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False Allies: India's Maharajahs in The Age of Ravi Varma
India?s maharajahs have traditionally been cast as petty despots, consumed by lust and luxury. Bejewelled parasites, they cared more, we are told, for elephants and palaces than for schools and public works. The British cheerfully circulated the idea that brown royalty needed ?enlightened? white hands to guide it, and by the twentieth century many Indians too bought into the stereotype, viewing princely India as packed with imperial stooges. Indeed, even today the princes are either remembered with frothy nostalgia or dismissed as greedy fools, with no role in the making of contemporary India. In this brilliantly researched book, Manu S. Pillai disputes this view. Tracking the travels of the iconic painter Ravi Varma through five princely states ? from the 1860s to the early 1900s ? he uncovers a picture far removed from the clichés in which the princes are trapped. The world we discover is not of dancing girls, but of sedition, legal battles, the defiance of imperial dictates, and resistance. We meet maharajahs obsessed with industrialization, and rulers who funded nationalists, these men anything but pushovers for the Raj to manipulate. Outward deference aside, the princes, Pillai shows, forever tested the Raj ? from denying white officials the right to wear shoes in durbars to trying to surpass British administrative standards. Good governance became a spectacularly subversive act, by which maharajahs and the ?native statesmen? assisting them refuted claims that Indians could not rule themselves. For decades this made the princes heroes in the eyes of nationalists and anti-colonial thinkers ? a facet of history we have forgotten and ignored. By refocusing attention on princely India, False Allies takes us on an unforgettable journey and reminds us that the maharajahs were serious political actors ? essential to knowing modern India.
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About the author
Manu S. Pillai
10 books791 followersManu S. Pillai was born in Kerala in 1990 and educated at Fergusson College, Pune, and at King's College London. Following the completion of his master's degree, where he presented his thesis on the emergence of religious nationalism in nineteenth-century India, in 2011-12, he managed the parliamentary office of Dr Shashi Tharoor in New Delhi and was then aide to Lord Bilimoria CBE DL, a crossbencher at the House of Lords in London in 2012-13. That same year he was commissioned by the BBC as a researcher to work with Prof. Sunil Khilnani on the 'Incarnations' history series, which tells the story of India through fifty great lives. The Ivory Throne is Manu's first book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
October 22, 2021
I have mixed feelings about this book.
In False Allies, Manu S Pillai talks about five kingdoms, namely, Travancore, Pudukkottai, Baroda, Mysore, and Mewar. The maharajahs of each kingdom have at some point been captured by Ravi Varma in one of his renowned portraits. Ravi Varma's travels and art acts as a tool of tying these kingdoms together in the structure of this book.
This book's strength lies in its ability to tie several characters and narratives together with exhaustive research and good writing. Pillai is a fantastic writer without a doubt.
Where this book fails for me is trying to do too much with too little. The summary promises a world and delivers something far from substantial. One comes to expect a stronger view of nationalism in the late 19th century. Maybe my expectations were incorrect because nationalism looked different every few decades in India. Nationalism born within the constraints of the late 19th century looked like that. The closest one can get to feeling the thrill of the summary on the book jackets is the chapter on Sayaji Rao and briefly with Maharana Fateh Singh of Mewar.
Tiny shreds of evidence seem to be collected and reiterated for some rajahs to prove that they did indeed show resistance to colonial rule. The chapter on Pudukkottai didn't do much to describe the ruler at all, in the sense that the book promises.
Is this a book that describes the life of maharajahs to expose incorrect stereotypes or is this a book about maharajahs defying colonial rule? The book wavers constantly in what it’s trying to achieve and what it actually presents.
To add to that, the random descriptions of Ravi Varma took away from the pleasure of reading this book instead of enhancing it. This book lacks focus. Conclusions feel forced more than arising naturally from the presentation of facts. It neither does justice to Ravi Varma nor the maharajahs.
The chapter on Ravi Varma’s granddaughters felt extraneous. It should have been shortened considerably or removed entirely. Did the random murder by jackfruit incident deserve as many pages as it got? No. Not by a long shot. This chapter took my appreciation for this book two notches lower. Where was the editor?
The research is fantastic, I truly enjoyed reading it, but this book lacks a clear direction. The epilogue tries to tie it together but fails because the book is all over the place!
I feel frustrated because this book had so much promise and I like Manu S Pillai’s earlier books so much. False Allies is a great attempt but falls short in numerous ways.
In False Allies, Manu S Pillai talks about five kingdoms, namely, Travancore, Pudukkottai, Baroda, Mysore, and Mewar. The maharajahs of each kingdom have at some point been captured by Ravi Varma in one of his renowned portraits. Ravi Varma's travels and art acts as a tool of tying these kingdoms together in the structure of this book.
This book's strength lies in its ability to tie several characters and narratives together with exhaustive research and good writing. Pillai is a fantastic writer without a doubt.
Where this book fails for me is trying to do too much with too little. The summary promises a world and delivers something far from substantial. One comes to expect a stronger view of nationalism in the late 19th century. Maybe my expectations were incorrect because nationalism looked different every few decades in India. Nationalism born within the constraints of the late 19th century looked like that. The closest one can get to feeling the thrill of the summary on the book jackets is the chapter on Sayaji Rao and briefly with Maharana Fateh Singh of Mewar.
Tiny shreds of evidence seem to be collected and reiterated for some rajahs to prove that they did indeed show resistance to colonial rule. The chapter on Pudukkottai didn't do much to describe the ruler at all, in the sense that the book promises.
Is this a book that describes the life of maharajahs to expose incorrect stereotypes or is this a book about maharajahs defying colonial rule? The book wavers constantly in what it’s trying to achieve and what it actually presents.
To add to that, the random descriptions of Ravi Varma took away from the pleasure of reading this book instead of enhancing it. This book lacks focus. Conclusions feel forced more than arising naturally from the presentation of facts. It neither does justice to Ravi Varma nor the maharajahs.
The chapter on Ravi Varma’s granddaughters felt extraneous. It should have been shortened considerably or removed entirely. Did the random murder by jackfruit incident deserve as many pages as it got? No. Not by a long shot. This chapter took my appreciation for this book two notches lower. Where was the editor?
The research is fantastic, I truly enjoyed reading it, but this book lacks a clear direction. The epilogue tries to tie it together but fails because the book is all over the place!
I feel frustrated because this book had so much promise and I like Manu S Pillai’s earlier books so much. False Allies is a great attempt but falls short in numerous ways.
April 1, 2022
The books starts with a bang but ends up as damp squib right after the introduction. Raja Ravi Varma's paintings are used as a common thread to weave the tales of Native kings and their dynamics with the British Raj. The concept of brevity and clarity is completely lost on the Author resulting in the book exploring in detail about Raja Ravi Varma's own history and family. A good editor could have salvaged this book from the wreck, the end copy is. This book had lot of promotion and I fell for it. This is the only second book after, 'the unbearable lightness of being' to make me feel like I was undergoing a surgery without anesthesia kicking in. I want the time spent on reading this work back!
March 6, 2022
The premise of the book is that the erstwhile rajahs during the British rule were not loyal to the Crown but were secretly nationalists and harboured dreams of independence for themselves, at best, or India, as a worst case scenario. Frankly, but for a few exceptions, they were a bunch of dissolute tyrants, sucking the life-blood of struggling peasants – with no concern for their welfare. No amount of white-washing will change despotic nature of these hereditary autocrats. Communism reared its head in Kerala as a consequence of this dictatorial attitude.
Then there is a tedious dissertation on the convoluted incestuous matrilineal practices of the Kerala ‘royalty.’
Eventually, the book boils down to the life of the artist Ravi Verma.
A big disappointment!
Then there is a tedious dissertation on the convoluted incestuous matrilineal practices of the Kerala ‘royalty.’
Eventually, the book boils down to the life of the artist Ravi Verma.
A big disappointment!
October 28, 2022
This book is a reminder that never choose your book just by listening to the author on a podcast. The “topic” as and what promised by the publisher or the author does not even stand close to the actual content of the book. The books just keeps going in a spiral with similar kind of one liner, obvious human reaction which the author keeps claiming as masterstroke events or strategy by the natives.
One of the most tiring books you’ll come across despite the subject.
One of the most tiring books you’ll come across despite the subject.
October 20, 2022
The review is on the premise of having read the ivory throne first. Which is a major of the complaints, i have with this book. It is the upwards of 40 percentage a repeat of the ivory throne without the flair or elegance. There are good stories here but that is relagated to about 20 percentage of the work and the rest is not worth the effort.
This book's undoing is the presentation of a lot of material without depth which was the strength of ivory throne.
This book's undoing is the presentation of a lot of material without depth which was the strength of ivory throne.
July 7, 2022
இந்திய வரலாற்றாய்வில் பெரிதாக ஒலிப்பாய்ச்சப்படாத இடங்களுள் சுதேச சமஸ்தானங்களும் ஒன்று . இந்திய துணைக்கண்டத்தின் ஐந்தில் இரண்டு பங்கு இடத்தையும் கால் பங்கு மக்கள் திரளையும் சுதேச சமஸ்தான அரசர்கள் தான் கட்டி ஆண்டனர். சிறிதும் பெரிதுமாக 562 சுதேச சமஸ்தானங்கள் இந்திய துணைக்கண்டத்தில் இருந்துள்ளது. பிரிட்டிஷ் முடியாட்சியுடன் இணக்கமாக இருந்த காரணத்தால் இவர்கள் தனியாக ஆட்சி செய்ய முடிந்தது, ஆனால் அந்த ஆட்சியில் பிரிட்டிஷ் தலையீடு அதிகமா காணப்பட்டது.
இந்த சமஸ்தானங்கள் ஆட்சிமுறை சிக்கல் நிறைந்த ஒன்றாகவே இருந்தது. அங்கிருந்த மன்னர்களுக்கு மேலைநாட்டு நவீனத்தின் மீதான மோகமும் அதே சமயத்தில் மரபார்ந்த ஆட்சி அதிகாரத்தை தக்கவைக்கும் எண்ணமும் ஒருசேர இருந்தது. புதிய கண்டுபிடிப்புகளை இவர்கள் உடனுக்குடன் நுகர ஆசைப்பட்டார்கள், நவீன ஆடைகளை உடுத்துக்கொண்டார்கள், தங்களை ஆங்கிலேயர்களுக்கு இணையாக இவர்கள் கருதி கொண்டிருந்தார்கள்.
