At 09:01 AM 27/04/04 -0700, you wrote: > >--- Henry Soszynski <[email protected]> wrote: >> Greetings, >>            I've had a note from someone asking about >> the new Maharaja of >> Bikaner, who he said was Ravi Raj Singh. Does anyone >> have any further >> details? He is the one who lit the funeral pyre for >> the late Maharaja and >> was described in the report as a nephew, but the >> late Maharaja had no >> surviving brothers to have issue. A search of The >> Hindu online didn't turn >> up anything. >> Cheers, >> Henry >> > > >  He may be one of ganga singh's descendants or sardul >singh's descendants . But he is definitely not a legal >heir because as per indian law you cannot adopt anyone >above the age of 18. Also i dont think narendra singh >adopted. He can also be sister's son but as per rajput >law sister's son cannot succeed the gadi. > > "the nephew of last maharaja, Ravi raj singh, succeded to his uncle as the 26th maharaja On 22-4-2004 at the Dhanni Nath Giri Math's Panach temple." thanks to Abhijit M. "As there is much dispute regarding th succession, he is certainly not the near relation. Maharani Bikaner is also learnt to be unhappy over his coronation. She is considering other names also. Thats why ceremony could not be performed in Darbar Hall of the Palace" thanks to Deepak A. Cheers, Henry

the nawab of hyderabad or rather the jam saheb stays in australia now... that's the only information i know.. >From: Henry Soszynski <[email protected]> >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: [INDIA-ROYALTY] BIKANER >Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 19:11:43 +1000 > >At 02:13  26/04/04 -0700, you wrote: > >Hey do u have any information on the nawabs of hyderabad..not the >nizams..but >his royal ministers and army officials..as my ancestors were his guardians >and >of noble birth..so any info would help.. > > > > >Try http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/hyder.htm >.... which has some info on the lesser nobility of Hyderabad. > > >============================== >Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration >Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > _________________________________________________________________ Ready cash in just 72 hours. Apply Now !!! http://go.msnserver.com/IN/46922.asp

At 02:13  26/04/04 -0700, you wrote: >Hey do u have any information on the nawabs of hyderabad..not the nizams..but his royal ministers and army officials..as my ancestors were his guardians and of noble birth..so any info would help.. > > Try http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/hyder.htm .... which has some info on the lesser nobility of Hyderabad.

--- Henry Soszynski <[email protected]> wrote: > Greetings, > I've had a note from someone asking about > the new Maharaja of > Bikaner, who he said was Ravi Raj Singh. Does anyone > have any further > details? He is the one who lit the funeral pyre for > the late Maharaja and > was described in the report as a nephew, but the > late Maharaja had no > surviving brothers to have issue. A search of The > Hindu online didn't turn > up anything. > Cheers, > Henry > He may be one of ganga singh's descendants or sardul singh's descendants . But he is definitely not a legal heir because as per indian law you cannot adopt anyone above the age of 18. Also i dont think narendra singh adopted. He can also be sister's son but as per rajput law sister's son cannot succeed the gadi. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeover

Greetings, I've had a note from someone asking about the new Maharaja of Bikaner, who he said was Ravi Raj Singh. Does anyone have any further details? He is the one who lit the funeral pyre for the late Maharaja and was described in the report as a nephew, but the late Maharaja had no surviving brothers to have issue. A search of The Hindu online didn't turn up anything. Cheers, Henry

Hey do u have any information on the nawabs of hyderabad..not the nizams..but his royal ministers and army officials..as my ancestors were his guardians and of noble birth..so any info would help.. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25�

Some changes as follows. TONK: The present Nawab of Tonk is HH Nawab Hafiz Aftab Ali Khan, the son of his predecessor. Apparently Rafiullah Beg is a brother in law of HH Nawab Hafiz Ibrahim Ali Khan and is not descended from any previous Nawab. (thanks to Habib Ahmad) KUTCH: Minor change to the family of the late Maharao (a link to Sitamau has been activated) SITAMAU: Addition to the family of Rajkumar Raghunath Singh (thanks to RK Vijayeta Kumari) Cheers, Henry

