Sayaji got his turn early—but he broke all the etiquette rules. First, he refused to wear the full regalia. Then he walked up to the dais and made a single perfunctory bow, before turning around and walking off, showing his back to the emperor. Sayaji was later forced to write a letter of apology, but his was a brave act of defiance in front of tens of thousands of people. No one who had witnessed the event was left in any doubt about what he had done. A witness recorded that Sayaji was laughing mockingly as he walked away from the throne.2 Motilal Nehru was also one of the witnesses and wrote
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