Gayatri Devi (born as Princess Gayatri Devi of
Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in t ...
; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third
Maharani consort of
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...
from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja
Sawai Man Singh II
Major General Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II GCSI GCIE (born Sawai Mor Mukut Singh; 21 August 1912 – 24 June 1970) was an Indian prince, government official, diplomat and sportsman.
Man Singh II was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state ...
.
Following her husband's signature for the
Jaipur State to become part of the Union of India and her step-son's assumption of the title in 1970, she was known as Maharani Gayatri Devi,
Rajmata
''Rajmata'' (''lit.'' king's mother) is an Indian term used for the mother of the head of a princely family in India.
Examples include
* Rajmata Jijau, mother of Shivaji
*Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia of Gwalior, mother of Madhavrao Scindia
* R ...
of
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...
.
Born in the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Royal family of
Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in t ...
her father was Maharaja
Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar in
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, and her mother was
Maratha
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...
Princess,
Indira Raje of
Baroda
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
, the only daughter of
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III
Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...
, and she was sister to
Jagaddipendra Narayan
Sir Jagaddipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, (15 December 1915 – 11 April 1970) was Maharaja of Cooch-Behar, in India. He served in British forces during World War II and ceded full ruling powers to the Government of India in 1949.
Early l ...
, informally known as 'Bhaiya', who became the Maharajah of Cooch Behar.
Following India's independence and the abolition of the
princely states, she became a successful politician in the
Swatantra Party
The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party, that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly soci ...
. Gayatri was also celebrated for her
beauty
Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...
and became something of a fashion icon in her adulthood. She served 12 years in Swatantra Party, during which she was a prominent critic of
Indira Gandhi's government. After her departure from politics, she lived a quiet life in her large estate, spending time with her grandchildren and on hobbies and leisure.
She died on 29 July 2009 in Jaipur, at the age of 90. She was suffering from
paralytic ileus
Ileus is a disruption of the normal propulsive ability of the intestine. It can be caused by lack of peristalsis or by mechanical obstruction.
The word 'ileus' is from Ancient Greek ''eileós'' (, "intestinal obstruction"). The term 'subileus' r ...
and a lung infection. She left an estate estimated at , which was passed on to her grandchildren.
Early life
![GayetriDeviniña](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/GayetriDevini%C3%B1a.jpg)
Born in a Hindu Royal family, her father, Prince Jitendra Narayan of
Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar (), or Koch Bihar, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at . Cooch Behar is the only planned city in t ...
, presently in
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, was the younger brother of the
Yuvaraja
Yuv(a)raj(a) (Sanskrit: युवराज) is an Indian title for the crown prince, and the heir apparent to the throne of an Indian (notably Hindu) kingdom or (notably in the Mughal Empire or British Raj) princely state. It is usually applied t ...
(Crown Prince). Her mother was Maratha Princess
Indira Raje of
Baroda
Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
, the only daughter of
Maratha
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...
King,
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III
Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...
, an extremely beautiful princess and a legendary socialite. Early in her life, her uncle's death led to her father ascending the throne (gaddi). Gayatri studied at
Glendower Preparatory School
Glendower Prep School is an independent preparatory school in South Kensington, London for girls aged 4 to 11.
History
Glendower Prep was founded in 1895 by Miss Lloyd and Miss Cornwall at 103A Fulham Road and was originally called "Cornwall a ...
in London,
Patha Bhavana
Patha Bhavana is an institution of primary and secondary education in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India. Founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1901, starting with only five students, the school is characterized by its philosophy of l ...
of
Visva-Bharati University
Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the ...
,
Shantiniketan
Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his s ...
,
[Whistle-Stopping Maharani]
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', 10 November 1961. and later in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
,
Switzerland, where she travelled with her mother and siblings, then studied secretarial skills in London School of Secretaries; Brillantmont and Monkey Club London.
She first met
Sawai Man Singh II
Major General Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II GCSI GCIE (born Sawai Mor Mukut Singh; 21 August 1912 – 24 June 1970) was an Indian prince, government official, diplomat and sportsman.
Man Singh II was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state ...
when she was 12 and he had come to Calcutta to play polo and stayed with their family. She married Sawai Man Singh II Bahadur on 9 May 1940.
[
Gayatri was a particularly avid equestrienne. She was an excellent rider and an able Polo player. She was a good shot and enjoyed many days out on 'Shikars'. Gayatri was fond of cars and is credited with importing the first ]Mercedes-Benz W126
The Mercedes-Benz W126 is the company's internal designation for its second generation
S-Class, manufactured in sedan/saloon (1979–1991) and coupé (1981–1990) models, succeeding the company's W116 range. Mercedes introduced the 2-door C1 ...
