Not many know about Privy Purses and their role in development of heritage hotels in India. If not for the actual beneficiaries’ (read the Indian Rajahs and Maharajahs) chagrin, the concept of Privy Purses would have been lost forever in history.
One of the smartest moves by the Indian government post Independence in 1947, Privy Purses helped conjure the actual, consolidated India that we see today, from the cluster of 500+ princely states that formed the erstwhile Indian subcontinent. It is fascinating to learn how did privy purses in India ultimately lead to the accession of the Maharajas’ properties, which were later revamped as heritage hotels of India. This post will walk you through the entire accession of the princely states into the Indian, plus the connection between privy purses and heritage hotels in India. This blog here is a whirlwind ride reconstructing the accession of 565 pre-independence princely states into the dominion of India, all the while trying to establish the link between Privy Purses and their indirect role in the development of heritage hotels in India.
The Groundwork for Accession
Roll back to 1946. The British had given up their governance
over India and were negotiating the handover with political stalwarts like
Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhai Patel, Jinnah and others. Now apart
from the handover, the other very important task at hand was getting the
princely Indian states to accede their “riyasat”
and contract with the Indian Viceroy. This was still not the trickiest part.
The real pain was determining the importance and position of each state. The
British had a rather complex system of ascertaining the status of each state –
the Gun Salutes. Each state was given gun salutes in varying number – the
higher the shot count, the higher the status.
The Instrument of
Accession
The Instrument of Accession was a legally binding document
drafted in 1947 that gave all rulers of the princely states to join the
dominions of either Pakistan or India during the Partition of India. The
Instrument was prepared and subsequently signed by all existing states – the
most prominent being Hyderabad, Travancore, Udaipur, Mysore, Jaipur, Patiala
and Baroda. Looks like the gun salutes were not the only measure of a state’s
importance. The size of a state’s purse varied directly with its political
status. Privy purses for Indian princely states varied from 5000-4500000 INR.
Now as the states were acceded to the Indian dominion, the government gained
the proprietary of stately wealth. The kings’ palaces, forts and other heritage
monuments came under the direct jurisdiction of the government. The government,
on its part, began to to develop royal properties into heritage hotels that are
today aggressively marketed for tourism.
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| Instrument of Accession Signed by Kashmir's Maharaja Hari Singh Bahadur |
Abolition of Privy
Purses
The motion for abolishing Privy Purses was official
recognition of titles was initiated in the Parliament in 1969. This attempt was
unsuccessful and the motion was defeated by a single vote. The bill was
proposed again in 1971 and was successfully
passed this time. Expectedly, the royals
protested the abolishment of the Purse. The erstwhile Maharajas decided to contest
the next elections and get chosen as elected members. Interestingly, all of
them suffered heavy defeats at the hands of their democratic opponents and the Rajas’ political ambitions bit the dust.
The Inception of
Heritage Hotels – The Concept
Only a few, such as the Scindia Family from Guna
(Madhya Pradesh), have successfully endured an impressive political clout 6
decades after all monarchical governance was de-recognized. After their riches
had exhausted, the royals were left to fend for themselves. Their kingly ways of
life demanded tremendous cash influx and with their proprietorship snatched
away, the Maharajas had no other option but either lease, sell or rent their
properties. The tourism industry sniffed a chance and immediately offered to
pay a reasonable dividend for leasing these properties. The end product of this
rather forced, desperate marriage was heritage hotels that today form the crux
of luxury and heritage tourism.End Note - I have developed a few more pieces on heritage hotels in the blog section of this website. Do visit sometime.
Contributed by Sushant Sharma