Born in 1926 to the Maharaja of Dhrangadhra in Saurashtra, Gujarat, the beautiful princess was married to the charismatic Hanwant Singh of Jodhpur on 14th February 1943. She was 17; he was 20. Four years later they became the last ruling Maharaja and Maharani of Jodhpur, the third largest
Written by Dhananajaya Singh
Rajmata Krishna Kumari of Jodhpur passed away last week at the age of 92. The Keeper of the Flame for the House of Marwar — almost single-handedly for many, many years — she was revered and beloved. Thousands lined the streets as her cortege made its way from Umaid Bhawan Palace up to Mehrangarh Fort. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot attended the funeral; both described her passing as a “personal loss”.
Krishna Kumari was blessed with the fullest of lives, though not the happiest, nor ever easy. In fact, at the best of times there was a shadow lurking around the corner. But it was a triumph nonetheless; for no matter what obstacle came her way, she surmounted it with an indomitable spirit, innate grace and unwavering commitment.
Born in 1926 to the Maharaja of Dhrangadhra in Saurashtra, Gujarat, the beautiful princess was married to the charismatic Hanwant Singh of Jodhpur on 14th February 1943. She was 17; he was 20. Four years later they became the last ruling Maharaja and Maharani of Jodhpur, the third largest
Princely State in India, going back almost a thousand years.
Maharaja Hanwant’s simultaneous dealings with Jinnah and Patel at the time of Independence and the Merger have been criticised by some historians; all incorrectly analysing them through only the narrow prism of the ‘Two Nation Theory’. Only 24, and already known for his anti-British views, the young Maharaja was trying to secure the best possible future for his people and patrimony. He did this again in 1952 for India’s first elections. Alone among the Maharajas, he put up candidates for all the 4 MP and 34 MLA seats that made up his former kingdom. With his rallying call, “I Am Not Far From You”, his nominees won all 4 and 31 of the 34 seats.
He overwhelmingly defeated Jai Narayan Vyas, the Congress Leader in Rajasthan. But, even as the results came in, he was killed in a plane crash flying himself. Ironically, the very first task his mother and widow had was to save Vyas, who had taken refuge at the Palace in fear as grief-stricken Jodhpur suspected sabotage. The hapless politician — who was smuggled out in a curtained Cadillac — fought a by-election a few months later and became Chief Minister; an early indication of the convoluted path Indian politics was to take.
Widowed at 26, mother of three, Krishna Kumari was never really allowed to grieve. Her son, all of four years old, ascended to the ancient gadi as The Maharaja Gaj Singh II, the 39th Chief of the warrior Rathores; and she became Regent. When he was eight, she sent him off to boarding school in England with the famous words, “You will have to learn to be a commoner”, and herself spent “sleepless nights” worrying. In 1971, correctly sensing a challenge, she took the lead again; breaking the confines of Purdah — one of only a handful of Rajput Queens to do so; she successfully fought the election to Parliament as an independent candidate; her war cry, “Times Change — Relationships Do Not”.
With the return of Maharaja Gaj Singh II ‘Bapji’ from Eton and Oxford, The Rajmata was content to revert to a supportive role, and delighted to accompany him and his young family to Trinidad and Tobago where he was appointed High Commissioner in 1978, India’s youngest ever Envoy. There, she endeared herself to the people of Indian origin, guiding them in cultural and religious activities beyond the scope of the High Commission. After their return to Jodhpur, the Rajmata devoted her attention to family and various social activities, foremost among them, the education of girls. RKKGPS, a girls public school founded by her in the ‘90s, and proud to bear her name, is today one of the country’s leading all-girls boarding schools.
Crisis struck again as her beloved grandson, Yuvraj Shivraj, suffered a life-threatening head injury on the polo field in 2005. With everyone away for months at a time, the Rajmata once again led all of Marwar — in prayer — in temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras. The Yuvraj recovered slowly, to marry in 2010, have a princess in 2011, and in 2015, a son and heir. At 89, Krishna Kumari became the first Rajmata of Jodhpur in 242 years to see her great-grandson.
Caesar’s Daughter, then Caesar’s Wife; Caesar’s Mother, then Grand-Mother — and finally, to her great joy — Great Grand-Mother; Rajmata Sa’ab, as she will ever be remembered, possessed stoic courage, profound equanimity and unblemished honour, asking for nothing, taking nothing, surrendering nothing…all with a pristine dignity befitting India’s last reigning Maharani. Indeed, it may be said that with her passing the curtain finally comes down on the best of Royal India — when a sense of service was the most cherished birth-right and a love for the people — so generously and amply returned — the ultimate privilege.