Rango Bāpuji Gupte (??? – Missing 5 July 1857) born into a marathi "Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu" family was an Indian diplomat, freedom fighter, and a revolutionary.
The rulers at Satara were one of the last independent branches of the Maratha Empire. After the British dissolved the state in 1839, ruler Pratapsinh sent Rango Bapuji Gupte to England to defend the case in front of the British Parliament. He stayed there for 14 years without much success.
After returning to India, he became "one of the masterminds behind the 1857 revolt", known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He met Nanasaheb Peshwe and Tatya Tope and started building armed organizations in Satara, Kolhapur, Sangli, and Belgaon. However, when his plan was exposed, many of the fighters he had recruited were killed and Gupte went underground. In 1857, he went to Thane to attend a religious ceremony at his relative Prabhakar Viththal Gupte's residence near Jambhali Naka. When British police arrived to arrest him, Gupte escaped in the disguise of an old woman and was never found again. In his memory the Jambhali Naka has been named as Rango Bapuji Chowk.
It is said that Gupte lived incognito in the Darwha town in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra. A memorial named 'Char Bhinti' in Satara honors Rango Bapuji Gupte.
Notes
- "The Quarterly review of historical studies". The Quarterly Review of Historical Studies. 5–6. Calcutta, India: Institute of Historical Studies: 225. 1966. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- Joshi, P. L. (1980). Political ideas and leadership in Vidarbha. Dept. of Political Science & Public Administration, Nagpur University. p. 195.
- "Diamond Maharashtra Sankritikosh (Marathi: डायमंड महाराष्ट्र संस्कृतीकोश)," Durga Dixit, Pune, India, Diamond Publications, 2009, ISBN 978-81-8483-080-4.
- Singh, M.P. (2002). Encyclopaedia of teaching history. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. p. 448. ISBN 978-81-261-1243-2.
- Mandape, Asha (28 August 2010). "City raves of its royal heritage". Mumbai Mirror. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- "Darwha Town". Wikimapia. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- satarinfo.com. "Char Bhinti". Retrieved 30 January 2011.
References
- The Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. "Gazette of Satara". Retrieved 30 January 2011.
Further reading
- Kulkarni, Mahesh. "Char-bhintee, the memorial of Rango Bapuji Gupte". Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2020.