பெரும்பாலான மன்னர்கள் பிரிட்டிஷ் சார்புநிலை கொண்டவர்களாகவே இருந்தனர், பிரிட்டிஷ் ஆட்சி அதிகாரத்திற்கு பொருளாதார ரீதியிலான வளத்தை இத்தகைய சுதேச சமஸ்தானங்களே வழங்கிவந்துள்ளது.
எதிர்கால இந்தியாவின் முக்கிய பிரதிநிதிகளாக இவர்கள் கருதப்பட்டார்கள், இதன்பொருட்டு வட்டமேசை மாநாடுகளுக்கு அழைக்கப்பட்டனர். ஒருபுறம் பிரிட்டிஷ் ஆதரவு நிலையை எடுத்திருந்தாலும், தேசியவாத தலைவர்களிடமும் நன்மதிப்பை பெற்றிருந்தார்கள்.
அம்பேத்கர் தொடங்கி, முத்துலட்சுமி, மேரி பூனன் போன்ற ஆளுமைகள் எல்லாம் இத்தகைய சுதேச சமனஸ்தானங்களின் உதவியுடன் தான் உயர்கல்வி பயின்றார்கள். ஜோதிராவ் புலே தனது Shetkaryaca Asud(Cultivator’s whipcord) புத்தகத்தின் முதலபிரதியை பரோடா மன்னரான சயஜி ராவ்வுக்கு தான் கொடுத்தார். மேலும் அவர் வைத்த கோரிக்கையின் காரணமாக தான் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்டவர்களுக்கும் ஒடுக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கும் கல்வி உதவித்தொகை கிடைத்தது. பின்னாளில் அம்பேத்கர் உதவித்தொகை பெறவும் புலேவின் இந்த நடவடிக்கை தான் காரணமாக இருந்தது. இத்தகைய சமூக சீர்திருத்த எண்ணங்களை கொண்ட மன்னர்களும் இருந்துள்ளார்கள்.
எந்த ஒரு நவீன சிந்தனைகளையும் , கண்டுபிடிப்புகளையும் விரும்பாத மன்னர்களாக ராஜ்புட்க்கள்(Rajput) இருந்துள்ளார்கள். இவர்கள் ஆட்சிசெய்த பகுதிகள் எல்லாம் இன்றளவும் பல அம்சங்களின் பிற மாநிலங்களோடு ஒப்பிடுகையில் பின்தங்கியே இருக்கிறன்றன.
சில இந்திய தேசிய இயக்க தலைவர்கள் காலனியத்திற்கு எதிரான போரில் சுதேச மன்னர்களை முக்கியத்துவம் வாய்ந்தவர்களாக கருதினார்கள். சில மன்னர்கள் தங்களை தேசியவாதிகள் என்றே கருதிக்கொண்டார்கள். 1894இல் மைசூர் மகாராஜா மறைந்த போது காங்கிரஸ் இயக்கம் அவருக்காக துக்கம் அனுசரித்து அஞ்சலி செலுத்தியது.
ஆனால் விடுதலைக்கு பின் இவர்களுக்கு ஏற்பட்ட நிலையை சொல்லி தெரியவேண்டியதில்லை, படேலின் வார்த்தைகளில் கூறவேண்டுமென்றால் சுதேச மன்னர்கள் எல்லாம் "இந்தியாவின் நலனுக்காக அகற்றப்படவேண்டிய நச்சுப்புண்கள்".
மனு எஸ். பிள்ளை தனது “False Allies: India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma”புத்தகத்தில் இத்தகைய சுதேச மன்னர்களை பற்றியும் அங்கு நடந்த சுவாரசியமான நிகழ்வுகளையும் தொகுத்து எழுதியுள்ளார். குறிப்பாக திருவிதாங்கூர், புதுக்கோட்டை, பரோடா, மைசூர், ராஜ்புட்னா ஆகிய பகுதிகளில் நடந்த சுவாரசியமான நிகழ்ச்சிகளை இந்நூல் பதிவு செய்கிறது.
எல்லாராலும் அறியப்பட்ட ஓவியர் ரவி வர்மா கூட 'திருவிதாங்கூர்' சமஸ்தானத்தில் இருக்கும் கிளிமானூர் அரண்மனையை சேர்ந்தவர் தான். இவர் இந்தியா முழுக்க பயணம் செய்து பல மன்னர்களையும், தேசிய இயக்க தலைவர்களையும் ஓவியமாக தீட்டினர். பிரிட்டிஷ் மன்னர்களின் ஓவியமும் இதில் அடங்கும். ஒரு கட்டத்தில் ஆங்கிலேயே ஓவியர்கள் எல்லாம் ரவி வர்மாவின் ஓவிய திறமைக்கு முன்னால் சந்தையிழந்து போனார்கள், உள்ளூர் ஓவியர்களுக்கு அவரின் வருகை அச்சத்தை உண்டாக்கியது.
ராஜா ரவிவர்மாவின் பேத்தி தான் திருவிதாங்கூரில் நடைபெற்ற வைக்கம் போராட்டத்தை முடிவுக்கு கொண்டுவந்த சேது லட்சுமிபாய்.
பிரிட்டிஷ் அரசு சுதேச சமஸ்தானங்களை அவர்கள் போக்கில் எல்லாம் விட்டுவிடவில்லை, திவான்கள்(Diwans) மூலம் பல நெருக்கடிகளை உருவாக்கியது. திவான்களில் சிலர் மன்னருக்கு விசுவாசமாகவும் சிலர் பிரிட்டிஷ் அரசுக்கு விசுவாசமாகவும் இருந்துள்ளார்கள்.
அந்த சமஸ்தானங்களின் நிர்வாகமும், நிதி மேலாண்மையும் திவான்களின் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் தான் இருந்தது. இப்படி பிரிட்டிஷ் அரசால் நியமிக்கப்படும் திவான்கள் ஒரு கட்டத்துக்கு மேல் தங்களது குடும்ப உறுப்பினர்களை அரசவை பதவிகளில் புகுத்தவும் முயன்றுள்ளனர். அதில் முக்கியமானவர் தஞ்சாவூரை சேர்ந்த மராத்தி பார்பனரான டி.மாதவ் ராவ். திருவிதாங்கூர், பரோடா போன்ற சமஸ்தானங்களின் சிறப்பான ஆட்சிக்கு இவர் முக்கிய காரணியாக இருந்துள்ளார். இவர் பற்றிய பல சுவாரசியமான குறிப்புகளும் இந்நூலில் இடம்பெற்றிருக்கிறது.
இது போலவே புதுக்கோட்டை சமஸ்தானத்தின் திவானான எ . சேஷய்யா சாஸ்திரி பற்றியும் அவர் எப்படி புதுக்கோட்டை சமஸ்தானத்தை நவீன படுத்தினார் என்பதையும் இந்நூல் பதிவுசெய்துள்ளது. இவர் ஏற்படுத்திய விழிப்புணர்வின் காரணமாக புதுக்கோட்டை மன்னரான மார்த்தாண்ட பைரவன் முழுக்க முழுக்க மேற்கத்திய கலாச்சாரத்தால் ஈர்க்கப்பட்டு ஒரு ஆஸ்திரேலிய பெண்ணை திருமணம் செய்துகொண்டார். ஒரு கட்டத்தில் ஆட்சி அதிகாரத்தை வேறு ஒருவரிடம் ஒப்படைத்துவிட்டு இவர் நிரந்தரமாக வெளிநாட்டுக்கு சென்றுவிட்டார்.
இப்படி சுதேச சமஸ்தானங்களில் நடந்த பல சுவாரசியமான சம்பவங்களை ஓவியர் ரவிவர்மாவுடன் தொடர்புபடுத்தி கூடவே அவர் வரைந்த ஓவியங்களையும் நூல் முழுக்க இடம்பெற செய்து அட்டகாசமான ஒரு படைப்பை நமக்கு வழங்கியுள்ளார் மனு எஸ் பிள்ளை.
இவரின் மற்ற இரண்டு நூல்களும் முக்கியமானவை The Ivory Throne மற்றும் Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji நேரம் கிடைக்கும்போது இந்த புத்தகங்களையும் படித்துவிட்டு அறிமுகம் எழுதுகிறேன்.
இந்த சமஸ்தானங்கள் ஆட்சிமுறை சிக்கல் நிறைந்த ஒன்றாகவே இருந்தது. அங்கிருந்த மன்னர்களுக்கு மேலைநாட்டு நவீனத்தின் மீதான மோகமும் அதே சமயத்தில் மரபார்ந்த ஆட்சி அதிகாரத்தை தக்கவைக்கும் எண்ணமும் ஒருசேர இருந்தது. புதிய கண்டுபிடிப்புகளை இவர்கள் உடனுக்குடன் நுகர ஆசைப்பட்டார்கள், நவீன ஆடைகளை உடுத்துக்கொண்டார்கள், தங்களை ஆங்கிலேயர்களுக்கு இணையாக இவர்கள் கருதி கொண்டிருந்தார்கள்.
பெரும்பாலான மன்னர்கள் பிரிட்டிஷ் சார்புநிலை கொண்டவர்களாகவே இருந்தனர், பிரிட்டிஷ் ஆட்சி அதிகாரத்திற்கு பொருளாதார ரீதியிலான வளத்தை இத்தகைய சுதேச சமஸ்தானங்களே வழங்கிவந்துள்ளது.
எதிர்கால இந்தியாவின் முக்கிய பிரதிநிதிகளாக இவர்கள் கருதப்பட்டார்கள், இதன்பொருட்டு வட்டமேசை மாநாடுகளுக்கு அழைக்கப்பட்டனர். ஒருபுறம் பிரிட்டிஷ் ஆதரவு நிலையை எடுத்திருந்தாலும், தேசியவாத தலைவர்களிடமும் நன்மதிப்பை பெற்றிருந்தார்கள்.