Out of palace, not ivory tower BASANT RAWAT __________________________________________ Nadiad, April 12: Shubhangini Raje Gaekwad peers at the glass of water she is offered at the house of a BJP supporter. �I want clean water. I can�t drink this,� she says. Her host, the woman of the house who stands by with a bottle in her hand, says: �Maharaniji, this is mineral water.� Gaekwad, the BJP candidate from the Kheda Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat, is clearly out of sync with the people she is trying to win over. They may well hold this against her, more so when they compare the former maharani with her popular rival, Dinsha Patel of the Congress, who has won the constituency since 1996. But Gaekwad doesn�t think so, not when she has the royal lineage of the former Baroda state to flaunt. First, she questions Patel�s competence as a parliamentarian �who did not ask a single question in Parliament�. Then she falls back on family. �The civic amenities that you are enjoying here today were provided by the Gaekwads 50 years ago. The Gaekwads have come back to serve you again. I am one of you,� the 59-year-old wife of former Maharaja Ranjitsingh Gaekwad tells the people. Her audience is unmoved. She is an imported candidate imposed on us, say the residents of Palana village, once part of the Gaekwad fief. �We do not know her. She hardly knows us. This is the first time she is visiting us,� a villager says. Try telling that to the former maharani. �My family name matters,� she says. Besides, the Congress MP did not represent the constituency properly, she adds. The people of Kheda town do blame Patel for shifting the district headquarters to Nadiad. �People here strongly feel that Dinsha Patel has robbed them of their status,� says Manubhai Patel, a resident. Kheda lost its eminence during the Shankersinh Vaghela regime. Patel may have already paid for it, failing to make a mark as an Assembly candidate from the Kheda region in the last polls. This was the only defeat in the Congress veteran�s political career that has seen uninterrupted Assembly victories from 1975-95. But he connects with the people, as testified by a member of Gaekwad�s party. Patel knows everybody by name and anybody can meet him any time, says Jasubhai Solanki, a taluka panchayat member of the BJP. Other political rivals further concede that Patel has used his MP development fund in every village in his constituency. Prafulbhai Patel, the Palana village sarpanch, puts it simply. The �maharani�, he says, just cannot beat her rival in the popularity stakes. Gaekwad�s outsider tag is not helped by her apparent discomfiture in dealing with the heat and dust of the gruelling campaign schedule. She gives her party�s local MLA Pankaj Desai some anxious moments when she complains of giddiness and nausea minutes before a street-corner meeting at Nadiad. Even as she says the party workers need not be worried, Desai gets busy engaging the crowd, explaining why they should elect the former maharani and not Patel. Once Gaekwad feels better, she reels out the contribution of her family to development work in the former Baroda state and then goes after her rival � all in five minutes flat. The BJP welcomed Gaekwad and her son Samarjitsingh into its fold late in March, perhaps in a bid to field a Kshatriya candidate against Patel. She dutifully harps on her royal lineage in Kshatriya-dominated villages. But nothing can convince the villagers that she would remain approachable once she is elected. Gaekwad, who lives in faraway Mumbai and Vadodara, promises to open offices at Kheda and Nadiad. BJP campaign in-charge Amrutbhai helpfully says that Vadodara would be accessible in 20 minutes once the four-lane express highway is completed. The road to victory, however, is long and arduous as local religious sects with considerable mass following are no longer backing the BJP. The chiefs of the Swaminarayan sect and the Santaram temple in Nadiad are rumoured to have blessed the Congress candidate ____________________________________________________ Heat and dust: Testing time for a royal Chandan Nandy (Matar (Kheda), April 15 BJP nominee from Kheda 'Maharani' Shubhanginidevi Gaekwad is out of place in the heat and dust of this Gujarat constituency. Perhaps more accustomed to the air-conditioned comfort of modern life, the 'maharani' cannot bear the scorching heat for too long, and even suffered a heat-stroke while campaigning. The heat is probably also responsible for keeping the crowds away. Rolling into the Punaj village square in the comfort of her air-conditioned Mahindra Scorpio on Tuesday afternoon, the 'maharani' had to exit as soon as she entered because the heat seemed to have driven the villagers into their homes. Her convoy promptly headed towards Punjera, the next village on her itinerary. She has taken on two-time Congress MP Dinsha Patel in Kheda. Dapper in a Maheshwari saree, Shubhanginidevi and a handful of party workers, led by Matar MLA Rakeshbhai Rao, were welcomed into the local Ram temple. Rao introduced the 'maharani' to 30-odd men and about five women, their puckered faces inscrutable. Introductions over, Shubhanginidevi lost no time in asking for "your votes that will give me victory". With no positive response, the maharani and her attendant beat another hasty retreat. "She cannot take this heat for long," said a party activist. It seems she suffered a heat-stroke while campaigning in Mehamdavad on Monday. Her next stop was Baroda village. Again, Shubhanginidevi's speech was over in no time. She was invited for tea in the best house around � brick-built, plastered, with a power connection but no supply. As the 'maharani' exchanged concerns with the wives of wealthy landlords and Rajputs in a large hall, 77-year-old Laxmiben stood nearby and railed away at the �sarkar�. "My hut has remained as it was when I was born," she said. Her neighbours Saritaben and Gomtiben harvest crops tilled and owned by landlords. For 10 hours of labour, they earn Rs 40. Saritaben asks plaintively: "Who will listen to us?" Is anyone listening? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25� http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash

