Sayajirao Gaekwad III

(1863 –1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is notably remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He was the first Indian ruler to introduce, in 1906, compulsory and free primary education in his state, placing his territory far in advance of contemporary British India. He belonged to the royal Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas, which ruled most of present day Gujarat.