a model of early nineteenth-century urban planning.

Architectural Heritage and Monuments near the Vishwamitri River

The wealth and state power accumulated by the Phanse brothers enabled them to become major patrons of religious and civic architecture in Baroda. Several key structures, concentrated along the banks of the Vishwamitri River and within the older municipal quarters, stand as enduring physical monuments to their patronage. These include the Shri Surya Narayan Temple, Bhaskar Vitthal Wada, Nilkantheshwar Mahadev Temple etc.

Within the open compound of the Yavteshwar Mahadev temple, immediately bordering the Vishwamitri River, lies the Fanse Samadhi, the private memorial cenotaph (chhatri) of the Phanse family. This stone monument serves as the final resting place of Raoji Appaji Phanse and contains a 200-year-old marble samadhi alongside the memorial shrines of early family members.

The monument was immortalized in a celebrated 1830 landscape painting by Robert Melville Grindlay, titled “View of the Bridge near Baroda in Guzerat”. This artwork depicts the old Vishwamitri bridge, the stone bathing ghats, the rising spires of the Yavteshwar temple with its Deepmala, and the distinct dome of the Fanse Samadhi, capturing the prominent place the family held in the physical landscape of early nineteenth-century Baroda. After falling into a state of neglect, a group of dedicated Barodians and art conservators partially restored this sandstone-plinthed monument to its original glory in 2022, reviving interest in the family’s legacy.

Historical Legacy and Conclusion

The career of the Phanse brothers represents a defining chapter in the history of Baroda State. Through their administrative reform, military leadership, and diplomatic alignments, Raoji Appaji and Babaji Appaji Phanse laid the structural foundations of the nineteenth-century Gaekwad state. Their dual legacy as sharp statecraft practitioners and generous architectural patrons is uniquely preserved in the geography of Vadodara.

The names of Raopura and Babajipura continue to define the daily life of the city’s residents, while the spires of the Yavteshwar Mahadev Temple and the quiet dome of the Fanse Samadhi along the Vishwamitri River stand as silent monuments to a dynasty of ministers who once directed the fortunes of Gujarat.

 Images in this post may have been AI-enhanced for clarity and color.