Rajmata Gayatri Devi, who died on July 29 aged 90, was an Indian princess of renowned beauty whose life encapsulated the glamour and romance of the Raj. Known to her friends as "Ayesha", she caused a minor sensation in India when, in 1940, she married for love rather than by parental decree, to become the third wife of the dashing Maharaja of Jaipur.
In 1962 she created a very different sensation when, as the Republic of India's first princess to stand for parliament, she won her seat by the largest landslide ever recorded. A decade later she won international sympathy when she was imprisoned for six months during the period of Indira Gandhi's notorious State of Emergency. Princess Gayatri Devi was born in London on May 23 1919, the fourth child of the ruler of Cooch Behar State in eastern India. Her childhood years were shaped by the influence of two remarkable women: one was her mother, the Maharani of Cooch Behar, who ruled the state as Regent for more than a decade after the death of her father in 1922; the other was her maternal grandmother, the Maharani of Baroda, whose husband transformed Baroda into the most advanced princely state in India. These two formidable queens saw to it that Gayatri Devi was brought up as a thoroughly anglicised Indian princess with strong ideas of her own.
When Gayatri Devi was 12 she fell for the most glamorous young man in India, the Maharaja of Jaipur, then 21 years old. He was not only exceedingly rich and handsome but also a nine-handicap polo player, leading his Jaipur polo team to victory in every tournament they entered. Maharaja Man Singh already had two wives, both married for reasons of state, but this did not prevent him from becoming captivated by this beautiful and spirited tomboy princess who was quite unlike the more orthodox Rajput ladies whom he knew.
When Gayatri Devi was 12 she fell for the most glamorous young man in India, the Maharaja of Jaipur, then 21 years old. He was not only exceedingly rich and handsome but also a nine-handicap polo player, leading his Jaipur polo team to victory in every tournament they entered. Maharaja Man Singh already had two wives, both married for reasons of state, but this did not prevent him from becoming captivated by this beautiful and spirited tomboy princess who was quite unlike the more orthodox Rajput ladies whom he knew.
When Gayatri Devi was sent to the Monkey Club finishing school in Knightsbridge, they met secretly and became unofficially engaged. Their romance aroused opposition on all sides, and when in 1939 they let it be known that they intended to marry, there was consternation in princely circles.
In the Cooch Behar family, it was feared that Gayatri Devi was condemning herself to a life in purdah in a feudal state that would destroy her lively personality.
In the event, the marriage was a great success. The third Maharani of Jaipur accepted her role as the Maharaja's favourite but junior wife with good grace. She adjusted to the formality and restrictions of life in a Rajput royal zanana, but at the same time used her authority to bring the palace women forward into the 20th century.
The coming of the war helped to speed up this process of emancipation. The Maharani organised various forms of war-work, and in 1943 opened the Gayatri Devi School for Girls with 40 students and an English teacher. It became known as one of the finest schools in India.
Following Independence in 1947, Jaipur was merged with 18 other princely states to form Rajasthan State, with Jaipur City as its capital.
Although Maharaja Man Singh was appointed State Governor, it soon became apparent that all power lay with the ruling Congress Party.
Concern at what they judged to be misrule and abuse of power drew an ever-increasing number of former rulers or members of their circle into politics in opposition to the Congress Party. Many joined the Swatantra Party, among them Maharani Gayatri Devi.
In 1962 she made her first public speech and contested her first election, winning an overwhelming victory over her Congress opponent as well as a place in The Guinness Book of Records by securing a majority of 175,000 votes. The success of princely candidates in this and subsequent elections, however, virtually ensured their extinction as an order.
In 1967 the Maharani again stood for election in her home constituency and again won her seat; but when the opposition parties in Rajasthan attempted to form a state government, presidential rule was proclaimed, leading eventually to a return of a Congress government. In the same year the Congress Party adopted a resolution to abolish the princes' privy purses and privileges that had been granted to them in exchange for their voluntary surrender of their states.
In May 1970 the government introduced a bill to abolish the princely order, and the Maharaja and Maharani flew to England. A month later Man Singh collapsed and died while umpiring a polo match in Cirencester. Colonel Bhawani Singh, Maharaja Man Singh's eldest son by his first wife, was proclaimed Maharaja and the widowed Gayatri Devi became Rajmata, or Queen Mother.
Although still in mourning, Rajmata Gayatri Devi was persuaded to stand for parliament for a third term in 1971, and in the same year witnessed the passing of the bill that finally derecognised the princely order. This rewriting of the constitution signalled a new and ugly phase in Indian politics that the Rajmata and her stepson experienced at first hand when, in July 1975, both were arrested and incarcerated in Tihar Jail.