Maharaja�s jewels & their honest custodian K.R.N. Swamy ____________________________________________________ IN October 1947, the palace of Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir was in great turmoil. Brigadier Manekshaw (later C-in-C and Field Marshal of the Indian Army), who had been sent with the State Secretary V.P.Menon to get the Maharaja�s signature on the accession to India, states that the palace halls were strewn with valuable jewels. Soon a cavalcade of 40 automobiles headed south to seek refuge in Jammu�the winter capital of Kashmir. Renowned French jeweller Victor Rosenthal, who was in the party, mentions that the Kashmir monarch was silent throughout the two-day trip to Jammu, as he knew that his rule over Kashmir was over. In 1950, he was deposed and left Kashmir. But before he left, he deposited eight steel trunks full of priceless treasures, conservatively worth Rs 1400 crores today, in a branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank in Jammu, under the trusteeship of his officer Iqbal Nath. The 80-year-old Iqbal Nath (born in 1903) was responsible for the treasures for 36 years, till in 1983 he expressed his concern that who would be its custodian after his death. Throughout this period (from1947 to 1983), he ensured the safety of the treasure in the dilapidated treasury room of J & K Bank. There is reason to believe that successive chief ministers of Kashmir knew of the treasure, but considered it too much of a burden to keep it in their care. In 1963, two boxes � box number 5 and 3 � containing nearly 717 kg of gold (worth today Rs 38 crore) were "donated" from the treasure for the Defence Fund started by the Government of India to fight the Chinese. Chief Minister Sheikh Abdulla wanted to auction off the treasure for development projects of Kashmir, but Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru vetoed the scheme. According to D.D. Thakur, who was the finance minister of Kashmir from 1975 to 1982, the Chief Minister discussed the matter of the treasure with the Cabinet twice. "The six to eight trunks containing precious jewels and other artifacts were inspected twice in the Cabinet room at Srinagar. Iqbal Nath accompanied the treasure on both the occasions as the custodian." On July 20, 1983, when Iqbal Nath was away from Jammu, the J&K Government decided to make an evaluation of the vast hoard. A representative of the famous auctioneer firm Sotheby�s N.R.Reyner had been brought by the J&K Government to evaluate the jewels and he worked for four days! The important treasures listed were as follows: A glittering ring studded with traditional nine gems arranged around a 10-carat diamond, worth approximately Rs 15 lakh. Scores of large uncut diamonds and emeralds. Two diamond necklaces, containing 200 blue diamonds, estimated at Rs 50 lakh. Hundreds of rubies from Sri Lanka and Burma, all of the same colour. Normally, it is difficult to get even two rubies of exactly the same colour. Twenty thousand pearls�the largest known collection�mostly imported from Basra in Iraq which was as well known for its priceless pearls as Golcunda was for its diamonds. Most of the pearls were sewn into dresses made of blue velvet, meant for the princes of the Kashmir. The costliest item in the hoard was a pearl and diamond necklace, dating back to 1802 and worth Rs 1.02 lakh then. A report filed by The Sunday Times correspondent Mary Anne Weaver in 1983 said : "The dilapidated state treasury seems an unlikely setting for such extraordinary wealth. Its green painted walls were flaking. An overwhelming stench of mildew thickens the hot, listless air. The trunks were brought in by bearers, straining under the weight. Out of the boxes came out ceremonial horse harnesses, with emeralds as large as a portly man�s fist. Next were the diamond encrusted toys of the junior princes�miniature horses and elephants�and a diamond studded spinning top! Inside one box was a two-foot-long diamond and emerald necklace, with a yellowed slip of paper, on which was scrawled Rs 4 million. There were thousands of diamonds. The largest single diamond weighed 34 carats. There were some 100 diamonds between 15 and 20 carats, and 100 between 10 and 14 carats. There were 30 emerald belts. The loose emeralds in the treasure were at least 200 fifty carats each. The only precious stones that were missing were the famous Kashmir blue sapphires. Pearls were plenty in thousands". In 1983, last Maharaja of Kashmir Karan Singh, son of the deposed Maharaja Hari Singh and a Member of the Parliament, staked his claim for this treasure. According to him, the J&K Government had no right to these treasure boxes. It was a transaction between the "depositor (Karan Singh�s father) and the custodian (the J&K Bank)". His contention was that the jewels kept in the treasury of J&K Bank were family heirlooms handed down through generations of his family. A legal battle between Karan Singh and the government turned in the former�s favour, as he was able to show to the High Court, that he knew of these treasures and had paid "seven hundred thousand rupees as wealth tax on these treasures". In 1989, the J&K High Court declared Dr Karan Singh as the rightful owner of 42 of the (worth 42 million rupees) 993 items that were in the six boxes. The remaining items were to be held, as disputed property, by the state treasury. Dr Karan Singh lost these when the matter went to the Supreme Court of India for its verdict. In the strife-torn Kashmir, it is not known where are these priceless treasures now. Out of this panorama of events, Iqbal Nath�s name became famous, as the most honest of custodians, who had kept faith for 36 long years�guarding from the outside world this treasure worth millions of rupees. He belonged to an eminent family, whose ancestor Dewan Jwala Sahai was the first Dewan (Prime Minister) of Kashmir in 1845. It is said that the then Maharaja Gulab Singh was short of Rs 75 lakh, which were wanted by the British to sell him the vast tract of Kashmir and Jwala Sahai loaned the amount to him. In return, Gulab Singh decreed that one member of the Jwala Sahai family would always be in service of the kingdom in a senior capacity like that of a minister. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25� http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash

