The British Empire and the Maharajahs

Silver bed of maharajah

The Maharajah and the British Empire are words that are twined together. One can wonder, that with the British Raj omnipotent, how could there be Maharajahs? Yet this is a fact of history and cannot be bypassed.

After the 1857 mutiny the rule of the East India Company ceased and the British crown became paramount. Queen Victoria in a proclamation announced that the Maharajahs and princes of India would continue in power and their privileges would remain intact. They would only be subservient to the crown.

New Lease of Life under the Raj

This was a godsend for the Maharajahs who were not very popular among the masses as they had done nothing for them. The British crown articulated by Queen Victoria now had guaranteed their privileges and rule. Nothing could be better for them than this. The Rajas, Nawabs and maharajahs now got a new lease of life and for the next 100 years made merry at the cost of the tax payer and the people.

Owning Rolls Cars

The Indian rulers now took the easy path out and barring a ruler or two the majority concentrated on collecting as many virgins as wives. Their second love was cars, in particular the Rolls Royce which were collected like souvenirs.

Wives in the Harem

Most of the maharajahs toured the length and breadth of their realms and picked up girls for their sexual pleasure. Many of the girls were inducted into the harem and  some were just discarded after a short fling. Many of the rulers insisted on absolute virgins and the court doctor had to certify that the hymens were intact.

A look at the Indian rulers will show that the maharajah of Patiala had over 400 wives, the Nawab of Lucknow had over 200 and many others just stocked their harems with as many women as possible. One maharajah would sit naked in pool of water with nude queens from his harem dancing around him. It was one hell of an orgy and the maharajahs   lived life to the hilt. Even when they toured Europe they picked up white women for their pleasure. 

End of the Golden age for Maharajahs

This was the golden age of the maharajah and lasted till 1947 when India became free. Most of the maharajahs lost their privileges and many were reduced to poverty. Most had overspent their state budgets, which were in the red. On the stroke of midnight on 15 Aug 1947, the maharajas went into decline, never to rise again.