One of the few things for which Wajid ‘Ali Shah was not criticised by the British, unless it came under the general heading of debauchery, was his extravagant number of wives. By the end of his life he had married approximately 375 women, more than one for every day of the year. The first question is ‘why?’ and the second must surely be ‘how?’ According to one of his numerous descendants living in Kolkata, the king was such a pious man that he could not allow any females to serve him unless he had contracted a temporary marriage with them. It would not have been decent for him to be alone with
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