Court upholds takeover of Karan Singh's family jewellery By J. Venkatesan NEW DELHI, APRIL 13. The Supreme Court today upheld the takeover of the jewellery belonging to the family of Karan Singh, former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and son of the State's last ruler. The jewellery, worth over Rs. 100 crores, which he claimed to be his family property, is lying in the Government treasury. A Bench, comprising Justice Y. K. Sabharwal and Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, said: "There has never been any declaration that the articles in question are private properties of the appellant or his father." The Bench agreed with an order of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court holding that Dr. Singh "has not put forward any claim much less such claim having recognised by the Union of India for 30 years and all those years the appellant did not raise his little finger in respect of these movables." The High Court had come to the conclusion that looking into the nature and circumstances and the conduct of the appellant, it was evident that till 1983 no attempt whatsoever was made either by the ex-ruler or by Dr. Singh to claim these jewels as private property. After the signing of the instrument of accession by Maharaja Hari Singh on October 26, 1947, the articles in question comprising jewellery, heirlooms, wearing apparel, gold and silver utensils and cutlery, furniture, fixtures and carpets were transferred on September 17, 1951, from the Government treasury at Jammu to the treasury at Srinagar. India recognised Dr. Singh as the successor to Maharaja Hari Singh in 1961. However, only in 1983, Dr. Singh wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs staking his claim over these items and a year later approached the Jammu and Kashmir High Court seeking a direction to the Union Government for handing over of this private property to him. During the pendency of the petition before the High Court, the Union Government rejected Dr. Singh's claim on September 24, 1984 quoting a letter of Maharaja Hari Singh to late Vallabhbhai Patel, the then Home Minister, listing his private properties without mentioning the jewellery or regalia claimed by Dr. Singh. The Bench noted that the Government had accepted the private property list given by Maharaja Hari Singh, which was stated even in his autobiography titled "Heir Apparent." Further, Dr. Singh had acknowledged that the treasure lying in the toshakhana (treasury) had been given to the State. Keeping these facts in view, the apex court felt that Dr. Singh had abandoned or waived his right in respect of the articles and said: "It is evident that the appellant came out of slumber only in the year 1983 and took chance in respect of the articles in question." It declined to interfere with the High Court order ____________________________________________________ Very few people know about this fabulous treasure. I had read about it in "Great Treasure of the world" . The collection can easily dwarf Nizam's jewels. In my next post , i shall send article on this treasure by KRN SWAMY , the famous royal historian. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