அம்பேத்கர் தொடங்கி, முத்துலட்சுமி, மேரி பூனன் போன்ற ஆளுமைகள் எல்லாம் இத்தகைய சுதேச சமனஸ்தானங்களின் உதவியுடன் தான் உயர்கல்வி பயின்றார்கள். ஜோதிராவ் புலே தனது Shetkaryaca Asud(Cultivator’s whipcord) புத்தகத்தின் முதலபிரதியை பரோடா மன்னரான சயஜி ராவ்வுக்கு தான் கொடுத்தார். மேலும் அவர் வைத்த கோரிக்கையின் காரணமாக தான் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்டவர்களுக்கும் ஒடுக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கும் கல்வி உதவித்தொகை கிடைத்தது. பின்னாளில் அம்பேத்கர் உதவித்தொகை பெறவும் புலேவின் இந்த நடவடிக்கை தான் காரணமாக இருந்தது. இத்தகைய சமூக சீர்திருத்த எண்ணங்களை கொண்ட மன்னர்களும் இருந்துள்ளார்கள்.
எந்த ஒரு நவீன சிந்தனைகளையும் , கண்டுபிடிப்புகளையும் விரும்பாத மன்னர்களாக ராஜ்புட்க்கள்(Rajput) இருந்துள்ளார்கள். இவர்கள் ஆட்சிசெய்த பகுதிகள் எல்லாம் இன்றளவும் பல அம்சங்களின் பிற மாநிலங்களோடு ஒப்பிடுகையில் பின்தங்கியே இருக்கிறன்றன.
சில இந்திய தேசிய இயக்க தலைவர்கள் காலனியத்திற்கு எதிரான போரில் சுதேச மன்னர்களை முக்கியத்துவம் வாய்ந்தவர்களாக கருதினார்கள். சில மன்னர்கள் தங்களை தேசியவாதிகள் என்றே கருதிக்கொண்டார்கள். 1894இல் மைசூர் மகாராஜா மறைந்த போது காங்கிரஸ் இயக்கம் அவருக்காக துக்கம் அனுசரித்து அஞ்சலி செலுத்தியது.
ஆனால் விடுதலைக்கு பின் இவர்களுக்கு ஏற்பட்ட நிலையை சொல்லி தெரியவேண்டியதில்லை, படேலின் வார்த்தைகளில் கூறவேண்டுமென்றால் சுதேச மன்னர்கள் எல்லாம் "இந்தியாவின் நலனுக்காக அகற்றப்படவேண்டிய நச்சுப்புண்கள்".
மனு எஸ். பிள்ளை தனது “False Allies: India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma”புத்தகத்தில் இத்தகைய சுதேச மன்னர்களை பற்றியும் அங்கு நடந்த சுவாரசியமான நிகழ்வுகளையும் தொகுத்து எழுதியுள்ளார். குறிப்பாக திருவிதாங்கூர், புதுக்கோட்டை, பரோடா, மைசூர், ராஜ்புட்னா ஆகிய பகுதிகளில் நடந்த சுவாரசியமான நிகழ்ச்சிகளை இந்நூல் பதிவு செய்கிறது.
எல்லாராலும் அறியப்பட்ட ஓவியர் ரவி வர்மா கூட 'திருவிதாங்கூர்' சமஸ்தானத்தில் இருக்கும் கிளிமானூர் அரண்மனையை சேர்ந்தவர் தான். இவர் இந்தியா முழுக்க பயணம் செய்து பல மன்னர்களையும், தேசிய இயக்க தலைவர்களையும் ஓவியமாக தீட்டினர். பிரிட்டிஷ் மன்னர்களின் ஓவியமும் இதில் அடங்கும். ஒரு கட்டத்தில் ஆங்கிலேயே ஓவியர்கள் எல்லாம் ரவி வர்மாவின் ஓவிய திறமைக்கு முன்னால் சந்தையிழந்து போனார்கள், உள்ளூர் ஓவியர்களுக்கு அவரின் வருகை அச்சத்தை உண்டாக்கியது.
ராஜா ரவிவர்மாவின் பேத்தி தான் திருவிதாங்கூரில் நடைபெற்ற வைக்கம் போராட்டத்தை முடிவுக்கு கொண்டுவந்த சேது லட்சுமிபாய்.
பிரிட்டிஷ் அரசு சுதேச சமஸ்தானங்களை அவர்கள் போக்கில் எல்லாம் விட்டுவிடவில்லை, திவான்கள்(Diwans) மூலம் பல நெருக்கடிகளை உருவாக்கியது. திவான்களில் சிலர் மன்னருக்கு விசுவாசமாகவும் சிலர் பிரிட்டிஷ் அரசுக்கு விசுவாசமாகவும் இருந்துள்ளார்கள்.
அந்த சமஸ்தானங்களின் நிர்வாகமும், நிதி மேலாண்மையும் திவான்களின் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் தான் இருந்தது. இப்படி பிரிட்டிஷ் அரசால் நியமிக்கப்படும் திவான்கள் ஒரு கட்டத்துக்கு மேல் தங்களது குடும்ப உறுப்பினர்களை அரசவை பதவிகளில் புகுத்தவும் முயன்றுள்ளனர். அதில் முக்கியமானவர் தஞ்சாவூரை சேர்ந்த மராத்தி பார்பனரான டி.மாதவ் ராவ். திருவிதாங்கூர், பரோடா போன்ற சமஸ்தானங்களின் சிறப்பான ஆட்சிக்கு இவர் முக்கிய காரணியாக இருந்துள்ளார். இவர் பற்றிய பல சுவாரசியமான குறிப்புகளும் இந்நூலில் இடம்பெற்றிருக்கிறது.
இது போலவே புதுக்கோட்டை சமஸ்தானத்தின் திவானான எ . சேஷய்யா சாஸ்திரி பற்றியும் அவர் எப்படி புதுக்கோட்டை சமஸ்தானத்தை நவீன படுத்தினார் என்பதையும் இந்நூல் பதிவுசெய்துள்ளது. இவர் ஏற்படுத்திய விழிப்புணர்வின் காரணமாக புதுக்கோட்டை மன்னரான மார்த்தாண்ட பைரவன் முழுக்க முழுக்க மேற்கத்திய கலாச்சாரத்தால் ஈர்க்கப்பட்டு ஒரு ஆஸ்திரேலிய பெண்ணை திருமணம் செய்துகொண்டார். ஒரு கட்டத்தில் ஆட்சி அதிகாரத்தை வேறு ஒருவரிடம் ஒப்படைத்துவிட்டு இவர் நிரந்தரமாக வெளிநாட்டுக்கு சென்றுவிட்டார்.
இப்படி சுதேச சமஸ்தானங்களில் நடந்த பல சுவாரசியமான சம்பவங்களை ஓவியர் ரவிவர்மாவுடன் தொடர்புபடுத்தி கூடவே அவர் வரைந்த ஓவியங்களையும் நூல் முழுக்க இடம்பெற செய்து அட்டகாசமான ஒரு படைப்பை நமக்கு வழங்கியுள்ளார் மனு எஸ் பிள்ளை.
இவரின் மற்ற இரண்டு நூல்களும் முக்கியமானவை The Ivory Throne மற்றும் Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji நேரம் கிடைக்கும்போது இந்த புத்தகங்களையும் படித்துவிட்டு அறிமுகம் எழுதுகிறேன்.
November 18, 2021
Anyone interested in history tries to answer this question on how history should be written and by whom. The one thing which is completely clear is that the conventional history books, that we were taught in schools don't have complete information. Understandably, things were simplified for school going children as well as to inculcate some necessary values and lessons from our grim and dark history. However, most people don't read history once they grow up and reach the age where they should have the ability to distinguish good from bad. The same simplifications that we were taught in those schools stay with us for our entire adult life shaping our worldview and in turn, creating polemics and making us take sides. That's the very reason why this gatekeeping of history by a select few "trained" historians need to be stopped. However, there is a very big chance this opportunity will get used to dumb down the nuances even further and use them for some ulterior motives as is done by leaders/activists across the board.
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Coming to this book, Manu S Pillai is perhaps one of the best research minds and a brilliant storyteller of our time. This is my first book of his but I had heard of him years ago but never got a chance to read his books. We all have heard how India was crafted by the Iron man of India, uniting more than 560 odd princely states with British India. However, most of these princely states were tiny. This book tells us the story about those forgotten, often maligned kings and princes who were anything but passive spectators. They actively participated in the tides of their times even if for their own personal gains.
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Tracing the story of a selected few kingdoms linked in a rough manner by both active involvement as well as passive presence of Raja Ravi Verma, Manu Pillai theorises how these kingdoms have not been given their dues and should get the recognition they deserve. The eccentricities and lavishness which was ostensibly hated by common folk of the time was a necessity, but was also casted aside when the time demanded. Overall this was a brilliant read. A very well crafted story but actually falls short on proving it's thesis. While I agree there are multitudes of truths that needs to be uncovered when it comes to history, I feel like this big book doesn't completely deliver on its promise. But maybe thats the point of the book. To raise these points to make sure readers do their due diligence before believing any easy narrative peddled since British era. On that front the book is successful in making me a bit more sceptical about history and how it's told.
.
.
.
Coming to this book, Manu S Pillai is perhaps one of the best research minds and a brilliant storyteller of our time. This is my first book of his but I had heard of him years ago but never got a chance to read his books. We all have heard how India was crafted by the Iron man of India, uniting more than 560 odd princely states with British India. However, most of these princely states were tiny. This book tells us the story about those forgotten, often maligned kings and princes who were anything but passive spectators. They actively participated in the tides of their times even if for their own personal gains.
.
.
.
Tracing the story of a selected few kingdoms linked in a rough manner by both active involvement as well as passive presence of Raja Ravi Verma, Manu Pillai theorises how these kingdoms have not been given their dues and should get the recognition they deserve. The eccentricities and lavishness which was ostensibly hated by common folk of the time was a necessity, but was also casted aside when the time demanded. Overall this was a brilliant read. A very well crafted story but actually falls short on proving it's thesis. While I agree there are multitudes of truths that needs to be uncovered when it comes to history, I feel like this big book doesn't completely deliver on its promise. But maybe thats the point of the book. To raise these points to make sure readers do their due diligence before believing any easy narrative peddled since British era. On that front the book is successful in making me a bit more sceptical about history and how it's told.
