Posted on: 14 June 2010

Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III

Though a prince of a native state, an admirer of the English people and in many respects of the English rule in India, he jealously guarded his rights and status even at the cost of annoyance to the British Indian Government. Sayajirao was often in conflict with the British on matters of principle and governance, having continuous and longstanding verbal and written disputes with the British Residents as well as with the Viceroy and officials in the Government of India. He was granted the title of Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia on 29 December 1876. He attended the Delhi Durbars of 1877, 1903 and 1911; it was at the 1911 Delhi Durbar that an incident occurred that proved to have far-reaching ramifications for Sayajirao's relations with the Raj.

A demonstration of independence :

At the grand and historic 1911 Delhi Durbar, attended by George V - therefore the first time that a reigning British monarch had travelled to India, each Indian ruler or "native prince" was expected to perform proper obeisance to the King-Emperor by bowing three times before him, then backing away without turning.

As the third-most prestigious Indian ruler, Sayajirao was third in line to approach the King-Emperor; already, he had caused consternation among the British officials by refusing to wear his full regalia of jewels and honours (to lend a touch of exoticism, it was expected that the rulers on formal occasions would present themselves in jewels). While some accounts state that he refused to bow, Sayajirao actually did bow, albeit perfunctorily and only once before turning his back on the King-Emperor.

For several years already, Sayajirao had angered the British by his open support for the Indian National Congress and its leaders; the incident before the King-Emperor proved to be the last straw. The British never fully trusted Sayajirao again, although he was openly forgiven when he was awarded a GCIE in 1919.

Source - Wikipedia


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Thanks to Sumer Chauhan for this rare image of defiance in the Delhi Durbar 1911.

That is mighty brave really, taking on the Empire. But why was he rewarded later? strange

I dont think too much should be made of this incident. The Gaekwad of Baroda was one of the most important princely states with a 21 gun salute. Only Hyderabad, Mysore, Gwalior and Kashmir were allowed a 21 gun salute, and each of them had been active collaborationists with the British which allowed them to retain their kingdoms and respect such a high rank among the Princely States.

Sayajirao also stood for social reforms, the need of the hourthat very few other princely states understood.

I refer to R.Bhaasin's assertion that Lockwood Kipling designed Indian princely coats-of-arms presented to the Princes at the 1877 Durbar. In researching the Mysore coat-of-arms in October 2008, I was in contact with Patric Dickinson, Richmond Herald at the College of Arms in London. This is the only body authorised to grant arms. Patric said 'the Maharaja (of Mysore) was one of the Indian princes for whom arms were designed in 1876 in preparation for the Imperial Assemblage at Delhi the following year. Illustrations of the various arms were printed in THE PRINCELY ARMORY, Calcutta 1877... The College's copy of THE PRINCELY ARMORY contains notes explaining the symbolism of each of the coats of arms. These were written by Robert Taylor of the Bengal Civil Service, who was responsible for drawing up the original designs ...' As far as I can ascertain, Lockwood Kipling was only responsible for designing the coat-of-arms of Mayo College

Thank you Michael Ludgrove for this rare bit of information. Also found this site on the Net which has catalogued the Coat-of-Arms of many of the Princely States : http://hubert-herald.nl/INHOUD.htm

Hi Michael, This is mentioned in Clarles Allen's biography of Rudyard Kipling. You'll also find reference to this in The bureaucracy of beauty: design in the age of its global reproducibility By Arindam Dutta. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=0uAlBR14SpEC&pg=PA248&lpg=PA248&dq=lockwood+kipling+durbar+1877&source=bl&ots=V-0dTbGbsU&sig=_N51HhGZyPXwqsOsmgf7Z_4XTzs&hl=en&ei=qjIXTMntGpLGrAefq_CqCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBAQ6AEwAg#

Sayaji Rao gaikwad has been one of the better maharajas of the princely states coz of all his works in his state from economic to social reforms. A lot needs to b looked into the incident. Though friendly with the British throne(may b the need of the hour) he gesture marked an important event in indian independence movement. A defiance which was later progressed by INC n later joined by mahatma. With in 10 yrs of this incident, India saw its first major movement that was khilafat.