But for the timely intervention by the descendent of Maharana Pratap (9th May 1540 – 29 January 1577) of Mewar (Udaipur), the half of present day India must have gone to Pakistan at the time of Partition itself! When most of the Hindu Maharajas (Kings) of western India were toeing the line to join hands with the creator of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and Nawab Hamidullah Khan of Bhopal, his blue-eyed boy who was using Bhopal Plan to lure the Maharajas of bordering states. MaharanaBhupal Singh (1884 – 4 July 1955) of Udaipur jettisoned the entire scheme. Otherwise, thanks to the Bhopal Plan, apart from Bhopal, Holker of Indore, Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad of Baroda, Hanumant Singh of Jodhpur, Shardul Singh of Bikaner, Maharajkumar of Jaisalmer along with other Hindu rulers would have lined up with Pakistan.
Udaipur was a link between Jodhpur on the west and Indore and Bhopal on the east, and the dream of the Nawab of Bhopal of acceding to Pakistan could succeed only if Udaipur came into the proposed Pakistan enclave.
K M Munshi records the history in “Pilgrimage to India”. He extended services to Bhupal Singh as his Constitutional Advisor and was a Man Friday of Sardar Patel, the then Deputy Prime Minister of India, mainly responsible for the Integration of Princely States into India. Munshi was also Union Minister in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s ministry along with Patel.
Munshi records: When Maharana of Udaipur received the invitation from the Maharaja of Jodhpur to join the Bhopal Plan, this descendent of Rana Pratap replied: “My choice was made by my ancestors. If they had faltered, they would have left us a kingdom as large as Hyderabad. They did not; neither shall I. I am with India.” Hyderabad of “His Exalted Highness” Nizam was the largest Princely State.
Bhupal Singh was an extraordinary man both physically and morally. When he was a boy, he had lost the use of his lower limbs in a bout of TB. He was carried from one room to another. He used to ride a horse, his legs tied to the saddle, and go hunting. Maharana was a worthy descendent of his ancestors who fought against the Mughals and never got their daughters married to the Mughals like the House of Jaipur i.e. Amber.
When the Rajasthan Union was formed by Sardar, he was to appoint Maharaja of Jaipur as the Rajpramukh(Governor). Munshi pointed out the historic difference between the descendent of Rana Pratap and that of Maharaja Bhagwandas of Jaipur. Udaipur did not deserve a seat lower than Jaipur. Patel readily agreed. The Maharana was styled “Maharaj Pramukh”, to hold precedence over the Rajpramukh on all ceremonial occasions as a kind of titular Head of the Union and given a privy purse of an additional Rs 5,00,000, to be used for charities.
While paying tribute to the memory of the Maharana, Munshi records: “Though brought up in an entirely mediaeval atmosphere of India, (he) was one of the noblest Rulers I have came across.”
Even V P Menon, ICS, has given interesting personal historical description in “Integration of the Indian States”. VP had worked with Patel in perfect co-ordination for Integration of 565 Princely States into India. He was the Constitutional Advisor to not only Lord Mountbatten in the transitional period but to all the three Viceroys during British rule in India. The Maharaja of Jodhpur Hanwant Singh was keen to join Jinnah. Menon went to his hotel, brought him to Mountbatten and made him sign the Instrument of Accession with Indian Union. When Lord Mountbatten went inside for a short while, the furious Maharaja whipped out a revolver, levelled it at Menon saying: “I refuse to accept your dictation.” Anyway, he had already signed the Instrument of Accession!
Bhupal Singh died in 1955 with Bhagwat Singh as his adopted heir. The rulers of Rajasthan enjoyed the privy purses till the Indian government decided to abolish the institution of royalty. The royal titles and grants were eliminated and Maharana Bhagwat Singh was now Mr Bhagwat Singh Mewar. But this did not deter him from his duty of serving the people. He was also the President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Bappa Rawal was the true founder of Mewar dynasty’s supremacy and rulers of this Sisodia Rajput clan recognized Shri Ekling Nathji, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, as the Supreme Lord of Mewar. The rulers have been considering themselves as Diwan of Shri Ekling Nathji. At present, 76th Diwan Arvind Singhji Mewar is married to the Princess Vijayaraj of Kutch and runs his hotel business converting the Royal Palaces into hotels. His elder brother Mahendra Singh Mewar, former BJP MP, runs a group of educational institutions.
(The writer is a socio-political historian. He was the Editor with the Indian Express Group in Mumbai and Founder Director of Sardar Patel Research Institute-CERLIP running M. Phil. and Ph.D. programmes.)
Next Column: Maharaja Hari Singh and Kashmir Dilemma