January 6, 2024
I became a fan of the author after having read the Ivory Throne, and this book didn't disappoint. What I like the most about his writing style is how he manages to pull together extraordinarily deep research into a coherent and lucid narrative. The book is mainly about a small set of Indian princely states and the dynamics of their coexistence with the Raj. Raja Ravi Varma is only a narrative vehicle to connect the states, and except for a section on Travancore where his grand daughters played a significant role in the early 20th century (it also served as a quick recap of Ivory Throne, which I appreciated), the painter himself only appears in small vignettes, grandly arriving at royal courts and painting his patrons' portraits. It was really fascinating to read about how the maharajahs in these states walked the tightrope between serving their own selfish interests, their subjects, and the overbearing presence of the British Resident, while also dealing with the rise of nationalism in their domains. Their responses cover the whole range - from the progressive Sayaji Rao of Baroda, to the selectively progressive Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore, to the ultra traditionalist Fateh Singh of Udaipur.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone interested in the history of 19th century India, especially because the princely states don't get as much coverage as the British provinces in most books. And also because Manu Pillai is one of my favorite historians - am now looking forward to read his other works.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone interested in the history of 19th century India, especially because the princely states don't get as much coverage as the British provinces in most books. And also because Manu Pillai is one of my favorite historians - am now looking forward to read his other works.
February 4, 2022
The depth of coverage has varied from one princely state to another, skewing towards the southern states. The story is latched to Ravivarma's travels and traverses across the states. I was able to connect the dots from the past anecdotes to the present happenings - Mysore Industrialization, Travancore royalty, Tam Brahm, Marathi brahm, Baroda and bhimji connection etc. Author has made a commendable move to bunk the myth about royalty and showcased their role as more than pawns in Indian struggle.
December 23, 2021
All of India was under native kings when Europeans descended on India in the age of explorations. They managed to obtain a toehold at strategic locations and then fought their way to the interior and local hegemony. The lust for colonial possessions was so powerful that they tried to annex kingdom after kingdom at the slightest provocation or pretext. Then came 1857 and India erupted in rebellion. Though it was eventually crushed, the Rebellion forced the British to recalibrate their policy towards the local rulers. When the sepoys recruited and trained by the British turned against them, it was the maharajahs – especially of Rajputana, Punjab and the South – that stood fast with them. It inaugurated a new era in which British intervention was minimal and the native states urged to bring in progress by building roads, hospitals, schools and irrigation projects. There were hundreds of native states and that many kings. The maharajahs were typically cast as ludicrous idiots who served no cause other than their own and played no role in the making of modern India. This stereotype served the purpose of the British, which infantilized Indian rulers and cemented the claim that natives were incapable of serious government. Nationalists saw them as British proxies having no role in the future of India. This book examines five Indian states during the period 1860 – 1910 united by the artistic career of India’s most famous painter, Raja Ravi Varma of Kilimanoor, among the nobility of these states, which are Travancore, Pudukottai, Mysore, Baroda and Udaipur. Manu S. Pillai is the best-selling young author and all his three other books have been reviewed earlier in this blog.
A clear goal of this book is to explain why the native states were important to the nation-in-the-making. Two-fifths of the subcontinent’s territory and a quarter of its population were contained in it. However, most discussions of Indian history just leave them out. The difference in public’s perception of politics in the states differed very much from the British-ruled provinces. Public mobilization in the provinces was within nationalistic bounds of Indians versus the Raj, but in states it was divided along caste lines. Being natives themselves, the maharajahs fervently hoped that they could get away with their rule. Earlier, Congress also left the states to their own devices. By the second decade of the twentieth century, the Raj was forced to respond to nationalistic aspirations, but maharajahs did not follow suit. In the nineteenth century, the idea of India as a nation in the Western political sense was a novelty, but in the twentieth, it fast became an emotional reality. At this crucial moment, the rajahs rowed against the current and wrote their own obituary. The native princes were till that time cushioned by the British and protected from internal turmoil. The maharajahs no longer needed to mollify local society in terms of caste networks, commercial guilds, the nobility or otherwise. So long as they paid tribute to the Raj, they could be left in security and this in turn caused them to neglect their people.
Ravi Varma employed European techniques in painting. This total shift from traditional representative methods and aesthetics transformed Indian painting. Pillai argues that Ravi Varma was symbolic of a much larger transition in Indian society as well. The ease with which it absorbed this in its stride is truly remarkable. Also, Ravi Varma’s art straddled the rajahs and nationalists. They were on the same page and a future without the maharajahs was yet to be imagined. It is this phase that is the subject of this book. Sanskrit offered the most inexhaustible stores of pictorial representation in the form of stories from mythology. As this had fastened on the national memory and animated the national voice, it also generated a national imagery. In a country with seemingly irreconcilable diversity, the epics were a common passion encapsulating pan-Indian aspirations. Ravi Varma’s strategy was unrivalled in recreating a romantic past for modern India. He idealized a heritage capable of moving audiences anywhere in India, giving visual confirmation of a shared cultural inheritance. Scantily clad women of old Indian art were ill-fitted for the Victorian age. Attractive Indian elements were matched with modern methods and ideals. Ravi Varma’s goddesses were dressed in sarees and high-necked blouses.
The period is also emblematic of the rise of capable native statesmen who were well-fitted to administer the land with enlightened principles to guide them. A usual British trope was that they were forced to rule over the country as the natives were unsuitable to provide an administration that can lead it to progress. We see many capable officials cutting their teeth with British training and then moving to the dewanship of native principalities based on recommendations of British superiors. Many of them did a splendid job in lifting the kingdoms out of medieval mindset and provided a role model for others. This buoyed up their own careers as they could not hope to reach prominent positions under the blighting glare of racial prejudice in British India’s administrative services. Dadabhai Naoroji was the dewan of Baroda and he came up with accurate statistical analyses of how Britain plundered India. Dinkar Rao offered a detailed opinion on how to govern India as early as 1862. T. Madhava Rao made a constitution of sorts to bind native rulers to set principles. This sought to put an end to arbitrary will with well-entrenched laws, to ensure such laws were obeyed, to protect public funds from royal misappropriation, to preserve the rights and liberties of the people and to do justice without bias, all while staying loyal to the Raj. The book includes descriptions of how these officials performed.
The rajahs were also in a difficult situation around this time. Unlike in art and administration, we see much wider range here. There were rulers who readily agreed to colonial demands and vied with each other to be in the good books of the British. At the same time, there were other princes who did not speak a word of English. The kings managed to keep a footing in both tradition and modernity for different audiences. The Wadiyar dynasty of Mysore led all other states in the parameters of industrial progress. Mysore city became the abode of the maharajah – a museumized landscape – while his modern government was conducted from Bengaluru under the British commissioners. The king and state were traditionally inseparable, but they occupied designated spaces in which the ruler served as a hands-on executive, rather than a monarch. On the other side of the country, in Rajputana, things hardly improved from what it was several centuries ago. The ceremonial status of rulers still depended on the thickness of cushions on which they rested and the colour of the cloth draped over it. All signaled status and were carefully managed. For some vassals, the king might rise only on their arrival but for others, on their departure also. Some nobles were entitled to be received at the palace door by the ruler, as opposed to others who met him in the durbar.
Pillai encapsulates a vignette of the making of a modern nation in this book. Culturally the land was united from a very long time ago, but it had not been moulded into a form that could be called a nation state in the modern sense. Political unifiers had to be invented and incorporated into the national whole. The overarching Indian identity was in its infancy. People still thought of themselves as Banias and Brahmins, Marathas and Mewaris, through prisms emphasizing difference rather than oneness. The author claims that nationalism was not a given. It had to be slowly constructed. The nationalists and maharajahs took their part in weaving the national narrative in the period 1860 – 1910.
The book is very nice and easy to read. A really huge research had gone into the preparation of this work, with 129 pages of notes and 28 pages of bibliography. Selected Ravi Varma paintings constitute a welcome familiarization with the royal personages under discussion. Even though the book covers five native states, the prime stress is on Travancore, the author’s native place. There was another book, ‘The Ivory Throne’ from the same author detailing the history of the Travancore royal family from the 1920s onwards. It is certain that a portion of the research has been salvaged from the effort spent on that book. However, a clear unifying structure is absent in the narrative which looks more like a series of anecdotes.
The book is highly recommended.
A clear goal of this book is to explain why the native states were important to the nation-in-the-making. Two-fifths of the subcontinent’s territory and a quarter of its population were contained in it. However, most discussions of Indian history just leave them out. The difference in public’s perception of politics in the states differed very much from the British-ruled provinces. Public mobilization in the provinces was within nationalistic bounds of Indians versus the Raj, but in states it was divided along caste lines. Being natives themselves, the maharajahs fervently hoped that they could get away with their rule. Earlier, Congress also left the states to their own devices. By the second decade of the twentieth century, the Raj was forced to respond to nationalistic aspirations, but maharajahs did not follow suit. In the nineteenth century, the idea of India as a nation in the Western political sense was a novelty, but in the twentieth, it fast became an emotional reality. At this crucial moment, the rajahs rowed against the current and wrote their own obituary. The native princes were till that time cushioned by the British and protected from internal turmoil. The maharajahs no longer needed to mollify local society in terms of caste networks, commercial guilds, the nobility or otherwise. So long as they paid tribute to the Raj, they could be left in security and this in turn caused them to neglect their people.
Ravi Varma employed European techniques in painting. This total shift from traditional representative methods and aesthetics transformed Indian painting. Pillai argues that Ravi Varma was symbolic of a much larger transition in Indian society as well. The ease with which it absorbed this in its stride is truly remarkable. Also, Ravi Varma’s art straddled the rajahs and nationalists. They were on the same page and a future without the maharajahs was yet to be imagined. It is this phase that is the subject of this book. Sanskrit offered the most inexhaustible stores of pictorial representation in the form of stories from mythology. As this had fastened on the national memory and animated the national voice, it also generated a national imagery. In a country with seemingly irreconcilable diversity, the epics were a common passion encapsulating pan-Indian aspirations. Ravi Varma’s strategy was unrivalled in recreating a romantic past for modern India. He idealized a heritage capable of moving audiences anywhere in India, giving visual confirmation of a shared cultural inheritance. Scantily clad women of old Indian art were ill-fitted for the Victorian age. Attractive Indian elements were matched with modern methods and ideals. Ravi Varma’s goddesses were dressed in sarees and high-necked blouses.
