The Last Maharani Of Gwalior

This is a description of contemporary India and some of its recent history in the form of an autobiography. Rajmata Scindia is a member of the Indian Parliament. As a maharani she had thousands of servants and several enormous palaces. Since Independence, which marked the end of the supremacy of the Maharajas, she has emerged as one of India’s most popular political leaders, first with the Congress party and now with the opposition. Her appeal to the masses, who see her as an image of Mother India, amazes both her admirers and her critics.

Autobiografie van de adellijke Indiase politica.

Examines the political worldview of courtly and royal women in India during the late colonial and post-Independence period. This book offers a history of the zenana, which served as the 'women's courts' or 'female quarters of the palace', where women lived behind pardah in seclusion.

RASHEED KIDWAI is a journalist, author, columnist and political analyst. He is Visiting Fellow with the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi. Formerly Associate Editor at The Telegraph, Kidwai is a keen observer of government, politics, community affairs and Hindi cinema.

Investigating the aesthetics of the zenana – the female quarters of the Indic home or palace – this study discusses the history of architecture, fashion, jewellery and cuisine in princely Indian states during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The unknown history of economic conservatism in India after independence Neoliberalism is routinely characterized as an antidemocratic, expert-driven project aimed at insulating markets from politics, devised in the North Atlantic and projected on the rest of the world. Revising this understanding, Toward a Free Economy shows how economic conservatism emerged and was disseminated in a postcolonial society consistent with the logic of democracy. Twelve years after the British left India, a Swatantra (“Freedom”) Party came to life. It encouraged Indians to break with the Indian National Congress Party, which spearheaded the anticolonial nationalist movement and now dominated Indian democracy. Rejecting Congress’s heavy-industrial developmental state and the accompanying rhetoric of socialism, Swatantra promised “free economy” through its project of opposition politics. As it circulated across various genres, “free economy” took on meanings that varied by region and language, caste and class, and won diverse advocates. These articulations, informed by but distinct from neoliberalism, came chiefly from communities in southern and western India as they embraced new forms of entrepreneurial activity. At their core, they connoted anticommunism, unfettered private economic activity, decentralized development, and the defense of private property. Opposition politics encompassed ideas and practice. Swatantra’s leaders imagined a conservative alternative to a progressive dominant party in a two-party system. They communicated ideas and mobilized people around such issues as inflation, taxation, and property. And they made creative use of India’s institutions to bring checks and balances to the political system. Democracy’s persistence in India is uncommon among postcolonial societies. By excavating a perspective of how Indians made and understood their own democracy and economy, Aditya Balasubramanian broadens our picture of neoliberalism, democracy, and the postcolonial world.

This book is written to get an overall idea of “dynastic politics” in India. It is always kept in mind that a citizen of India should know more about the politicians who are in the Government and form policies, etc. to take the country in the proper direction, at the same time the book should be interesting. Wherever possible, family trees are shown as well as the assets of our politicians. It was natural to start with the Nehru Gandhi family, being one of the largest and long-ruling families at the helm of all affairs. Then State-wise, the families are chosen and the account is presented. Since the volume is huge, this book is in two volumes. States are chosen alphabetically. So, even if the Nehru Gandhi family is in Volume 1, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, etc. are in Volume 2. Early rulers in Indian history used to handover the throne to their sons and then to the next generations for generations to come until some larger event upset the process, mostly conspiracies by persons like very close aides of the king or a revolt. Similar lines were followed even during our democracy passing on the rule to the next generation, which gave rise to dynastic rule. Indian politics has witnessed a large spectrum of politicians from various fields. Initially, it consisted mainly of leaders from the field of law. But now, we find that we have eminent personalities from the sports field, actors, actresses, superstars from the silver screen; the literary field is no exception; we have writers, poets, and so on; economists find a special place in the political arena; politics does not shun even criminals or few dacoits who then turned to politics after their surrender. Businessmen, lings or we can say princes from princely states as Britishers decided to call them are also found here. We have the learned people in politics as well as the illiterate people (angutha chhaap) who learnt to sign only after assuming office on getting elected.

This thorough study offers the opportunity to gain a clear understanding of the mechanics of political interaction in princely India (in the period 1916-1947) between the British colonial power, the princely rulers, and nationalist politicians. The first major scholarly contribution to an until now largely ignored field of interest.