, a 500 SEL to India which was later shipped to Malaysia. She also owned several Rolls-Royces and an aircraft. Gayatri had one child, Prince Jagat Singh of Jaipur, late Raja of Isarda, born on 15 October 1949, who was granted his uncle's fief as a subsidiary title. Jagat Singh was the half-brother to Bhawani Singh
Brigadier Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh MVC (22 October 1931 – 17 April 2011) was an officer in the Indian Army and a entrepreneur.
Singh served in the Indian army from 1951 to 1975. In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was decor ...
, who was the eldest son of his father born by his father's first wife.[ Gayatri was once included in '']Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
'' magazine's Ten Most Beautiful Women list.[Sahwney, Anubha (2004) I've never felt beautiful: Gayatri Devi. '']The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
''. 25 April.
She started two schools in Jaipur, Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ Public School
Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' School or MGD is located in Jaipur, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area ...
established in 1943 and the other one being Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, Jaipur which is a co-educational school opened in the memory of her husband Maharaja Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur. She revived and promoted the dying art of blue pottery.
Political career
After partition and independence of India in 1947, Gayatri Devi ran for Parliament in 1962 and won the constituency in the Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
in the world's largest landslide, winning 192,909 votes out of 246,516 cast. She continued to hold this seat on 1967 and 1971 as a member of the Swatantra Party
The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party, that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly soci ...
founded by C. Rajagopalachari
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...
, running against the Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...
party.
In 1965, during a meeting with Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...
, Gayatri was again asked to join Congress. This was the time when, despite the fact that her husband was being made ambassador to Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, she stuck to her principles and decided not to join the party. In 1967 the Swatantra party joined hands with Jan Sangh that was led by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (23 October 1923 – 15 May 2010) was the 11th vice president of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kan ...
. The alliance won a large number of seats in the 1967 election. In the assembly election Gayatri lost to Damodar Lal Vyas, in Malpura
Malpura is a town with municipality in Tonk district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Malpura is known for its Dadabadi, built by the Khartargach Sect of Shewtambar Jain in memory of 3rd Dada Gurudev Shri Jinkushalsurishwarji.Malpura is popular ...
constituency, but won the Lok Sabha election.
The privy purses were abolished in 1971, terminating all royal privileges and titles. Gayatri was arrested during the Emergency
An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
due to an alleged political vendetta on the false accusation of violating tax laws, and served 5 months in Tihar Jail
Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one ...
. She retired from politics and published her biography, ''A Princess Remembers'', written by Santha Rama Rau, in 1976 (this biography also published in Marathi language as ''A Princess Remembers: Gayatri Devi''). She was also the focus of the film ''Memoirs of a Hindu Princess'', directed by Francois Levie.
There were rumours that she might re-enter politics as late as 1999, when the Cooch Behar Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
nominated her as their candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, but she did not respond to the offer.
Family
Gayatri Devi had one son, Prince Jagat Singh, Raja of Isarda (15 October 1949 – 5 February 1997), who was granted his paternal uncle's (father's elder brother) fief of Isarda as a subsidiary title. Jagat Singh was married on 10 May 1978 to Mom Rajawongse
The precedence of Thai royalty follows a system of ranks known as ''thanandon'' ( th, ฐานันดร), which are accompanied by royal titles.
The Sovereign
There are two styles which can be used for a king in ordinary speech, depending on ...
Priyanandana Rangsit (b. 1952), daughter of Prince Piyarangsit Rangsit and Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit (née Rajani) of Thailand. The married couple had two children:
* Rajkumari Lalitya Kumari (b. 1979)
* Maharaj Devraj Singh, Raja of Isarda (b. 1981)
Today, they are her only surviving descendants, and as such, have claimed to be heirs of their paternal grandmother.
Maharaj Jagat Singh was, thus, half-brother to Bhawani Singh of Jaipur
Brigadier Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh MVC (22 October 1931 – 17 April 2011) was an officer in the Indian Army and a entrepreneur.
Singh served in the Indian army from 1951 to 1975. In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was decor ...
, the eldest son of the late Maharaja by his first wife, a Jodhpur princess.
Family relationships
Gayatri Devi was related to several other erstwhile royal families in India. She was herself not from the Rajput community, but from a dynasty native to Cooch Behar in Bengal, and was daughter of Maharaja Jitendra Narayan and Maharani Indira Raje, who was daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III
Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...
and Maharani Chimnabai
Maharani Chimnabai (1872 – 23 August 1958), also known as Chimnabai II, was the second wife of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad of the princely state of Baroda, Gujarat, British India. She is the author of the treatise '' The position of Women in I ...
, belonging to the Gaekwad
Gaekwad (also spelt Gaikwar and Gaikwad; mr, Gāyǎkǎvāḍǎ) is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The surname is found among the Marathas, Kolis and in Scheduled castes. It is also a common surname among Bharadis, Dhor, an ...
dynasty of the Marathas
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
. Her grand-nephew, along with his wife, Poonam Singh Mewar, and 2 sons died in a car crash.