The period is also emblematic of the rise of capable native statesmen who were well-fitted to administer the land with enlightened principles to guide them. A usual British trope was that they were forced to rule over the country as the natives were unsuitable to provide an administration that can lead it to progress. We see many capable officials cutting their teeth with British training and then moving to the dewanship of native principalities based on recommendations of British superiors. Many of them did a splendid job in lifting the kingdoms out of medieval mindset and provided a role model for others. This buoyed up their own careers as they could not hope to reach prominent positions under the blighting glare of racial prejudice in British India’s administrative services. Dadabhai Naoroji was the dewan of Baroda and he came up with accurate statistical analyses of how Britain plundered India. Dinkar Rao offered a detailed opinion on how to govern India as early as 1862. T. Madhava Rao made a constitution of sorts to bind native rulers to set principles. This sought to put an end to arbitrary will with well-entrenched laws, to ensure such laws were obeyed, to protect public funds from royal misappropriation, to preserve the rights and liberties of the people and to do justice without bias, all while staying loyal to the Raj. The book includes descriptions of how these officials performed.
The rajahs were also in a difficult situation around this time. Unlike in art and administration, we see much wider range here. There were rulers who readily agreed to colonial demands and vied with each other to be in the good books of the British. At the same time, there were other princes who did not speak a word of English. The kings managed to keep a footing in both tradition and modernity for different audiences. The Wadiyar dynasty of Mysore led all other states in the parameters of industrial progress. Mysore city became the abode of the maharajah – a museumized landscape – while his modern government was conducted from Bengaluru under the British commissioners. The king and state were traditionally inseparable, but they occupied designated spaces in which the ruler served as a hands-on executive, rather than a monarch. On the other side of the country, in Rajputana, things hardly improved from what it was several centuries ago. The ceremonial status of rulers still depended on the thickness of cushions on which they rested and the colour of the cloth draped over it. All signaled status and were carefully managed. For some vassals, the king might rise only on their arrival but for others, on their departure also. Some nobles were entitled to be received at the palace door by the ruler, as opposed to others who met him in the durbar.
Pillai encapsulates a vignette of the making of a modern nation in this book. Culturally the land was united from a very long time ago, but it had not been moulded into a form that could be called a nation state in the modern sense. Political unifiers had to be invented and incorporated into the national whole. The overarching Indian identity was in its infancy. People still thought of themselves as Banias and Brahmins, Marathas and Mewaris, through prisms emphasizing difference rather than oneness. The author claims that nationalism was not a given. It had to be slowly constructed. The nationalists and maharajahs took their part in weaving the national narrative in the period 1860 – 1910.
The book is very nice and easy to read. A really huge research had gone into the preparation of this work, with 129 pages of notes and 28 pages of bibliography. Selected Ravi Varma paintings constitute a welcome familiarization with the royal personages under discussion. Even though the book covers five native states, the prime stress is on Travancore, the author’s native place. There was another book, ‘The Ivory Throne’ from the same author detailing the history of the Travancore royal family from the 1920s onwards. It is certain that a portion of the research has been salvaged from the effort spent on that book. However, a clear unifying structure is absent in the narrative which looks more like a series of anecdotes.
The book is highly recommended.
December 14, 2021
the research and writing blew my mind, as i’ve come to expect from manu pillai’s work. just wish the structure of the book was a little more coherent. the content seemed a little all over the place and the editing shoddy.
January 27, 2022
The book is gripping with its narration of the colourful and at times eccentric lives of the Indian princes. But at times, the writing seemed incoherent and scattered. There were many repitiive portions from the earlier book "Ivory Throne".But overall a good read.
March 22, 2022
A good attempt
Sometime in the book, i realised that it was less about the princes who ruled and more about Ravi Verma and the collectors.
Sometime in the book, i realised that it was less about the princes who ruled and more about Ravi Verma and the collectors.
September 10, 2024
The book contextual uses the princes & states that Raja Ravi Varma painted and gives insight to the times of these Rajas as they navigated the coming of the British, how they ruled and their personalities in real and in reel of the painting. I appreciated how we get to see the paintings with greater discern & scrutiny to appreciate the subject. Parts of the book rambles because of excessive detail and source references which are significant. But the overall message of the book and links to Raja Ravi Varma are clear and this book does help us understand those princely states at the doorstep of nationalism at the turn of the century.
October 1, 2022
What I love most about the book is the subject. When we talk of pre-Partition India, we talk extensively about the British Government and the Freedom Movement, but the Princely States are almost always left out. Yet at the time of independence, princely states covered 40% of the landmass and hosted 23% of the population. There are the odd biographies, but most of them are stories of excesses and/ or individual scandals, which do not contribute to an understanding of the role played by the princely states.
Instead of writing about all (or even a substantial number of) the 565 princely states, Manu Pillai chooses five which are quite different in terms of attitude, rulers, traditions and impact left on history. Travancore, Pudukottai, Baroda, Mysore and Mewar have superficial and deeper similarities, yet are totally different from each other. By understanding each of these states, and their changing relationships with British India and their flirtations with the Nationalist Movement, we can start putting together a picture of "Princistan".
Celebrated painter, Raja Ravi Varma, stars as the Sutradhar in all five stories. In some, like Travancore, he is a main player, in others, like Mewar, his guest appearance barely registers, yet, the loving descriptions of his portraits of the rulers of these states tells more about the rulers and their attitudes than many words can.
The book is written in a conversational style which draws you in and keeps you engaged, but it is the footnotes that show you glimpses of rabbit holes each of which has the potential to keep you engaged for hours if not days.
Instead of writing about all (or even a substantial number of) the 565 princely states, Manu Pillai chooses five which are quite different in terms of attitude, rulers, traditions and impact left on history. Travancore, Pudukottai, Baroda, Mysore and Mewar have superficial and deeper similarities, yet are totally different from each other. By understanding each of these states, and their changing relationships with British India and their flirtations with the Nationalist Movement, we can start putting together a picture of "Princistan".
Celebrated painter, Raja Ravi Varma, stars as the Sutradhar in all five stories. In some, like Travancore, he is a main player, in others, like Mewar, his guest appearance barely registers, yet, the loving descriptions of his portraits of the rulers of these states tells more about the rulers and their attitudes than many words can.
The book is written in a conversational style which draws you in and keeps you engaged, but it is the footnotes that show you glimpses of rabbit holes each of which has the potential to keep you engaged for hours if not days.
Read
January 13, 2025During two centuries of rule of India, the British were to devise many justifications to establish and continue their rule over India. One such rationalization was the rulers of numerous Indian states were incompetent with their anachronistic attitudes and antiquated ideas about governance. Unsurprisingly the native rulers were considered grossly ignorant, superstitious, lacking etiquette, awkward during conversations, and without ideas or facility with language. They were depicted as cruel, selfish, cowardly, and lacking a sense of higher purpose. It suited the Raj to caricature the rulers as idiotic comic figures with all imaginable perversions having no capability to play a role in making modern India. While there may be a measure of truth in the excess projected about some Rajas, stereotyping all the native rulers and painting them all with the same attributes is a simplistic assessment of the Indian reality that only served the insidious purposes of the British. With two-fifths of the Indian territory under the native rulers and balance under the British, India was a loose patchwork of entities rather than a nation. If, in the nineteenth century, the idea of India as a nation was a novelty, it became a reality in the twentieth century. British had very complex treaty arrangements, specific to the peculiarities associated with each ruler, to supervise and advise in the governance of the state. While it was considered that the king was a façade acting under the instructions of the Resident, the fact remained the equation between them was one of constant negotiation to retain the control ceding little to the other. Though weak in comparison with his overlords, Maharaja also had leverage and used to manipulate the system to resist colonial overreach. It was a perennial hide-and-seek game between the British and the native rulers - the maharaja trying to keep his independence while the Raj trying to be on guard to ensure the machinations wouldn’t threaten their colonial goals. Thus, the princely alliances with the Raj were a constantly adjusting and accommodating transaction maintaining a fine balance between traditional authority and the demands of modernity. Parallelly, however, the nationalist movement led by Congress took root in the late nineteenth century unfolding into a mass movement that had a complex relationship with the native rulers – starting with the acknowledgment of the primacy of the rulers and slowly transforming into suspicion and disdain as the movement achieves mass character.
Manu Pillai undertakes the study of these complex strands of political process in the course of interaction between the Raj and the native rulers from the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. As it is beyond him to cover all the princely states he selects five such states to study and narrate the power politics within the states and with the British Raj. Here he takes Ravi Varma, the painter of Travancore belonging to the royal family. He is related to the selected states as the painter commissioned by these states to paint the portraits of the respective royal family and other painting assignments. Thus Ravi Varma himself is not the subject of this book. But he is a thread that connects the diverse kingdoms selected. In a way, it offers a view of the world of his day. Thus, the provinces covered include Travancore (the home state of Ravi Varma), Pudukkotai, Baroda, Mysore and Mewar.
Manu narrates the power dynamics between the Raj and the Royalty in these states. It is a fascinating presentation of the changing power relationships between the Raj and native rulers, from the old-time orthodoxy to the progressive ideas of governance. The deals, pre-emptive actions, concessions, appeals, rejections, accommodations, and compromises between the British Residents and Royals read like historical fiction. More than the maharajas, their prime ministers like Madhava Rao and Seshiah Sastry with command of English and intimate understanding of the local political undercurrents stand out for their cleverness and statesmanship. The royalty and their ministers loyal to the British crown tried to extract concessions by being within the imperial framework and without undermining the superiority of the Raj. Each state has its history and political complications and presents a unique condition to deal with. While the rulers of the southern states of Travancore, Mysore, and Pudukkotai are amenable to British instructions, Sayaji Rao of Baroda asserts himself and leans to the national freedom movement of the Indian national congress. The Maharana Fateh Singh of Udaipur obstinately adheres to his conservative streak and refuses to modernize his state leading to popular revolts. While some rulers comprehend the eventual outcome of the freedom movement, some cannot transcend the imperatives of British rule, and a few were stuck in the illusions of medieval autocracies oblivious of the winds of change surrounding them.
