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+{{Authority control}} (3 IDs from Wikidata), WP:GenFixes on

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{{more footnotes|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[Diwan Bahadur]]
| name = Rai Raghunatha Rao
| honorific-suffix = [[Order of the Star of India|CSI]]
| image = R. Raghunatha Rao.jpg
| imagesize =200px
| smallimage =
| caption = ''Portrait of R. Raghunatha Rao''
| office1 = Diwan of Indore
| term_start1 = 1875
| term_end1 = 1881
| monarch1 = [[Tukojirao Holkar II]]
| predecessor1 = [[Sir T. Madhava Rao]]
| successor1 = Shahamat Ali
| office =
| term_start2 = 1886
| term_end2 = 1888
| monarch2 = [[Shivajirao Holkar]]
| predecessor2 = Nana Moroji Trilokekar
| successor2 = [[B.A. Gupte|Balkrishna Atmaram Gupte]]
| birth_date = 7 February 1831
| birth_place = [[Kumbakonam]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = 3 May 1912 (age 81)
| death_place = [[Madras]], [[British India]]
| nationality =
| party = [[Indian National Congress]] (founder)
| spouse =
| relations = [[R. Venkata Rao]] (father), T. Ranga Rao, [[T. Madhava Rao|Sir T. Madhava Rao]] (cousin), [[T. Ananda Rao]] (nephew)
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater =[[Presidency College, Madras]]
| occupation =Civil servant, Administrator
| profession =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}

[[Diwan Bahadur]] '''Rai Raghunatha Rao''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|CSI}} (7 February 1831 – 3 May 1912) was an Indian civil servant, administrator, politician and Indian independence activist who served as the Diwan of Indore from 1875 to 1880 and 1886 to 1888. He was related to Indian statesman [[Sir T. Madhava Rao]].

== Early life and education ==

Raghunatha Rao was born in a prominent [[Marathi people|Marathi]] [[Deshastha Brahmin]] family on February 1831 in [[Kumbakonam]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Kandukūri Vīrēśalingam, 1848-1919: A Biography of an Indian Social Reformer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_enZAAAAMAAJ|author=John Greenfield Leonard|publisher=Telugu University|year=1991|page=117}}</ref> He was the son of [[R. Venkata Rao]] former Diwan of Travancore and a cousin of Sir T. Madhava Rao who later served as Diwan of [[Travancore]], [[Indore]] and [[Baroda]]. Raghunatha Rao had his early schooling in [[Bangalore]] Fort and did his proficient's course at Government High School, Madras (now [[Presidency College, Madras]]). However, Raghunatha Rao dropped out of school even before obtaining his proficiency degree.

Rao studied law in private and obtained a pleader's diploma in 1856 but did not practise. Instead, he entered the Madras Provincial Civil Service.

== Madras Civil Service ==

Raghunatha Rao started his career as a translator in the office of the [[District Collector]] and rose to become [[Sheristadar]] and eventually Deputy Collector of Madras District. He was placed on special duty in the [[Tungabhadra Project]] for sometime but was later transferred to Trichinopoly and then, Coimbatore districts.

In 1873, Raghunatha Rao met [[Tukojirao Holkar II]], the Raja of [[Indore]]. Two years later, the Holkar requested Rao to serve the state as Special Settlement Officer. Later that same year, Rao replaced his cousin Sir T. Madhava Rao as Diwan of Indore.

== Diwan of Indore ==

In 1875, Raghunatha Rao was appointed Diwan of Indore and he took over succeeding his cousin Madhava Rao. Raghunatha Rao's administration is regarded as one of progress and the Diwan is recorded as selecting the most qualified men for judicial positions in the state. Raghunatha Rao returned to Madras in 1880 and returned to Indore in 1886 to serve for a brief span of two years.

== Social life ==

Raghunatha Rao was one of the founders of the [[Madras Mahajana Sabha]] and the [[Indian National Congress]]. The Indian National Social Conference, the first of its kind, was inaugurated at Raghunatha Rao's house in Madras in December 1887. The conference was presided over by Sir T. Madhava Rao.

A statue of [[Krishna]] was installed in front of the Kumbakonam Town Hall (also called Porter Hall) in 1913 and was dedicated to Raghunatha Rao.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

* {{cite book|title=A History of the Indian National Congress: 1885–1918|author=S. R. Mehrotra|publisher=Vikas Pub. House|year=1995|isbn=0706980719}}
* {{cite book|title=A study of Holkar state coinage|authors=P. K. Sethi, S. K. Bhatt, R. Holkar|year=1976}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, R. Raghunatha}}
[[Category:1831 births]]
[[Category:1912 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian dewans]]
[[Category:People from Thanjavur district]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Presidency College, Chennai alumni]]
[[Category:Dewan Bahadurs]]

R. Raghunatha Rao - Revision history

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