Her paternal grandparents were Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur and Sunity Devi
Sunity Devi CIE (30 September 1864 – 10 November 1932) was the Maharani of the princely state of Cooch Behar, British India.
Early life
She was a daughter of the renowned Brahmo Samaj reformist, Keshub Chandra Sen of Calcutta. She was ...
of Cooch Behar. Maharani Sunity Devi was the daughter of the Brahmo
Bengali Brahmos are those who adhere to Brahmoism, the philosophy of Brahmo Samaj which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy. A recent publication describes the disproportionate influence of Brahmos on India's development post-19th Century as unpa ...
social reformer Keshab Chandra Sen
Keshub Chandra Sen ( bn, কেশবচন্দ্র সেন; also spelled Keshab Chunder Sen; 19 November 1838 – 8 January 1884) was a Hindu philosopher and social reformer who attempted to incorporate Christian theology within ...
.
She had two brothers, Jagaddipendra Narayan
Sir Jagaddipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, (15 December 1915 – 11 April 1970) was Maharaja of Cooch-Behar, in India. He served in British forces during World War II and ceded full ruling powers to the Government of India in 1949.
Early l ...
and Indrajitendra Narayan of whom Jagaddipendra Narayan became the Maharaja of Cooch Behar in his infancy after the death of their father in 1922.
Thus, maternally, she was closely connected to Gaekwads of Baroda State. Further, her sister Ila Devi was married into the Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
royal family, and her younger sister, Maneka Devi, was married into the royal family of Dewas State
Dewas State was a territory within Central India, which was the seat of two Maratha princely states during the British Raj.
After the Maratha conquest of Central India, Dewas was divided into two states - Dewas Senior ruled by Tukoji Rao ('Ba ...
. Thus, through various interconnections, she was related to the royal houses of Kota, Sawantwadi
Sawantwadi an aesthetic land of artists, is an integral part of the Konkan region which is in the mid-western coast of India.
The western coast of India since 1510 A.D. has assumed great importance in Indian history and history of internationa ...
, Akkalkot State
Akkalkot State during the British Raj, was a Maratha princely state ruled by the Bhonsle dynasty. The non-salute state came under the Deccan States Agency and was bordered by Hyderabad State and the Bombay Presidency.
See also
* Maratha Empi ...
, Jath State
Jath State, was one of the non-salute Maratha princely states of British India, one of the former Southern Maratha Jagirs. Jath State and Daphlapur State were the only two states belonging to the Bijapur Agency under the Bombay Presidency, w ...
, Dewas Jr., Jasdan State
Jasdan State was a princely state in Saurashtra during the British Raj. Its last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 15 February 1948. The capital of the state was in Jasdan town.
History
Jasdan state was founded in 1665 when Vi ...
, and Sandur, Tehri-Garhwal
Tehri Garhwal is a district in the hill state of Uttarakhand, India. Its administrative headquarters is at New Tehri. The district has a population of 618, 931 (2011 census), a 2.35% increase over the previous decade. It is the 7th ranked dist ...
, Mayurbhanj
Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Odisha state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Odisha by area. Its headquarters are at Baripada. Other major towns are Rairangpur, Karanjia and Udala. , it is the third-most-pop ...
, Dhar State
Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the States and union territories of India, state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great B ...
, Kolhapur
Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'.
Kolhapur is ...
, Lunawada State, Baria and Raja of Payagpur
Payagpur is a Taluk of Janwar Rajput dynasty Founded by Balrampur Royal Rajput Family.
Payagpur is a district subdivision known as a "block" and tehsil in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is ...
, which was considered normal amongst the royalties of India.
Death
She was admitted at Santokba Durlabhji Memorial hospital
Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital is a hospital in Jaipur city of Rajasthan state in India. The hospital was inaugurated by the then prime minister of India Late Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1971 and was then the first private hospital of State. It ...
(SDMH) on 17 July 2009. She died at the age of 90 on 29 July 2009, reportedly due to lung failure.
Filmography
* Stephane Bern. ''Gayatra Devi, une princesse au pays des Maharajas.'' Documentary by Roland Portiche and Vanessa Pontet. 1h45'. 2013. First broadcast on 26 December 2013, FR2 (French TV).
References
Additional sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Gayatri
1919 births
2009 deaths
Queen mothers
People from Jaipur
Women in Rajasthan politics
India MPs 1962–1967
India MPs 1967–1970
India MPs 1971–1977
Indian queen consorts
History of Jaipur
Visva-Bharati University alumni
People educated at Glendower Preparatory School
Bengali Hindus
People from West Bengal
Swatantra Party politicians
Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan
Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India)
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
People from Cooch Behar district
20th-century Indian women politicians
Indian princesses
Politicians from Jaipur
Rajasthani people
Indian Hindus
Women members of the Lok Sabha
Indian polo players