I wonder who will > inherit the Mysore money? His sisters and their > children? Since the > Maharaja is > childless and has not adopted. > Cheers, > Henry Mysore was one of the richest maharajas , but has "Royally" frittered his fortune like the nizam . As far as his successor is concerned , I remember reading long time ago that he had planned to adopt a young man . but that boy was murdered due to some property dispute. due to this no adoption has taken place. His nephews have strong claim to the gaddi. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/

At 03:52 AM 07/04/04 -0700, you wrote: >After reading this article i could not stop feeling >sad for the maharaja. Poorman! with assets worth only >1500 crore (sigh!) , i will definitely shed a tear for >him. > >___________________________________________________ > > >" ASSETS = Rs 1,522.53 cr; BANK BALANCE= 0 " > >TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 07, 2004 01:46:18 >AM ] > >MYSORE : By far, scion of the Mysore royal family >Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar and Congress >candidate from Mysore Lok Sabha constituency appears >to be the richest among politicians, going by the list >of assets he furnished in his affidavit during filing >of nomination papers on Tuesday. > >He is worth Rs 1,522.53 crore, which includes the >Mysore and Bangalore Palaces , both worth Rs 1,500 >crore. But he has specified that both palaces are >under litigation. He owes Rs 1.75 lakh as property tax >to the government.   > >Wadiyar submitted the affidavit along with his >nomination papers, as per the apex court ruling, >declaring assets and liabilities or overdues to public >financial institutions and the government.   > >Wadiyar has declared that he has Rs 50,000 cash and no >bank balance. He has invested Rs 18.99 lakh in bonds, >debentures and shares in companies.   > >He has other financial instruments like postal savings >and LIC policies to the tune of Rs 4 lakh. He owns a >Maruti Zen valued at Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 75,000 worth >jewellery and other assets worth Rs 87.33 lakh, such >as values of claims/interests.   > >His spouse, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, has Rs 50,000 cash >and like her husband, does not maintain any bank >balance. She has invested Rs 5.92 lakh in bonds, >debentures and shares, and has Rs 4 lakh worth of >postal savings, NSS and LIC policies.   > >Her jewellery is worth Rs 13.90 lakh and she has other >assets worth Rs 16.12 lakh. Providing details of >immovable assets, Wadiyar has specified that he does >not have any agricultural land, and possesses Rs 12 >crore plus worth of non-agricultural land in >Alanahally, Kurubarahally and lands in and around >Mysore (Garikemala, Doddakere and a plot adjacent to >Regency theatre).   > >He has laid claim to the Mysore and Bangalore Palaces >, which he values at Rs 1,500 crore, according to the >affidavit. However, he has mentioned that the >Acquisition Act has been challenged before the >Karnataka High Court and Supreme Court.   > >Besides, the scion has Lokaranjan Mahal and Stables in >Nazarbad, spread over 30 acres and valued at Rs 3 >crore, and Rajendra Vilas Palace atop Chamundi Hills, >Fernhill Palace in Ooty and Gun House in Mysore . > > How does this compare to Baroda or Gwalior wealth? The latter was supposedly worth $US3 billion at the time of the Rajmatas passing. I wonder who will inherit the Mysore money? His sisters and their children? Since the Maharaja is childless and has not adopted. Cheers, Henry