Manu, as expected of him, made it an interesting read. However, for those who read “Ivory Throne, some of the chapters turnout to be repetitive.
Manu Pillai undertakes the study of these complex strands of political process in the course of interaction between the Raj and the native rulers from the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. As it is beyond him to cover all the princely states he selects five such states to study and narrate the power politics within the states and with the British Raj. Here he takes Ravi Varma, the painter of Travancore belonging to the royal family. He is related to the selected states as the painter commissioned by these states to paint the portraits of the respective royal family and other painting assignments. Thus Ravi Varma himself is not the subject of this book. But he is a thread that connects the diverse kingdoms selected. In a way, it offers a view of the world of his day. Thus, the provinces covered include Travancore (the home state of Ravi Varma), Pudukkotai, Baroda, Mysore and Mewar.
Manu narrates the power dynamics between the Raj and the Royalty in these states. It is a fascinating presentation of the changing power relationships between the Raj and native rulers, from the old-time orthodoxy to the progressive ideas of governance. The deals, pre-emptive actions, concessions, appeals, rejections, accommodations, and compromises between the British Residents and Royals read like historical fiction. More than the maharajas, their prime ministers like Madhava Rao and Seshiah Sastry with command of English and intimate understanding of the local political undercurrents stand out for their cleverness and statesmanship. The royalty and their ministers loyal to the British crown tried to extract concessions by being within the imperial framework and without undermining the superiority of the Raj. Each state has its history and political complications and presents a unique condition to deal with. While the rulers of the southern states of Travancore, Mysore, and Pudukkotai are amenable to British instructions, Sayaji Rao of Baroda asserts himself and leans to the national freedom movement of the Indian national congress. The Maharana Fateh Singh of Udaipur obstinately adheres to his conservative streak and refuses to modernize his state leading to popular revolts. While some rulers comprehend the eventual outcome of the freedom movement, some cannot transcend the imperatives of British rule, and a few were stuck in the illusions of medieval autocracies oblivious of the winds of change surrounding them.
Manu, as expected of him, made it an interesting read. However, for those who read “Ivory Throne, some of the chapters turnout to be repetitive.
December 5, 2021
In school, the text-books on the British period of Indian history focused more on British-ruled India and the independence movement than the Princely States, if I remember correctly. While I can't blame the text-book writers given the sheer number of kingdoms (565 at the time of independence), it was only when reading this book that I realized that the focus on British-ruled India resulted in us missing out on the history of about 40% of the Indian subcontinent.
In False Allies, Manu Pillai lifts the curtain on these Princely States, taking us into the courts of the Indian rulers who continued to rule their kingdoms during this period (though of course in some sort of allegiance to the British). The states he takes us to are Travancore (but of course), Pudukkottai, Baroda, Mysore and Mewar. And why these five kingdoms out of the five hundred? Because Raja Ravi Varma painted portraits of the rulers of these kingdoms at some point or the other.
As with any Manu Pillai book, you can expect excellent writing, accessible history and LOTS of footnotes. Particularly interesting to me were the stories of two of Travancore's Dewans; for these talented Indians, the Princely States were the only way to make their mark, because in British India they would always hit a glass ceiling. The nationalists' ambivalence about the Princely States was another interesting side-note. On the one hand, they were pushing for Indian rule and the Princely States were one way to prove that Indians COULD rule. But on the other hand of course, they wanted popular democracy, not more kings and kingdoms.
The book still left me feeling a bit dissatisfied though. I wish Pillai had kept aside the conceit of using Raja Ravi Varma as his common thread, and given us a more comprehensive view on the Princely States. I wish he had also pulled back a bit to give connect the history of the Princely States overall to what was happening in British India at the time. The book currently comes across as just a collection of profiles of different rulers, with the Raja Ravi Varma thread feeling quite force-fitted in most cases (the exception being Travancore for obvious reasons).
Overall I think Pillai meets the quality we have come from to expect from him, but does not particularly go beyond to create something exceptional (as he did in Ivory Throne).
In False Allies, Manu Pillai lifts the curtain on these Princely States, taking us into the courts of the Indian rulers who continued to rule their kingdoms during this period (though of course in some sort of allegiance to the British). The states he takes us to are Travancore (but of course), Pudukkottai, Baroda, Mysore and Mewar. And why these five kingdoms out of the five hundred? Because Raja Ravi Varma painted portraits of the rulers of these kingdoms at some point or the other.
As with any Manu Pillai book, you can expect excellent writing, accessible history and LOTS of footnotes. Particularly interesting to me were the stories of two of Travancore's Dewans; for these talented Indians, the Princely States were the only way to make their mark, because in British India they would always hit a glass ceiling. The nationalists' ambivalence about the Princely States was another interesting side-note. On the one hand, they were pushing for Indian rule and the Princely States were one way to prove that Indians COULD rule. But on the other hand of course, they wanted popular democracy, not more kings and kingdoms.
The book still left me feeling a bit dissatisfied though. I wish Pillai had kept aside the conceit of using Raja Ravi Varma as his common thread, and given us a more comprehensive view on the Princely States. I wish he had also pulled back a bit to give connect the history of the Princely States overall to what was happening in British India at the time. The book currently comes across as just a collection of profiles of different rulers, with the Raja Ravi Varma thread feeling quite force-fitted in most cases (the exception being Travancore for obvious reasons).
Overall I think Pillai meets the quality we have come from to expect from him, but does not particularly go beyond to create something exceptional (as he did in Ivory Throne).
November 29, 2024
Honestly, Ravi Varma seemed like an excuse for the author to explain why he chose the princely states that he did for this book. The artist makes a cameo or two in each chapter (except the ones on Thiruvithamkoor, where he has a bigger presence), the absence of which wouldn't have made a difference. "India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma" paints a different picture (at least it did for me), one where he is involved in or was a close spectator of events in these kingdoms. However, as I said above, that's not the case.
The book's aim was to explore how these different princely states dealt with the British Raj in a period of rising nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And we do see varied examples of this, which is a good aspect of this book.
However, what goes unexplored is whether these princely states are prime examples of what happened in other states in India around the same time, or if those other states reacted differently to the circumstances of the day. Surveying and comparing all princely states in such a manner isn't easy, and it is perfectly alright to have histories of few in a book — it's just that the apparent link that is given (Ravi Varma) isn't much of a link in my opinion.
Also, as someone who'd read Ivory Throne before, it was a shame that a third of this book is a revisit of what was covered there.
One last minor point(?): there's an unusual number of sentences that start with "Why, " as an interjection.
At the end, Pillai writes: "One hopes, then, this book might allow us to look at India's princes a little more seriously". That is a good expectation for False Allies — it isn't a trailblazer or an impressive work as such, but it can inspire much-needed new histories about India's princely states (Dethroned: The Downfall of India's Princely States looks like it could be one, will check this out).
The book's aim was to explore how these different princely states dealt with the British Raj in a period of rising nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And we do see varied examples of this, which is a good aspect of this book.
However, what goes unexplored is whether these princely states are prime examples of what happened in other states in India around the same time, or if those other states reacted differently to the circumstances of the day. Surveying and comparing all princely states in such a manner isn't easy, and it is perfectly alright to have histories of few in a book — it's just that the apparent link that is given (Ravi Varma) isn't much of a link in my opinion.
Also, as someone who'd read Ivory Throne before, it was a shame that a third of this book is a revisit of what was covered there.
One last minor point(?): there's an unusual number of sentences that start with "Why, " as an interjection.
At the end, Pillai writes: "One hopes, then, this book might allow us to look at India's princes a little more seriously". That is a good expectation for False Allies — it isn't a trailblazer or an impressive work as such, but it can inspire much-needed new histories about India's princely states (Dethroned: The Downfall of India's Princely States looks like it could be one, will check this out).
April 29, 2023
A beautifully-written book about five Indian rajas/maharajas (connected by a single thread, their links to the great painter Raja Ravi Varma). The Nehruvian/Marxist narrative says that the princes of British India were universally lackeys of the British, and the latter themselves portrayed them as dissolute wastrels. So it takes some effort to retrieve their reputations.
The reality is that the 'princes' were treaty allies of the British -- not their vassals in a legal sense -- although most had very little real ability to assert their autonomy as British power grew. Some of the larger states (Baroda, Gwalior, Mysore) had substantial armies, which perforce gave them greater autonomy. Their most important contribution to Indian history was as patrons of India's cultural and religious heritage, which might otherwise have died -- but was instead preserved, and indeed flourished, under their patronage. India (Bharat) exists because these princes were never fully subdued by the British (and the Mughals and other Turkic marauders before them).
Manu Pillai retrieves the 19th and early-20th century history of five of these states quite brilliantly. The only slight problem with his writing is that it depends too much on British sources (and hence points of view). So Martanda Varma, the great military hero who defeated the Dutch (and hence expelled them from the Indian subcontinent, confining them instead to what became Indonesia) is mentioned only in passing when discussing the realm he established, Travancore. Its rulers are portrayed as being representatives of the deity at the Padmanabhaswamy temple (the true sovereign of Travancore, apparently because of Martanda's choice), but the founder is shown as a caste usurper rather than an authentic military hero. There, as elsewhere, it was the British who deployed clever subterfuge to have British troops stationed in the territory by 1806 (after Martanda's successor received some British support to fend off a possible attack from Tipu Sultan).