This was the start of the State of Emergency period when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi suspended all laws and made mass arrests on the ground that the security of the state was under threat. She fell foul of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi whom she had known since their short period together in Shantiniketan. Indira could not stomach a woman more good-looking than herself and insulted her in Parliament, calling her a bitch and a glass doll. Gayatri Devi brought the worst out in Indira Gandhi: her petty, vindictive side. When she declared the Emergency, Gayatri Devi was among her first victims. She had her Jaipur palaces ransacked by income-tax inspectors. No serious charges were ever laid against either the Rajmata or Col Bhawani Singh.
After nearly six months' imprisonment in humiliating conditions, Gayatri Devi's spirit remained as strong as ever but her health began to break down. She was taken to hospital and eventually released on parole, on certain conditions that remained in force until Mrs Gandhi called an election in 1977 which saw her temporarily bundled out of office.
In the event, the marriage was a great success. The third Maharani of Jaipur accepted her role as the Maharaja's favourite but junior wife with good grace. She adjusted to the formality and restrictions of life in a Rajput royal zanana, but at the same time used her authority to bring the palace women forward into the 20th century.
The coming of the war helped to speed up this process of emancipation. The Maharani organised various forms of war-work, and in 1943 opened the Gayatri Devi School for Girls with 40 students and an English teacher. It became known as one of the finest schools in India.
Following Independence in 1947, Jaipur was merged with 18 other princely states to form Rajasthan State, with Jaipur City as its capital.
Although Maharaja Man Singh was appointed State Governor, it soon became apparent that all power lay with the ruling Congress Party.
Concern at what they judged to be misrule and abuse of power drew an ever-increasing number of former rulers or members of their circle into politics in opposition to the Congress Party. Many joined the Swatantra Party, among them Maharani Gayatri Devi.
In 1962 she made her first public speech and contested her first election, winning an overwhelming victory over her Congress opponent as well as a place in The Guinness Book of Records by securing a majority of 175,000 votes. The success of princely candidates in this and subsequent elections, however, virtually ensured their extinction as an order.
In 1967 the Maharani again stood for election in her home constituency and again won her seat; but when the opposition parties in Rajasthan attempted to form a state government, presidential rule was proclaimed, leading eventually to a return of a Congress government. In the same year the Congress Party adopted a resolution to abolish the princes' privy purses and privileges that had been granted to them in exchange for their voluntary surrender of their states.
In May 1970 the government introduced a bill to abolish the princely order, and the Maharaja and Maharani flew to England. A month later Man Singh collapsed and died while umpiring a polo match in Cirencester. Colonel Bhawani Singh, Maharaja Man Singh's eldest son by his first wife, was proclaimed Maharaja and the widowed Gayatri Devi became Rajmata, or Queen Mother.
Although still in mourning, Rajmata Gayatri Devi was persuaded to stand for parliament for a third term in 1971, and in the same year witnessed the passing of the bill that finally derecognised the princely order. This rewriting of the constitution signalled a new and ugly phase in Indian politics that the Rajmata and her stepson experienced at first hand when, in July 1975, both were arrested and incarcerated in Tihar Jail.
This was the start of the State of Emergency period when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi suspended all laws and made mass arrests on the ground that the security of the state was under threat. She fell foul of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi whom she had known since their short period together in Shantiniketan. Indira could not stomach a woman more good-looking than herself and insulted her in Parliament, calling her a bitch and a glass doll. Gayatri Devi brought the worst out in Indira Gandhi: her petty, vindictive side. When she declared the Emergency, Gayatri Devi was among her first victims. She had her Jaipur palaces ransacked by income-tax inspectors. No serious charges were ever laid against either the Rajmata or Col Bhawani Singh.
After nearly six months' imprisonment in humiliating conditions, Gayatri Devi's spirit remained as strong as ever but her health began to break down. She was taken to hospital and eventually released on parole, on certain conditions that remained in force until Mrs Gandhi called an election in 1977 which saw her temporarily bundled out of office.
