Quest for Swaraj Historical Journey of A Nationalist Prince

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Few research monographs have come to light hitherto depicting notable contributions of the ruling princes to the national movement. It is probably for the first time that a serious attempt has been made to reveal the story of an unsung nationalist prince, Maharaja Kishan Singh, expounding his valuable contribution to the national movement in a backward state of eastern Rajasthan, on the basis of indigenous records, not tapped by scholars so far.

The book deals comprehensively with Maharaja's efforts towards ushering in the wave of democratic nationalism in the custom-ridden monarchical system of the Bharatpur state.

A lot of historical writings have surfaced since Independence about India's national movement in British India led by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru. These writings, based mainly on official records preserved in the national or states' archives reflect a certain ideological colour in their narrative. Such an opinionated narrative of the freedom struggle has not carried conviction with the people at large for two reasons-the said narrative was neither backed by the indigenous sources of historical importance, nor did it exactly portray the people's participation in the epic movement.

Attempting history of national movement in the princely states before 1939 is indeed an uphill task mainly on account of two reasons-paucity of relevant material, and blurred vision regarding the exact individual or organisation that controlled the reins of the movement in the absence of Gandhian leadership. The British and the rulers, the two centres of power in the princely states, were expected to lead people in initiating a movement for the establishment of a welfare state. The British did not do so on account of their specific agenda to promote imperial interests. The rulers too, by and large failed to provide leadership to the people for any kind of movement socio-cultural or political, due to their subservient attitude towards their British masters.

In the backdrop of such a dismal picture of the socio-cultural and political environment, prevalent in the princely states, I planned to write about the historical journey of a nationalist prince-Maharaja Kishan Singh.

While working on the current project, I was amazed to find how the young Maharaja, born and brought up in an ambience of palatial plenty and educated in an alien and anglicised environment of Ajmer and England, put himself, heart and soul into the mission of building up an "Indian India" within the frontiers of his own State despite counter pressure from the all-pervasive British sovereignty. Neither, the dethronement and exile of his father dampened the spirits of the minor Maharaja, nor the obnoxious minority rule under the British supervision, dwarfed the dignified external gait of the growing ruler.

It is notable that Kishan Singh, during the entire period of his reign-28th November 1918 to 29th March 1929, lived a dignified life, undismayed and unnerved, in the face of overawing British power. The Maharaja was not even thirty when he breathed his last as an exiled ruler. Though the Maharaja was totally shattered on account of the serious ailment of tuberculosis at the fag end of his life, yet, he kept his cool in adversity with unflinching faith in his deity - Lord Krishna, and unbound love for the people of his State.

The Maharaja was ever true to his ancestors and the ancient values enshrined in the Indian scriptures. A firm believer in the principles of swabhasha, swadharma and swaraj, Kishan Singh never allowed himself to be sectarian or casteist in his policies as a ruler. Though he lived an aristocratic life given to all sorts of pomp and show attached to the regality, yet, he remained deeply democratic and was ever ready to attend to the public woes of his State.

The Maharaja's contribution to the nationalistic fervour in the State can be summarised mainly in four areas, viz. making serious efforts for the unification of the diverse sections of the indigenous society; enlightening peoples' mind through personal interaction and promotion of literary lore preserved in Hindi; liberalising the age-old undemocratic customs related to women and the depressed classes; and democratising the temper of the State's administration through the introduction of the scheme of Shashan Samiti Vidhan.

**Contents and Sample Pages**