Once those troops arrived, the British Resident became a highly influential force (if not, as in Mysore, often the overbearing overlord) of the realm of a treaty ally. But Pillai shows how most rulers skilfully determined their own course, often in opposition to the British. The most successful of these False Allies was the brilliant Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, the Maratha ruler of Baroda (a kingdom mainly comprising Gujarati subjects), who funded the education of BR Ambedkar (main writer of India's constitution), employed and supported Aurobindo Ghose -- who became a leader of India's revolutionary struggle for freedom, and later a great spiritual savant -- and clandestinely funded sundry other revolutionaries and the Congress party. (That the Congress never acknowledged this post-independence goes unsaid in Pillai's book, but is surely a disgrace!). During the Swadeshi movement, Sayaji Rao also founded the Bank of Baroda, which became one of India's best (and most internationalised) banks until nationalised in an act of autocratic excess by Indira Gandhi in 1969. (Pillai misses mention of the bank, although his portrait of Sayaji Rao Gaekwad is brilliantly drawn).
Apart from Raja Ravi Varma, the artist and scion of one of the matrilineal lines of Kerala's royals, the other hero of the book is Madhava Rao, the brilliant administrator (born in the Maratha realm of Thanjavur that was founded by Shivaji's half-brother Vyankoji) who influenced Travancore (where he was diwan from 1857-72), Indore (briefly in 1873-75) and especially Baroda (1875-82). Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, however, proved to be much more independent of temper than Madhava Rao - who preferred to focus on administrative excellence, without challenging the British too much. Sayajirao's disloyalty to the British reached its pinnacle in 1911 when he behaved with pure contempt toward the British monarch at his Durbar in Delhi; thereafter, though, Baroda was forcibly brought into line, and Sayajirao's wings were steadily clipped by the British -- but not before he had played a vital (if understated in the book, and kept under wraps even then) role in the revolutionary upsurge of 1905-10 that set Bharat on the path to independence, including via the Swadeshi enterprises (including BoB) that were to be the basis of a viable state after 1947.
But Madhava Rao Tanjorkar (as he is sometimes called, otherwise Thanjavur M Rao) was also a patriot in his own way. Although professing loyalty to the British (and flourishing partly because of his mastery of the English language), Madhava Rao wanted to assert his Indian identity by demonstrating to the world that Indians were capable of good governance. And he did so with elan.
Bangalore is a beautiful and liveable city because the maharajas made it so. Chamarajendra and Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV get their due as pioneers of industrialisation in Mysore state, via their diwans Rangacharla and Visvesvaraya (although the latter is largely ignored in the book, which only focuses on his opposition to using caste as a basis for affirmative action over merit in appointments). Pillai asserts that the royals encouraged non-Brahmins, so the Brahmins became the votaries of nationalism (and hence anti-royal) in the 1920s and 1930s -- an interesting historic nugget, as the Congress effectively took on the anti-Brahmin cloak after 1969 (having been a Brahmin-led party for 4 decades until then).
Mewar's Fateh Singh is a very different case -- a ruler who resisted western modernity, which made him something of a favourite with the British (who liked such oddities, if only to enhance their own sense of legitimacy). But his resistance to modernity was his own form of nationalism (in his case focused on deepening the hold of tradition on governance structures), mixed in with reducing the power of his feudatories. Nuance is everything.
All this, and much else, makes Manu Pillai's book a narrative treat. Where it falls short is in making the key argument in the book's last sentence: "Their states were not old-fashioned islands where time stood still and society decayed: they had their own politics and internal dynamics, which are also part of this country's tale". This needed to be explicated more. Baroda and Travancore both introduced universal and compulsory primary education 115-120 years ago -- something that modern India did not formally adopt until 2001 (when AB Vajpayee was PM). That Kerala achieved near-universal literacy long before the rest of India is mainly attributable to the initiatives of the rajas of Travancore and Cochin four decades before independence. And that Gujarat is the hub of Indian commerce and trade is mainly attributable to the fact that almost all of it was ruled by a congeries of small-territory rajas (and some larger ones like Baroda), and wasn't subject to British law, which was anti-entrepreneur (unless the entrepreneur happened to be European) -- a legacy of tight state control that the Indian state is yet to fully shed.
The reality is that the 'princes' were treaty allies of the British -- not their vassals in a legal sense -- although most had very little real ability to assert their autonomy as British power grew. Some of the larger states (Baroda, Gwalior, Mysore) had substantial armies, which perforce gave them greater autonomy. Their most important contribution to Indian history was as patrons of India's cultural and religious heritage, which might otherwise have died -- but was instead preserved, and indeed flourished, under their patronage. India (Bharat) exists because these princes were never fully subdued by the British (and the Mughals and other Turkic marauders before them).
Manu Pillai retrieves the 19th and early-20th century history of five of these states quite brilliantly. The only slight problem with his writing is that it depends too much on British sources (and hence points of view). So Martanda Varma, the great military hero who defeated the Dutch (and hence expelled them from the Indian subcontinent, confining them instead to what became Indonesia) is mentioned only in passing when discussing the realm he established, Travancore. Its rulers are portrayed as being representatives of the deity at the Padmanabhaswamy temple (the true sovereign of Travancore, apparently because of Martanda's choice), but the founder is shown as a caste usurper rather than an authentic military hero. There, as elsewhere, it was the British who deployed clever subterfuge to have British troops stationed in the territory by 1806 (after Martanda's successor received some British support to fend off a possible attack from Tipu Sultan).
Once those troops arrived, the British Resident became a highly influential force (if not, as in Mysore, often the overbearing overlord) of the realm of a treaty ally. But Pillai shows how most rulers skilfully determined their own course, often in opposition to the British. The most successful of these False Allies was the brilliant Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, the Maratha ruler of Baroda (a kingdom mainly comprising Gujarati subjects), who funded the education of BR Ambedkar (main writer of India's constitution), employed and supported Aurobindo Ghose -- who became a leader of India's revolutionary struggle for freedom, and later a great spiritual savant -- and clandestinely funded sundry other revolutionaries and the Congress party. (That the Congress never acknowledged this post-independence goes unsaid in Pillai's book, but is surely a disgrace!). During the Swadeshi movement, Sayaji Rao also founded the Bank of Baroda, which became one of India's best (and most internationalised) banks until nationalised in an act of autocratic excess by Indira Gandhi in 1969. (Pillai misses mention of the bank, although his portrait of Sayaji Rao Gaekwad is brilliantly drawn).
Apart from Raja Ravi Varma, the artist and scion of one of the matrilineal lines of Kerala's royals, the other hero of the book is Madhava Rao, the brilliant administrator (born in the Maratha realm of Thanjavur that was founded by Shivaji's half-brother Vyankoji) who influenced Travancore (where he was diwan from 1857-72), Indore (briefly in 1873-75) and especially Baroda (1875-82). Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, however, proved to be much more independent of temper than Madhava Rao - who preferred to focus on administrative excellence, without challenging the British too much. Sayajirao's disloyalty to the British reached its pinnacle in 1911 when he behaved with pure contempt toward the British monarch at his Durbar in Delhi; thereafter, though, Baroda was forcibly brought into line, and Sayajirao's wings were steadily clipped by the British -- but not before he had played a vital (if understated in the book, and kept under wraps even then) role in the revolutionary upsurge of 1905-10 that set Bharat on the path to independence, including via the Swadeshi enterprises (including BoB) that were to be the basis of a viable state after 1947.
But Madhava Rao Tanjorkar (as he is sometimes called, otherwise Thanjavur M Rao) was also a patriot in his own way. Although professing loyalty to the British (and flourishing partly because of his mastery of the English language), Madhava Rao wanted to assert his Indian identity by demonstrating to the world that Indians were capable of good governance. And he did so with elan.
Bangalore is a beautiful and liveable city because the maharajas made it so. Chamarajendra and Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV get their due as pioneers of industrialisation in Mysore state, via their diwans Rangacharla and Visvesvaraya (although the latter is largely ignored in the book, which only focuses on his opposition to using caste as a basis for affirmative action over merit in appointments). Pillai asserts that the royals encouraged non-Brahmins, so the Brahmins became the votaries of nationalism (and hence anti-royal) in the 1920s and 1930s -- an interesting historic nugget, as the Congress effectively took on the anti-Brahmin cloak after 1969 (having been a Brahmin-led party for 4 decades until then).
Mewar's Fateh Singh is a very different case -- a ruler who resisted western modernity, which made him something of a favourite with the British (who liked such oddities, if only to enhance their own sense of legitimacy). But his resistance to modernity was his own form of nationalism (in his case focused on deepening the hold of tradition on governance structures), mixed in with reducing the power of his feudatories. Nuance is everything.
All this, and much else, makes Manu Pillai's book a narrative treat. Where it falls short is in making the key argument in the book's last sentence: "Their states were not old-fashioned islands where time stood still and society decayed: they had their own politics and internal dynamics, which are also part of this country's tale". This needed to be explicated more. Baroda and Travancore both introduced universal and compulsory primary education 115-120 years ago -- something that modern India did not formally adopt until 2001 (when AB Vajpayee was PM). That Kerala achieved near-universal literacy long before the rest of India is mainly attributable to the initiatives of the rajas of Travancore and Cochin four decades before independence. And that Gujarat is the hub of Indian commerce and trade is mainly attributable to the fact that almost all of it was ruled by a congeries of small-territory rajas (and some larger ones like Baroda), and wasn't subject to British law, which was anti-entrepreneur (unless the entrepreneur happened to be European) -- a legacy of tight state control that the Indian state is yet to fully shed.
June 16, 2022
Manu Pillai has returned. Richly researched with copious notes and exhaustive referencing, this is a decent work of scholarship on an aspect of a period of Modern India: the late decades of the 19th century in the 'dark' world of Indian Rajas. Pillai has always had a sound receiving ear for stories and it helps this book amply. For a lover of Mysore, there was not way too much to learn but man, what a king Sayaji Rao III was! Pillai is his ambassador for contemporary times. He emerges as the indubitable Indian hero for the time. Daring Residents and the viceroy, smashing open schools and temples for Dalits, and helping shatter the glace ceiling. Pillai's particular affection for Travancore is a bit of an Achilles Heel in this book. Notwithstanding Kerala's magic, its drum are beaten for too long in this thick book and the region feels like it is sitting at the expense of the other kingdoms.