The maharani represents the most striking example so far of the return of India's onetime ruling class to national politics. One of the government's first moves in 1947 after independence was to start removing from power the 562 maharajahs who had ruled their states under benevolent English eyes. Pensioned off with handsome privy purses, some of the maharajahs retired to dream of past glories. But about 20 have entered the diplomatic service; another 40 are in politics. None has created the stir caused by the Maharani of Jaipur, who chose to join the new and growing Swatantra Party, a right-wing group that attacks the "socialism" of Nehru's Congress Party and calls for the kind of individualism sought in the U.S. by Dwight Eisenhower. The party's venerable founder is Chakravatri Rajagopalachari, first native-born Governor General of India, who lyrically describes the maharani as "a combination of Sita, Lakshmi and the Rani of Jhansi."
Rajmata Gayatri Devi's two decades of widowhood were not spent in seclusion, as might have been expected of the widow of a Rajput ruler. She and her husband had shared a great zest for sport and entertainment and, to the indignation of the traditionalists, the Rajmata continued to live life to the full.
She loved to travel, spending the summer months based in a small flat in Knightsbridge and her winters in Jaipur, where she held court in the dower house (Lilypool) that her husband had built after their first home, Rambagh Palace, had been transformed into a hotel. A list of VIPs from the hotel was daily sent over to Lilypool when she was in residence, and if not otherwise occupied she would invite them over for a glass of champagne in the evening. Those who displeased her were billed for the champagne.
This was entirely in character for, despite the wealth of the Jaipur royal house, both Gayatri Devi and her husband were renowned for their parsimoniousness, and the Rajmata was never an ostentatious spender. None the less, when her autobiography, A Princess Remembers, was published in paperback in England in the 1980s she asked her publishers if she might have a chauffeur-driven car for a morning's shopping; the chauffeur later reported that the "shopping" constituted a drive out to Surrey and the purchase of a large house.
Gayatri Devi had a natural beauty that achieved international recognition after Cecil Beaton photographed her in Jaipur in 1943; and she retained that beauty into old age. She never made a great performance about her appearance, however, any more than she put on the airs of a maharani. This simplicity of manner coupled with an unforced charm and good humour won her many friends throughout the world, many of whom she entertained generously in Jaipur.
To the end of her life she continued to take a great interest in the school she had founded and in all that was happening in Jaipur. A fine horsewoman in her own right, she remained a keen follower of polo and enjoyed breeding racehorses.
Rajmata Gayatri Devi's son by her marriage to the Maharaja of Jaipur predeceased her.
Rajmata Gayatri Devi's two decades of widowhood were not spent in seclusion, as might have been expected of the widow of a Rajput ruler. She and her husband had shared a great zest for sport and entertainment and, to the indignation of the traditionalists, the Rajmata continued to live life to the full.
She loved to travel, spending the summer months based in a small flat in Knightsbridge and her winters in Jaipur, where she held court in the dower house (Lilypool) that her husband had built after their first home, Rambagh Palace, had been transformed into a hotel. A list of VIPs from the hotel was daily sent over to Lilypool when she was in residence, and if not otherwise occupied she would invite them over for a glass of champagne in the evening. Those who displeased her were billed for the champagne.
This was entirely in character for, despite the wealth of the Jaipur royal house, both Gayatri Devi and her husband were renowned for their parsimoniousness, and the Rajmata was never an ostentatious spender. None the less, when her autobiography, A Princess Remembers, was published in paperback in England in the 1980s she asked her publishers if she might have a chauffeur-driven car for a morning's shopping; the chauffeur later reported that the "shopping" constituted a drive out to Surrey and the purchase of a large house.
Gayatri Devi had a natural beauty that achieved international recognition after Cecil Beaton photographed her in Jaipur in 1943; and she retained that beauty into old age. She never made a great performance about her appearance, however, any more than she put on the airs of a maharani. This simplicity of manner coupled with an unforced charm and good humour won her many friends throughout the world, many of whom she entertained generously in Jaipur.
To the end of her life she continued to take a great interest in the school she had founded and in all that was happening in Jaipur. A fine horsewoman in her own right, she remained a keen follower of polo and enjoyed breeding racehorses.
Rajmata Gayatri Devi's son by her marriage to the Maharaja of Jaipur predeceased her.
A COURTESY OF www.telegraph.co. & outlookindia.com
The Her Highness of Jaipur, The Rajmata of The People of Rajasthan,The Third Wife of Maharaja Sawai Man Shing II, The Pride of Our North Bengal, A Successful Politician, A Legendary Beauty of All Time & A Queen Who Has Also Served Jail For Charging in a Intentionally (Political Blame-Game) Allegation But Never Compromise with Her Own Dignity !!! Rajmata Gayatri Devi A Women of Substance :D . A TRIBUTE TO OUR LOVING RANI SA . <3 <3 <3 :)
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