Gearing up to save an empire

Gearing up to save an empire

The messy family feud in the Scindia royal house is now creating ripples among the managers of their vast estate with trustees owing allegiance to the late Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia or her estranged son Madhavrao, joining the squabbles.

In Shivpuri, the summer capital of the Scindia royalty, Ashok Kumar Mohite, who manages the chhattri trust says while they still have a corpus of Rs 70 lakh and do substantial charitable work. He alleges this was hardly the case with the 15-odd trusts set by the Rajmata after the partial partition with Madhavrao in 1971.‘‘There are two big trusts headed by Madhav Rao Scindia and they are functioning well. But there is hardly any religious or charitable work being done in the trusts managed by Rajmata Scindia,’’ alleges Mohite, ‘‘People have forgotten that Angre’s father, Chandraoji Angre had also disinherited him. Angre is familiar with all this and has obviously got the will written to suit himself.’’

Associates of the Rajamata admit many of their trusts are badly in need of maintenance but blame this on the spate of suits and counter-suits filed between the royal players. A list available with The Indian Express shows there are at least eight criminal cases and 15 civil suits pending in courts between the two camps. Most of the case relate to the post-1980 period when criminal cases were filed, for instance, by Angre for his dogs being poisoned by minions of Madhavrao Scindia and civil suits slapped on Scindia for the return of the Darbar Hall and museum property in the Jai Vilas Palace as well as the valuable Hiranwan Kothi and Shanti Niketan in Gwalior. None of these cases have been decided yet.

Gwalior’s ex-mayor, Madhav Shankar Indrapurkar explains how difficult it has become for them to manage Rajmata’s empire. He is a trustee on Rajmata’s Scindia Deosthan Trust and the Gajaraja Trust and say at least three projects for maintenance and reconstruction have been stymied due to a blanket stay order obtained by Madhav Rao Scindia about three years ago. In the case of the crumbling Ganga Mandir in Banares, a Shankaracharya was willing to rebuild it but the court injunction stopped them. Eventually, an entire wall in the temple complex collapsed, killing nine persons.

Similarly, two other proposals to part-commercialise properties owned by the Deosthna Trust in Gwalior were recently grounded. One was a proposal for constructing shops in the greenland around the chhatri and the other for building a shopping complex in the Tar Ghar area. ‘‘The trusts have no money and development has virtually come to a standstill. I only hope there is no more strife in the family now that Rajmata is no more,’’ he says.

With the Rajmata and Madhavrao belonging to two sides of the political spectrum, politicians have joined the royalty bashing. Gwalior MP Jaibhan Singh Paviah, has, opened a third front by demanding that all the family properties be put to public use. Paviah alleges that the ex-royals are still selling off valuable trust properties and encroaching upon large tracks of government land in Gwalior and elsewhere.

Paviah, who won the last Lok Sabha seat from Gwalior after Madhavrao moved to Guna, points to the irrational manner in which successive state governments have failed to challenge suits for land acquisition filed mostly by the Scindia scions. Says he, ‘‘Land of the NCC Women’s College and the Moti Mahal have simply been gifted to the Scindia’s and other properties are on line. The property acquisition binge of the Scindias will continue if the state governments don’t contest the royal family’s claims.’’

While it is difficult to map the complex pattern of property ownership of the royal estate, what is evidently etched in public mind is the rampant sale of lands by Scindia during and after the months of the 1975 Emergency. Today, entire colonies like Madho Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Chetakpuri and Vasant Vihar exist in lands located either inside or just outside the boundary wall of the Jai Vilas Palace in Gwalior. Morarilal Dubey, a Congress leader, says he is planning to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the land scams involving the Scindias but strangely, there was no lawyer of repute who was willing to take his brief.Dubey alleges he has painstakingly examined revenue records and obtained copies of sale deeds to prove how hundreds of acres of land have been encroached upon and several trust properties sold off, as late as 1990, both by Madhav Rao Scindia and trustees on Rajmata’s side. ‘‘Everything has been done in such a complicated and illegal manner that the public has been kept guessing. Thesale deeds with me prove the pattern of acquisition and sale. There should be thorough investigation into all this,’’ he alleges.