Orissa going royal all the way ARUN KUMAR DAS TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2004 06:00:35 AM ] New Delhi: In Orissa, it�s still the royals that rule, with a little help from sons of ex-CMs. Bolangir alone has four royal candidates. Steel and tourism minister A U Singh Deo is once again BJD�s candidate from Bolangir, his son K N Singh Deo is the party�s candidate from Saintala. Singh Deo�s daughter-in-law Sangeeta is the BJP�s candidate for the Bolangir LS seat, while her husband, industries minister Kanak Singh Deo is seeking re-election from Patnagarh assembly seat on a BJP ticket. In Kalahandi, the BJP LS candidate is Bikram Kesri Deo, while brother Udit Pratap Deo wants a Congress ticket. His son Anant Pratap Deo is trying to get the Congress ticket for Junagarh assembly seat. The Congress� Dhenkanal MP, K P Singh Deo, is likely to be renominated. His elder son Amarjyoti may get the party assembly ticket from Gandia. While the BJP assembly list has only two royals, K V Singh Deo and K C Singh Deo, the BJD list has nine. Former CMs� kin are also in the race. Biju Patnaik�s son Navin Patnaik is seeking re-election from Hinjoli assembly seat; Nandini Satpathy�s son Tathagat Satpathy is contesting from Dhenkanal on a BJD ticket. Bhartuhari Mahatab, son of H K Mahtab is the BJD candidate from Cuttack. Saumya, son-in-law of J B Patnaik is contesting from Bhubaneswar on a Congress ticket. ____________________________________________________ A 'royal' battle on the cards BHUBANESWAR Orissa may be economically poor. But it has many things to flaunt � the Mahanadi, Lord Jagannath at Puri, the Konark Sun temple, the Chilka lake, Olive Ridley turtles, Nandini Satpathy, Nandita Das and its Maharajas. Forget that the State is yet to shine and continues to remain one of the most backward in the country; its maharajas don't let that get in their way, as they emerge from their palaces and mansions to contest the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in a big way. The royals, for whom a feel-good factor has always existed in politics, are present in all the major parties fighting the elections. While the ruling Biju Janata Dal has as many as eight royals, the party's alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has four. The Congress too has four royals. The scions of the families who once ruled a large number of princely States in different parts of present -day Orissa have been playing a major role in the State's politics for long. But their number has been growing in recent years with more and more women from these families opting for a shot at politics. Ironically, Bolangir, one of the country's most backward districts, has as many as four royals from two families participating in the electoral battle. The Bolangir Maharaja and State Steel and Mines Minister, Ananga Uday Singh Deo, is contesting the Assembly elections from the Bolangir segment, while his son, Kalikesh Singh Deo, is making his debut in politics from the neighbouring Saintala seat. The two are BJD nominees. On the other hand, the Patnagarh Maharaja and State Industries Minister, Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, is fighting the Assembly election from the Patnagarh seat, while his wife and sitting Lok Sabha MP, Sangeeta Singh Deo, is seeking re-election from Bolangir. Both are with the BJP. Apart from the father-son duo, the BJD has V. Sugyani Kumari Deo in Khallikote, Puspendra Singh Deo in Koksara, Pratap Kehsari Deb in Aul, Usha Devi in Chikiti, Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha in Padampur, and Rajnikant Singh in Angul. Mr. Rajnikant Singh is the son of Adwaitya Prasad Singh, chairman of the State Planning Board, who was a Minister in the Biju Patnaik Government as well as the Naveen Patnaik Government. Apart from the Singh Deo couple in Bolangir and Patnagarh, the other royals in the BJP's candidate list are the sitting Lok Sabha MP, Bikram Kesari Deo, fighting from Kalahandi, and Kishore Chandra Singh Deo in the Sorada Assembly segment. The Congress has also given the party ticket to a few royals such as the former Union Minister and sitting MP, K.P. Singh Deo in Dhenkanal; his son, Amarjyoti Singh Deo, in Gondia Assembly segment; Pratap Keshari Dev in Mohana; and K. K. Devi in Sorada __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/

