Indian history · Kings and empires · Princely states

Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda (1863–1939): Free Compulsory Education, Social Reform, Libraries and Support for Dr B. R. Ambedkar

Among the hundreds of princely rulers of British India, Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda stands out as a reformer. He introduced free and compulsory primary education decades before British India, built a network of public libraries, passed laws against child marriage and untouchability, founded the Bank of Baroda and sponsored the higher education of Dr B. R. Ambedkar. This guide covers his life and reforms for exams.

By PunjabExams Editorial Team · Updated 29 October 2026 · 6 min read · How we prepare guides

Sayajirao Gaekwad III at a glance

The Gaekwads of Baroda

The Gaekwads were Maratha commanders who established themselves in Gujarat in the early 18th century under the Peshwas. Pilaji Rao Gaekwad captured Songadh and later Baroda. Baroda became one of the largest and wealthiest princely states, entitled to a 21-gun salute.

In 1875, the British deposed Malhar Rao Gaekwad on charges of misrule and of trying to poison the British Resident Colonel Phayre. To choose a new ruler, Maharani Jamnabai (widow of Khanderao) adopted a twelve-year-old boy from a distant branch of the family, living in a farming village in Nashik district. He was renamed Sayajirao.

Education and training

The boy, who could barely read when chosen, was educated by the British tutor F. A. H. Elliot. Meanwhile the experienced administrator T. Madhava Rao served as diwan and reorganised the state's finances and departments. Sayajirao received full ruling powers in 1881 and soon began his own reforms.

Reforms

Education

• 1893: experiment with compulsory primary education in Amreli taluka.
• 1906: free and compulsory primary education extended to the whole state — among the first such laws in India, years before the demand by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in the Imperial Legislative Council (1910–12).
• Schools were opened for girls and for children of so-called "untouchable" castes, and for tribal communities.
• Baroda College (1881) later grew into the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (1949).

The library movement

Sayajirao set up a state library department in 1910 under the American librarian William Alanson Borden, creating a network of central, district, town and village libraries, travelling libraries and reading rooms — considered the first public library system of its kind in India. The Central Library, Baroda was opened for public use.

Social reform

• Baroda Infant Marriage Prevention Act (1904) — restricted child marriage.
• Laws permitting widow remarriage and inter-caste marriage, and later a law permitting divorce.
• Measures against untouchability: schools and hostels, scholarships and appointments for Dalit students; public wells and temples opened in later years.
• Reform of temple administration and limits on wasteful ceremonies.

Administration and economy

• Separation of the judiciary from the executive; codified laws.
• Local self-government: elected village panchayats and municipalities.
• Railways, irrigation and model farms.
• Bank of Baroda founded on 20 July 1908 with his support.
• Encouragement to textile mills and industry around Baroda.

Support for Dr B. R. Ambedkar

Sayajirao gave Bhimrao Ambedkar a scholarship to study at Columbia University, New York (1913), on the condition that he would later serve Baroda state. Ambedkar returned in 1917 and worked briefly as a probationer in the state's service, but faced caste discrimination in housing and at work in Baroda and left. The scholarship nonetheless made possible his doctoral studies, which shaped his later role as chief architect of India's Constitution.

Sayajirao also supported Dadabhai Naoroji (who was briefly his diwan in 1874 under Malhar Rao) and employed Sri Aurobindo at Baroda from 1893 to 1906, where Aurobindo taught at Baroda College and served in the administration.

The Delhi Durbar incident (1911)

At the Delhi Durbar of 1911, held to welcome King George V, Sayajirao bowed only briefly, turned his back and walked away — an act seen by the British press as a deliberate insult. He denied any disrespect, but the episode made him a hero to many Indian nationalists.

Buildings

• Lakshmi Vilas Palace (completed 1890), designed by Major Charles Mant, in Indo-Saracenic style — among the largest private residences ever built.
• Kirti Mandir, the Gaekwad family cenotaph; Nyaya Mandir, the court building; and the Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery.
• He patronised the painter Raja Ravi Varma, whose works are displayed at Lakshmi Vilas Palace.

Legacy

Baroda acceded to India in 1947 and merged with Bombay State in 1949; it later became part of Gujarat (1960). Sayajirao is remembered as a model of an enlightened ruler whose education, library and social reforms anticipated policies adopted in independent India.

Exam traps

• Free and compulsory primary education throughout Baroda state — 1906, not 1893 (1893 was the Amreli experiment).
• Bank of Baroda — founded 1908 under Sayajirao.
• Ambedkar's scholarship to Columbia University came from Sayajirao.
• Sri Aurobindo worked at Baroda; Dadabhai Naoroji was diwan under Malhar Rao (1874), not Sayajirao.

Key points to remember

• Adopted 1875; ruled 1875–1939; diwan T. Madhava Rao.
• Free compulsory primary education (1906); library department (1910), Borden.
• Laws against child marriage (1904); widow remarriage; anti-untouchability measures.
• Bank of Baroda (1908); Lakshmi Vilas Palace.
• Scholarship to Dr Ambedkar; employed Aurobindo; 1911 Delhi Durbar incident.

Practice questions

1. Q1. Which princely state introduced free and compulsory primary education throughout its territory in 1906?

   • (a) Mysore
   • (b) Travancore
   • (c) Baroda
   • (d) Hyderabad
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) Baroda — Sayajirao Gaekwad III extended it to the whole of Baroda state in 1906.

2. Q2. Sayajirao Gaekwad III gave a scholarship to Dr B. R. Ambedkar to study at:

   • (a) Oxford
   • (b) Columbia University
   • (c) London School of Economics
   • (d) Cambridge
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Columbia University — Ambedkar studied at Columbia University, New York, on a Baroda scholarship.

3. Q3. The Bank of Baroda was founded in:

   • (a) 1894
   • (b) 1906
   • (c) 1908
   • (d) 1921
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) 1908 — It was founded on 20 July 1908.

4. Q4. Which nationalist worked in Baroda state's service from 1893 to 1906?

   • (a) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
   • (b) Sri Aurobindo
   • (c) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
   • (d) Lala Lajpat Rai
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Sri Aurobindo — Sri Aurobindo taught and served in Baroda.

5. Q5. Who was appointed to organise Baroda's public library system?

   • (a) S. R. Ranganathan
   • (b) William Alanson Borden
   • (c) Melvil Dewey
   • (d) F. A. H. Elliot
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) William Alanson Borden — The American librarian W. A. Borden organised the system from 1910.

6. Q6. Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara was designed by:

   • (a) Edwin Lutyens
   • (b) Major Charles Mant
   • (c) Robert Chisholm
   • (d) Henry Irwin
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Major Charles Mant — Major Charles Mant designed it in Indo-Saracenic style.

Frequently asked questions

Why was Sayajirao chosen as ruler?

After Malhar Rao was deposed in 1875, Maharani Jamnabai adopted him from a distant branch of the Gaekwad family.

What happened at the Delhi Durbar of 1911?

Sayajirao bowed briefly to King George V and turned away, which the British press treated as an insult.

What is Sayajirao's best-known reform?

Free and compulsory primary education throughout Baroda state from 1906.

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