Know Your Maratha Community
The Pride of Marathas:
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, India's first individual Olympic medalist in freestyle wrestling, bagged the Bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
Smita Patil, Indian film, television and theatre actress was a Maratha. She received two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. She was the recipient of the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.
Riteish Deshmukh, Indian architect, film actor and producer. He received the Award for Best Comic Actor of the Year in 2010. Few of his hits were Malamaal Weekly, Apna Sapna Money Money and Bluffmaster.
Kunal Deshmukh, Indian film director is a Maratha. Few of his hits were Jannat, Tum Mile, Raja Natwarlal and Mumbai Floods.
Nana Patekar, the actor, writer and filmmaker belong to the Maratha Community. He was awarded Padma Shri award for his dedication in the field of Films and Arts.
Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan (1913 - 1984) was the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra. His vision for Maharashtra for the development envisaged the equal development of both the industrial and agricultural sectors across all the regions of the state.
Famous Maratha sportsperson include Nitin Ghule, the Indian Kabaddi player, Sandeep Patil, former Indian Cricketer, Ramchandra Parab, Indian footballer and Tejaswini Sawant, Indian shooter.
Did you Know?
The Maratha Kingdom was founded by Shivaji Bhonsle in 1674. He was a popular Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan.
The Maratha Light Infantry regiment of the Indian Army is one of the "oldest and most renowned" regiments of the Indian Army. It was formed as the 103rd Maharattas in 1768.
Notable Maratha families outside Maharashtra include Scindia of Gwalior, Gaekwad of Baroda, Holkar of Indore, Puar of Dewas & Dhar, Ghorpade of Mudhol, and Bhonsle of Thanjavur.