In comparison to Gwalior’s sprawling Jai Vilas Palace, the Rani Mahal is like an outhouse. Some walls in its lounge have peeling paint, the large pedestal clocks have stopped working. Aides huddle around a old wooden desk attending telephone calls. The picture is of a fading, fractured inheritance.

A garlanded, full-size picture of the late Rajmata is lying on the side of the reception desk and now that the official mourning period is over, the lounge is overflowing with visitors. Madhavrao, who has a residence in the Jai Vilas Palace, is probably, staying in the Rani Mahal after years, promptly leading to sniggers about him having ‘‘usurped’’ this property as well.

He meets visitors inside Rani Mahal. Sister, Union Minister Vasundhararaje, occasionally steps out. This morning, she is driving down to Dholpur and before leaving accepts condolences from members of the Maratha Samaj. ‘Maharaj aur hum alag thori hain. Hum eek hein to hai (Maharaj and we sisters are no different. We are all together),’’ she tells the group and then departs with the city magistrate tailing her in his car.

Expectedly, few persons in the royal family’s inner circle or even the casual visitor to the Rani Mahal are willing to comment on the troubled legacy of the Rajmata. Says Captain D.S. Hitoli, an aged visitor, says he is here to express his solidarity with the bereaved family. ‘‘Not only us, our families have been indebted to the Scindia’s for generations. They have given us schools and colleges for our children. What else do we want?’’ he asks. More than one visitor says they had been asked by the ‘Mahal’ not to talk about the family feud.

Madhavrao has himself assiduously avoided speaking to the press. ‘‘Maharaj will meet journalists only when in Delhi and will surely call you,’’ says the ADC and boasts about the veil of secrecy they have thrown around. ‘‘This is our lawyer,’’ he says pointing to another visitor, ‘‘He knows everything about Maharaj’s legal cases but he will also not talk to you.’’

While the Scindia siblings have obviously adopted a strategy of silence hoping the controversy will soon die a natural death they are stretching their paranoia to unnecessary lengths. Take, for instance, a casual visit to photograph the relics displayed in the Jai Vilas Museum, adjoining the Rani Mahal. The displays in its 35 rooms include the famous two-and-a-half ton chandeliers (the tourism booklet says the strength of the roof was first tested by ten elephants); the silver train with cut glass wagons and miniature tracks which once chugged around and served chocolates to royal guests and swords used by Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.

Though displayed in a public museum, Madhavrao now doesn’t want the treasures photographed.

But the people of Gwalior, by and large, have decided not to take sides in the battle royale. The mood is the same in the villages nearby. In Bachora village near Shivpuri, Badri Prasad says they have steered clear of the ideological differences of members of the royal clan. ‘‘Hum to Mahal ko vote detein hain. Na ke BJP ya Congress ko (We vote for the Palace. Not for the BJP or the Congress)’’ he says.

And Narain Bhai, who is employed in the Jai Vilas Museum says even the workers in the palaces have remained unaffected by the souring of relations between the Rajmata and the Maharaj. ‘‘Hum pehle Rajmata ke saath the. Jub batwara ho gaya, hum bhi Maharaj ke saath is Mahal mein aa gaye. (First we were with the Rajmata. After the petition of properties we came here to live in this palace with the Maharaj)’’ she says.The few associates of the family who are willing to talk are near-unanimous in their opinion about Sambhajirao Angre Rajmata’s associate and the executor of the will being the villain of the piece. Says Ashok Kumar Mohite, manager of the Chattri trust in Shivpuri, ‘‘The tension among members of the royal family will remain as long as Angre is in the picture. But the good part is there are chances of Madhavrao Scindia getting united with his sisters just to oppose Angre.’’ Adds Congress worker Rahim Khan: ‘‘Sardar Angre has always been contentious for Gwalior. He always wants tension around him.’’

Angre says he has already taken steps to ensure that the Rajmata’s wishes are followed to the last letter as in her will. Angre is dismissive of Madhavrao and his sisters. ‘‘What reaction? What feelers? Madhavrao Scindia is simply stumped by his mothers will.’’ But the fact is an umpire has to uphold the appeal.