15. Golconda was taken by Aurangzeb, after a protracted siege, in
1677. Bijapur surrendered to him on the 15th October, 1686. The vast
ruins of this splendid city, which was deserted after the conquest,
occupy a space thirty miles in circumference. The town has partially
recovered, and is now the head-quarters of a Bombay District, with
about 24,000 inhabitants. Sivaji, the founder of the Maratha power,
died in 1680.
16. The Indore and Baroda States still survive, and the reigning
chiefs of both have frequently visited England, and paid their
respects to their Sovereign. Bhonsla was the family name of the
chiefs of Berar, also known as the Rajas of Nagpur. The last Raja,
Raghoji III, died in December 1853, leaving no child begotten or
adopted. Lord Dalhousie annexed the State as lapsed, and his action
was confirmed in 1864 by the Court of Directors and the Crown.
17. The State of Satara, like that of Nagpur, lapsed owing to failure
of heirs, and was annexed in 1854. It is now a district in the Bombay
Presidency.
18. During the early years of the twentieth century a spirit of
Maratha nationalism has been sedulously cultivated, with inconvenient
results.
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