A Touch of Royalty

The BJP sheds inhibitions about wooing erstwhile royals to advance their political cause. For the royals, it is a chance to regain political and cultural relevance

- -with Dhaval S. Kulkarni, Rohit Parihar, Jumana Shah and Arkamoy Datta Majumdar

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav is known to have a penchant for offsite cabinet meetings. Whenever he is in a mood to indulge his cabinet colleagues or send out a political signal, the venue shifts from the cabinet room on the fifth floor of Vallabh Bhavan-the state secretariat in Bhopal. On May 20, it was the Rajwada, the 200-year-old palace of the Holkars, the erstwhile rulers of Indore, that was the venue.

CM Yadav sat in an ornate chair, while his cabinet colleagues were arranged in a manner that evoked the impression of a Holkar Durbar. The meeting was to discuss the plans for the upcoming 300th birth anniversary of Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar, and the commemorative events to be held in her honour.

The enactment of this piece of royal theatre was not lost on anyone. This is not all. The BJP-ruled MP has also launched Virasat se Vikas’ (heritage to development), a programme to revive the legacies of Rani Durgawati, Rani Avanti Bai, Ahilyabai, Raja Bhabhut Singh, as well as the legendary King Vikramaditya. Royalty is getting recognition elsewhere, too. Gujarat, for instance, is planning to dedicate a whole museum—the Museum of Royal Kingdoms of India (MORKI)—to record the contributions of the princely states (see Mission Museum). Expected to open in 2027, the Rs 260 crore project will come up next to the Statue of Unity in the Narmada Valley.