OF THE RAJ, MAHARAJAS AND ME

DeScriPtion

M.A. Sreenivasan (1897-1998) lived through almost the entire 20th century,

and was among the very few people who witnessed at close quarters the

enormous changes that took place in India during this period. Born in Madras,

he belonged to a family that traced its origins to a disciple and associate of

the great sage Ramanuja. Subsequent generations were Pradhans (ministers)

of successive kings of Mysore for 150 years. Sreenivasan himself joined the

Mysore Civil Service in 1918 and, after a varied career both with the Mysore

Government and the Government of British India, became a Pradhan of

the Maharaja of Mysore in 1943. In 1947 he was invited by the Maharaja of

Gwalior to become the Dewan of that State. During that momentous year he

was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and in regular touch with

many of the leading figures (including Mountbatten) involved in the transfer

of power from British to Indian hands.

Much more than an autobiography, Of the Raj, Maharajas and Me is also a rare

portrait of India during and immediately after the British Raj. The former

princely States of India have been neglected by scholars, many of whom have

tended to be unfairly critical. There is much in this book on the effectiveness

of administration in two major princely States, which redresses the balance

and makes the book a valuable document on the subject. Further, Sreenivasan

provides sharp insights on the negotiations that led to the end of the Raj, and

on the new polity that emerged after Independence. This absorbing book will

be of particular interest to students and scholars of modern Indian history