Rajaram II of Satara
chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (1726-1777)
Rajaram II (Rajaram Bhonsale, Marathi pronunciation: [[ɾaːd͡ʒaɾaːm ˈbʱos(ə)le]; June 1726 – 11 December 1777), also known as Ramaraja, was the sixth Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire. He was an adopted son of Chhatrapati Shahu I. Tarabai had presented him to Shahu as her own grandson and used him to grab power after Shahu's death. However, after being sidelined, she stated that Rajaram II was only an impostor. Nevertheless, Balaji Baji Rao retained him as the Chhatrapati. In reality, Peshwa and other chiefs had all the executive power, while Rajaram II was only a nominal head of the Marathas.
Early life
After Shahu's death, Rajaram II was appointed as the new Chhatrapati, the King of Marathas. When Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao left for the Mughal frontier, Tarabai urged Rajaram II to remove him from the post of Peshwa. When Rajaram refused, she imprisoned him in a dungeon at Satara, on 24 November 1750. She claimed that he was an imposter from Gondhali caste and she had falsely presented him as her grandson to Shahu. His health deteriorated considerably during this imprisonment.
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