The form is a serious issue in this book. Pillai should have packed this as a book of stories or rather another kind of a book of stories. Raja Ravi Varma is fascinating no doubt are as the insightful comments made by Pillai on his depictions of Indian Rajas. But Varma serves as a weak thread to tie this book together. The other more bothering problem is the title. The Rajas were indeed not False Allies at all. The over indulging attention Travancore receives weakens this argument that Rajas were proto nationalists for much of these chapters, the Padmanabhadasas are merely having a great time or once in a way tumultuous time in their mansions. Maybe some editing may have helped. Jaipur even more so completely drains the thesis because in Pillai's own portrayal, Madho Singh II was but a suck-up to the Raj.
The form is a serious issue in this book. Pillai should have packed this as a book of stories or rather another kind of a book of stories. Raja Ravi Varma is fascinating no doubt are as the insightful comments made by Pillai on his depictions of Indian Rajas. But Varma serves as a weak thread to tie this book together. The other more bothering problem is the title. The Rajas were indeed not False Allies at all. The over indulging attention Travancore receives weakens this argument that Rajas were proto nationalists for much of these chapters, the Padmanabhadasas are merely having a great time or once in a way tumultuous time in their mansions. Maybe some editing may have helped. Jaipur even more so completely drains the thesis because in Pillai's own portrayal, Madho Singh II was but a suck-up to the Raj.
December 22, 2021
A very interesting read and fantastic storytelling. Straight off the bat- I read this book on Kindle and hence could not enjoy the photographs, especially Ravi Verma's artwork in vivid colour. Well, for this reason alone- a hard copy of this book makes more sense.
The book, basically focuses on the relationships between the British and the five princely states where Ravi Verma worked. So, Ravi Verma and his artwork is mentioned just in passing just to keep the thread going. There are fascinating tales, controversial stories, and amazing facts all narrated in such a way to keep you pinned down to the book.
A large part of the book ( I felt 40%) focuses on the Kingdom of Travancore, while the rest get chapters befitting the size of the kingdom perhaps.
If you have read the author's previous book "The Ivory Throne" there may be some overlaps in narration for the Travancore chapter, but there is a lot of new material too.
It is great to have Indian history authors write such lovely stories after such deep research- wishing we had many such authors who can make Indian history so fascinating.
The book, basically focuses on the relationships between the British and the five princely states where Ravi Verma worked. So, Ravi Verma and his artwork is mentioned just in passing just to keep the thread going. There are fascinating tales, controversial stories, and amazing facts all narrated in such a way to keep you pinned down to the book.
A large part of the book ( I felt 40%) focuses on the Kingdom of Travancore, while the rest get chapters befitting the size of the kingdom perhaps.
If you have read the author's previous book "The Ivory Throne" there may be some overlaps in narration for the Travancore chapter, but there is a lot of new material too.
It is great to have Indian history authors write such lovely stories after such deep research- wishing we had many such authors who can make Indian history so fascinating.
November 11, 2021
In his fourth book, the author concentrates on specific native states in a post 1857-pre Congress era. The book mainly deals with the change in power equilibrium with the arrival of British in those native states and how the rulers responded to it. There are chapters on Travancore, Mysore, Pudukkottai, Baroda, and Mewar. The chapter on Baroda was a really interesting story whereas chapters on Pudukkottai, Mysore and Mewar gave good insights into the socio-political transformation that took place in those states. For the readers of Ivory Throne, there's not much to offer in the Travancore chapters. Ravi Varma, renowned artist acts as both the connecting link between these chapters as well as the agent of the era of the transformation. There's also considerable space given to the first-generation Indian administrators like Madhava Rao and how they played an important part in the transformation of these states.
January 16, 2022
False Allies is an interesting read for anyone who is inquisitive about Indian history. Manu S Pillai’s writing style is enjoyable. It flows like a story and hence can provide a good reading experience even for a non-academic person. I personally enjoyed the sections on Travancore and all those inside stories associated with it - especially the Mavelikkara anecdotes and the 1868 photograph of Kalyani Ammachi in a sari, she probably being the first Malayali woman to wear a modern sari. Also, really admire all the extensive research the author has done.
As for the cons, the book didn’t have a lot of Ravi Varma stories as much as I expected. It would have been nice to have some excerpts from his journals/write-ups or some recorded conversations of him with the kings he painted. If I have to commit the sin of comparison, Ivory Throne is still my favorite.
In conclusion, if you love history or have liked his previous works, you will enjoy False Allies.
As for the cons, the book didn’t have a lot of Ravi Varma stories as much as I expected. It would have been nice to have some excerpts from his journals/write-ups or some recorded conversations of him with the kings he painted. If I have to commit the sin of comparison, Ivory Throne is still my favorite.
In conclusion, if you love history or have liked his previous works, you will enjoy False Allies.
April 30, 2022
An account of the Rajas/Maharajas of Indian States around the time of the British Rule - the States of Travancore, Pudukkottai, Mysore, Baroda and Mewar as well as Raja Ravi Verma’s association with those states between 1860 to 1900. The Indian Princes have traditionally been cast as despots living a life of luxury and debauchery. The traditional stereotype is that is a bejewelled parasites concerned with personal aggrandisement at the expense of the general populace and grovelling before the colonial rulers. The author states that this was also the narrative which the British propagated to further their rule and has also been bought by many Indians. In this well-researched book, the author disputes this view and uncovers a picture of responsible and progressive administration quite removed from this stereotype. Recommend this book for reading by readers interested in Indian History (especially around colonial times).
March 28, 2023
I consider that a gradual change from arbitrary to constitutional government is absolutely neccessary for the preservation of the integrity of these states and for the prevention of their ultimate annihilation. It seems to be unreasonable to hope for any improvement in a native state where everything is made to depend on the will of the ruler; and the natural check upon system, viz, the rising of the people against tyranny and oppression, is rendered inoperative by the overwhelming force of the British nation, which serves to protect a wicked or incompetent ruler from any serious revolt. It is impossible for the native states to stand still among the changes of thought and growth of civilization which is slowly but surely developing around them; and if nothing be done to provide the means of improvement within themselves, they must steadily deteriorate, till their extinction is called for by the general voice of the country.
January 18, 2023
A glimpse at the princely states during Raj era India and the fine tuned games they played to balance their power with the demands the a British and their own people made on them. The book focuses on Travancore, Pudukottai, Baroda, Mysore and Mewar- whose rulers were at some point painted by Ravi Verma. Ravi Verma is only a loose thread within the book: almost forced into it by a chapter on his descendants who went on to become rulers of Travancore. Another undercurrent is the ever present English trained Indian civil servant or Dewan who were administrators in the princely states. The book remains true to the complex realities on ground about how the states functioned and does not give away to the romantic dust jacket claims which leads us to expect the princes were openly subverting British rule in India and promoting nationalism.
February 28, 2025
While the research is impressive, the narrative is all over the place. It captures your attention if you can discern a few proper stories from each chapter, but only after washing away the tedious and extraneous accounts that read more like gossip with an unnecessarily large cast of characters than meaningful details serving the larger story. Pillai's entertaining language amidst this is a welcome saviour albeit for maybe half of the chapters with the others being rambling accounts with too many tangents cumulating in a wholly forgettable story.
Nevertheless, I don't see many other books talking about this specific yet interesting niches like relationships between the ruler and the Resident or their Dewans or fellow nobles in great detail. Some of those narratives seem worth going through the rest of the political gossip and time-shifting tales from dynastical family trees.
Nevertheless, I don't see many other books talking about this specific yet interesting niches like relationships between the ruler and the Resident or their Dewans or fellow nobles in great detail. Some of those narratives seem worth going through the rest of the political gossip and time-shifting tales from dynastical family trees.
January 31, 2026
An ok book.
(The earlier book I had read of Manu Pillai was Ivory Throne, which I liked very much, must be because it talked about a history of Kerala that I was curious about for a very long time, however couldn't get my hand on the literature till like 2 years back)
I guess the title could have just been "India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma", not necessary to categorize them as False Allies. Almost all the allies in India were false in some way or the other, so that tag was a bit confusing.
The content was interesting in parts, and tedious in others. I persisted though and once I was done with the book, I started on the reference notes and the associated text. Hats off to Manu for doing such a thorough research.
As it is almost 80% of Indian history is already at the back of his hand, it's only the remaining 20% he has to research on. Kudos for the effort.
(The earlier book I had read of Manu Pillai was Ivory Throne, which I liked very much, must be because it talked about a history of Kerala that I was curious about for a very long time, however couldn't get my hand on the literature till like 2 years back)
I guess the title could have just been "India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma", not necessary to categorize them as False Allies. Almost all the allies in India were false in some way or the other, so that tag was a bit confusing.
The content was interesting in parts, and tedious in others. I persisted though and once I was done with the book, I started on the reference notes and the associated text. Hats off to Manu for doing such a thorough research.
As it is almost 80% of Indian history is already at the back of his hand, it's only the remaining 20% he has to research on. Kudos for the effort.
August 5, 2022
The writing is excellent, engaging and fact filled, and smoothly descriptive and I enjoyed the time I spent on the book. However, it really isn’t what the blurb or description says it is. There is very little on how the princely kingdoms were in fact, ‘false allies’ of the British, it is more a detailed dive into the world in which they existed and the pressures and motivations they acted under. And while Ravi Verma is used ingeniously to draw a link through the disparate accounts, this doesn’t really provide any sort of historical assessment across princely India as a whole. But if you enjoy Indian history and want a deeper look on the identified princely kingdoms, this was decently good.
March 9, 2024
This is the fourth book I have read by the author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a novel idea to portray the Indian princes through the portraits of late Ravi Varma and to delve into their lives and India of there times.
Although parts of the books were also covered in the author's previous book the Ivory Throne which could have been avoided.
I also liked the Epilogue and thus the author's views on the contribution of some of these Princes during the Company rule and then the Raj. Although some of the conclusions drawn I would not entirely agree with like Mark Cubbon's slightly negative portrayal in the Mysore kingdom etc. However overall an enjoyable book.
Although parts of the books were also covered in the author's previous book the Ivory Throne which could have been avoided.
I also liked the Epilogue and thus the author's views on the contribution of some of these Princes during the Company rule and then the Raj. Although some of the conclusions drawn I would not entirely agree with like Mark Cubbon's slightly negative portrayal in the Mysore kingdom etc. However overall an enjoyable book.
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