BARODA STATE POSTAL HISTORY

This website presents the history, geography, communications and postal history of Baroda State, based on my original research, with particular emphasis on its postal history.

Baroda State was a former princely state in western India. It was an important native state with direct relations with the Government of India, yet geographically closely linked with the Bombay Presidency.

Baroda has a rich and ancient historical background, with its history traceable for over 2,000 years. Before the Gaekwads, it was ruled by the Babi Nawabs, officers of the Delhi rulers, under Mughal authority. Mughal rule ended in 1732, when Pilaji Rao Gaekwad consolidated Maratha power in southern Gujarat and captured Baroda, founding the Gaekwad dynasty. Except for a brief interval, Baroda remained under Gaekwad rule from 1734 until 1948, with the most remarkable period beginning with the accession of Maharaja Sayajirao III in 1875, an era marked by major reforms and constructive progress in many fields. Baroda acceded to India and became part of Bombay State in May 1948, and was incorporated into the new State of Gujarat on 1 May 1960.

Vadodara (Baroda), the capital of the Gaekwad State, lies on the banks of the Vishwamitri, a river named after the sage Rishi Vishvamitra. The city was once called Chandanavati, after Raja Chandan of the Dor (Dod Parmar) Rajputs, who seized it from the Jains. It was also known as Virakshetra or Viravati, meaning “land of warriors.” Later it was called Vadpatraka or Vadodará, traditionally regarded as a corruption of the Sanskrit word vatodara, meaning “in the belly (heart) of the banyan tree.” The precise dates of these name changes are uncertain, but early English travellers and merchants referred to the town as Brodera, from which the name Baroda is derived; in 1974, the official name reverted to Vadodara.

This website draws on my research conducted at the Baroda Record Office in the Gujarat State Archives, Vadodara, in 2001.

My first article on Baroda State Postal History appeared in Vadophil, the quarterly news bulletin of the Baroda Philatelic Society (Issue No. 87, July 2001). It was later published in India Post, the journal of the India Study Circle for Philately (U.K.)—Vol. 35, No. 3 (149), August 2001. The piece also featured in Baroda Times (The Times of India) on 12 July 2001, titled “Tracking Vadodara's First Post Office.” It appeared online on the Stamps of India website in March 2002, followed by a reprint in the GUJPEX-2003 Souvenir (October 2003), and its latest version in Vadophil (Issue No. 184, October 2025–January 2026).

The topic remains largely unexplored, inviting further research and discussion. Readers' comments and new information are most welcome.

I extend sincere thanks to Mr. David Padgham (UK), Mr. Max Smith (UK), Mr. Ashok Kumar Bayanwala, Mr. P. G. Bhargava, and Mr. Kalidas H. Kacchhia for their encouragement, assistance, and valuable contributions. I am also grateful to the staff of the Gujarat State Archives, Baroda, for granting access to Baroda State records.

• The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. III
• Gazetteer of the Baroda State, Vol. I, (1923)
• The Baroda State Directory (Gujarati), 1939
• State Records and Postal Communication of Baroda State and Baroda Residency
• Koeppel & RD Manners, The Court Fee and Revenue Stamps of Princely States of India,Vol.1, New York, 1983
• Jal Cooper, Early Indian Cancellations, Thacker, Bombay, 1993, p62
• D. R. Martin, Numbers in Early Indian Cancellations (1855-1884), Robson Lowe, London, 1970
• W. Renouf, Early Indian Cancellations and Postmarks (1852-1884)
• Geoffrey Eibl-Kaye, The Bombay Postal Circle its Organisation and Numbered Obliterators 1875-77, India Study Circle for Philately 1998
• India Post - The Journal of the India Study Circle for Philately, U.K., # 114 (Oct, 92), 115( Jan, 93), 121 (July,94), 122 (Oct., 94), 133 (July, 97) and 134 (Oct., 97)
• M.M. Inamdar, Bombay GPO
• Various Internet Sites.