Gharge-Desai (Deshmukh)
Gharge-Desai (Deshmukh) was a Maratha dynasty, spearheaded one of the oldest existing Maratha Princely state of Nimsod in Satara District. The family is Agnivanshi Kshatriya, one of the most ancient in India. History. Rana Ratansingh Alias Ranoji from Rajputana (Rajasthan) and ancestor of the family Shrimant Kalojiraje Gharge-Desai-Deshmukh received the Sur-Deshmukhi of Nimsod along with 72 villages from the Delhi Emperor Muhammad bin Tughluq in 1342 during his peninsular campaign and in 1536 Shrimant Santajiraje Gharge-Desai-Deshmukh received various assets from the Ibrahim Adil Shah I ruler of Bijapur Sultanate in the  Shirol area, and in 1615 Shrimant Ramraoraje from Ibrahim Adil Shah II in Raibaj and Kittur and remained as one of the largest Deshmukh of Adil Shahi. During the Maratha rule, the family served as the important milestone of Maratha Empire with blood relationship with various ruling families of those days, were in forefront in continuous War of 27 years between 1682 to 1707 that resulted in the end of the Mughal Empire in India and brought most of the sub-continent under Maratha control. In 1732, Jijasinghraje alias Abbasaheb Gharge-Desai-Deshmukh received Saranjam of 12 more villages and  noble title of Saranjamdar-Deshmukh from Maratha King Chattrapati Shahu of Satara for lieu of military service rendered to the state and total Vatan of 84 villages in Nimsod Pargana was made hereditary. Maharani Tarabai of the Kolhapur State was closely related to Shrimant Jijasinghraje alias Abbasaheb. From time to time, Deshmukhs of Nimsod supplied quality horses to the Maratha Army. In 1761, Son of Jijasinghraje, Shrimant Sidhojiraje Gharge-Desai-Deshmukh along with his 2000 cavalry participated as one of the Commanders of Maratha Army in one of the largest battles fought in the 18th century, the Third Battle of  Panipat and was brutally killed by the Afghan Ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali. He was also part of the Maratha army which defeated the first Afghan invasion of India in 1757 to 1759 and brought the present day North West Frontier province of Pakistan under Maratha Control. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, Nimsod State came under British. Rajas of Nimsod were entitled for a nominal annual pension of Rs 60000/ by British. At that time, main branch of the family moved to Shirol and changed the family seat from Nimsod because Nimsod was an arid region with very  scanty rainfall. Sidhojiraje's Grandson Yashojiraje (Shirol Branch) acknowledged the changing circumstances and introduced the family to business. The Shirol branch of Gharge-Deshmukh's acquired the surname Desai which was prevalent amongst the landlords of South Maharashtra & Karnataka. The Shirol branch holds the traditional rights to issue coines behalf of the Delhi Emperor and got Noble title Shikke-i-Bahadur from Delhi Emperor. Deshmukh title was almost dropped except for its occasional use in marriage invitation cards. So much so that people in Shirol are not even aware of this Deshmukh title now. They got into the business of  money lending (Sahukari) and through this profession, the Shirol branch of Gharge-Deshmukh's acquired wealth, name and fame in Kolhapur District. During the British Raj, Shrimant Raje Dattajirao alias Krishnarao held huge loans to various landlords (Zamindars) of those days and constructed the Vithal temple as memorial of Shrimant Jijasinghraje alias Abbashaeb in Shirol which is masterpiece of Maratha architecture. During the Indian independence movement, [Sardar Dinkarrao Gharge-Desai(Deshmukh)] served as the close associate of Mahatma Ghandhi and one of the National Leaders of Indian National Congress and was sent for four years rigorous imprisonment in Katewar in Gujarat  in 1930 for participating in Dandi Salt Satyagraha with Mahatma Ghandhi and again for 4 years in yerawada in Pune During Quit India Movement in 1942 for removing Union Jack flag and putting Indian Tri-Colour on Shaniwar Wada in Pune. He remained as one of the highly respected leaders of Indian freedom Movement. Mahatma Ghandhi used to call him as "Dinkarbhai". He was awarded with special Galantry bronze medal by Prime Minister Indira Ghandhi in 1971 for his contribution to Indian freedom movement. Shrimant Raje Dattajirao's son Shrimant Raje Jaisingh (26th Rajasaheb of Nimsod) was among the first  five Gold Medalist of India in M.B.A from England and is a well known Indian barrister.