The depiction of Indian royalty in popular media continues to be off the mark: Radhikaraje Gaekwad

Time of India

05-06-2025

Radhikaraje Gaekwad
I don't want to talk too much about The Royals. All I will say is that the show is not at all well-researched. The onscreen depiction of royalty in India has been off the mark all the time, and the depiction (of Indian royalty) in popular media continues to be off the mark.
Too much importance is always given to decadent lifestyles and profligacy. It feels as if royal families are living only in the past-that's the kind of general overview that all of them (movies and shows) have. It's as if royals are just squandering away wealth and not doing anything at all. There is nothing covering royalty as it is today. These portrayals are not at all realistic. The west has always been fascinated about Indian royalty-the lifestyle and riches.
Unfortunately, that has become the overarching story of royalty. If you look at a show like Downton Abbey, apart from talking about the privileges, it also highlights the challenges of being royalty in today's times. However, the onscreen portrayals of royalty in India only talk about the exploitation of legacy. In reality, a lot of royal family members are going back to their roots and working with communities.
This has been a politically motivated narrative right from the time of independence.
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The 'real' royals are making a difference, including several ladies of the house. There are so many examples. Princess Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil of Bhavnagar is working at the grassroots, doing exemplary work to restore and retain the heritage of Bhavnagar. Princess Vaishnavi Kumari of Kishangarh is playing a key role in reviving art, while Princess Gauravi Kumari of Jaipur is also doing exemplary work with the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation.
Many of them have studied abroad and come back to work at the grassroots. Everyone has a great sense of responsibility and pride for their roots. They are taking care of it because nobody else can do it. We rarely talk about the contribution of royalty. My father, MK Dr Ranjitsinh Jhala (author, conservationist, and former IAS officer), was one of the earliest royal family members to give up a comfortable life and work as a government servant.
We only hear about the jewels of Jam Saheb, but nobody talks about the exquisite cricketer that Ranjitsinhji was, or about his contribution in putting cricket on the map of India, organising cricket camps in Jamnagar etc. Even today, our most prestigious domestic cricket tournament (Ranji Trophy) is named after him. It did not suit the political class to talk about the contribution of royalty, what they did for the people.
I am happy that my daughter Padmajaraje has started young and she is doing social work at Shri Maharani Chimnabai Stree Udyogalaya, donating over 8,000 footwear to the needy so far.
The narrative of how Indian royalty aligned with the British and exploited the subjects-this has been a very systematic, thought-out narrative, to club colonialism and royalty in one bracket. There's no doubt there were alliances and associations with the British.
However, how politics and diplomacy work is complex. If I talk about Baroda, it maintained decorum with the British to run the state without hindrance, even if the royals did not like it at a personal level.
One has to understand that the royals were not there just for decorative purposes, they had to run the administration too. We only see what the media has shown us, but people don't understand the complexity of the situation.
Also, royal families have never spoken up about themselves. Creating this stereotype about royalty always suited the political class. In reality, states had to engage with the British to run their kingdom. For centuries of royalty, there will be some incompetent, decadent people ('bad royal apples'). But states were run by royals for 400-500 years. To say how a large part of the country was run for hundreds of years and the entire royalty of India was rubbish-that is really overstating it.
The perception will change only if history is documented more evenly. It's also up to us (royals) to document our own history because nobody has collated what different states did in their tenure. More awareness needs to be created and it's important for people to put their authentic stories out there. One has to be prepared for backlash too. After my recent post, there was a backlash in the comments section. It's because a particular mindset has been created for so many years about royalty.
I am optimistic about the Museum of Royal Kingdoms (near the Statue of Unity, which will depict the history of India's erstwhile kingdoms). We need such spaces that may be able to tell stories of Indian royalty more sensitively and authentically. I must say that the government is making an effort. For this museum, the team has got in touch with royal families for their documented history. I hope it comes out the way one expects it to.
(
Radhikaraje Gaekwad
is a member of the Baroda royal family, and trustee and vice president, Shri Maharani Chimnabai Stree Udyogalaya (MCSU), which has been empowering women and marginalised communities)
-As told to Soumitra Das
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