The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore

by Manu S. Pillai

But as Louise Ouwerkerk would remark, ‘At no time either at the height of his power or after his fall, did he cast the blame for the disastrous policies where it belonged’, i.e., at the doors of Kowdiar Palace.59 ‘He was not a free agent: he supported their policies—even those that were foolish and impracticable, he announced them as his own—he defended them, worked them out, took the blame for what went wrong, braved the storms of hatred and calumny and the threats to his life. He was indeed a “daring pilot in extremity”.’60 Even in his fall, he remained dignified enough not to vent frustration at his former royal masters in Travancore, though his general opinion about Indian princes seems to offer an insight into his regret. ‘Generally speaking,’ he would dryly observe in 1948, ‘all the great Kshatriya rulers— descendants of the Sun and Moon—behave like mendicants and sycophants and have no more spirit than a parcel of frightened rabbits or sheep. They deserve [their] fate and I congratulate Patel on the brilliant results of his [policy to get princely states to accede to India].’