Erstwhile Orissa royals fight over alumina project By Jatindra Dash, Indo-Asian News Service Bhubaneswar, June 11 (IANS) An upcoming alumina project in Orissa has re-ignited an old feud in an erstwhile royal family. Sterlite Industries (SIL) is going to set up a Rs.40-billion alumina refinery complex in drought-prone Kalahandi district that is expected to be operational in three years. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation of the project last Sunday. Bikram Keshari Deo, an erstwhile maharajah who represents the Kalahandi region in the Lok Sabha, attended the function, endorsing the project. But his brother Udit Pratap Deo and nephew Ananta Pratap Deo oppose the project, calling it anti-tribal. Bikram and Udit are the sons of Kalahandi's late maharajah Pratap Keshari Deo who represented the region in the Lok Sabha for five consecutive terms since 1956. "I am committed to developing Kalahandi by encouraging more industries in the region," Bikram Deo told IANS. But Udit said: "The upcoming plant is against the interest of the local residents." Udit and his son Ananta have been distributing leaflets among tribals in the region, requesting them to oppose the project. "My grandfather had a very close relationship with the tribal people and he always took care of them," the leaflet signed by Ananta said. "We will oppose the project and fight for tribals till our last breath," it said. Infighting in Kalahandi's erstwhile royal family came to light when Udit fought the 1990 Lok Sabha election on a Janata Dal nomination against his brother Bikram of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJPs) and was defeated. Although Udit has since left Janata Dal, he has been opposing many of Bikram's initiatives in the region. Now his son has joined him. "The Sterlite Industries project has added fuel to Bikram and Udit's infighting," Biranchi Panda, a long time associate of the royal family, told IANS. SIL needs 1,073 hectares of area containing bauxite and 720 hectares of land to set up the plant at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi. Most of the land has already been acquired. The plant and the mines would displace 60 families, but the company plans to build houses for rehabilitation, according to a state government official. The plant is expected to provide direct employment to about 1,000 people and indirect employment to about 3,000 people. However, a large number of local tribal residents have formed Niyamagiri Surakhya Parisad, an organisation to oppose the project. "Tribals in Kalahandi would in no way benefit from the project," said Ghanasyam Majhi, a tribal leader. "Rather it will cause environmental degradation and possibly loss of livelihood for local people in the long run," Majhi said. "The royal family's support has strengthened our campaign," he said __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/

At 11:23 AM 06/04/04 -0700, you wrote: > > >> Arun singh ji is my Uncle(father's cousin brother) >> so i know about their lives very well.. >> the harem was large but just imagine the kind of >> work > >  Are you grandson of prince amarjit singh or prince >mahjit singh? > Maharajkumar Mahajit Singhji, apparently had one daughter only, and Maharajkumar Ajit Singhji was unmarried. Fortunately, the days of books on the more sensational aspects of the lives of Indian Rulers seems to have passed. IIRC Anne Morrows book was quite flippant, even insulting, hardly worth reading let alone buying. Cheers, Henry

After reading this article i could not stop feeling sad for the maharaja. Poorman! with assets worth only 1500 crore (sigh!) , i will definitely shed a tear for him. ___________________________________________________ " ASSETS = Rs 1,522.53 cr; BANK BALANCE= 0 " TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 07, 2004 01:46:18 AM ] MYSORE : By far, scion of the Mysore royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar and Congress candidate from Mysore Lok Sabha constituency appears to be the richest among politicians, going by the list of assets he furnished in his affidavit during filing of nomination papers on Tuesday. He is worth Rs 1,522.53 crore, which includes the Mysore and Bangalore Palaces , both worth Rs 1,500 crore. But he has specified that both palaces are under litigation. He owes Rs 1.75 lakh as property tax to the government. Wadiyar submitted the affidavit along with his nomination papers, as per the apex court ruling, declaring assets and liabilities or overdues to public financial institutions and the government. Wadiyar has declared that he has Rs 50,000 cash and no bank balance. He has invested Rs 18.99 lakh in bonds, debentures and shares in companies. He has other financial instruments like postal savings and LIC policies to the tune of Rs 4 lakh. He owns a Maruti Zen valued at Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 75,000 worth jewellery and other assets worth Rs 87.33 lakh, such as values of claims/interests. His spouse, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, has Rs 50,000 cash and like her husband, does not maintain any bank balance. She has invested Rs 5.92 lakh in bonds, debentures and shares, and has Rs 4 lakh worth of postal savings, NSS and LIC policies. Her jewellery is worth Rs 13.90 lakh and she has other assets worth Rs 16.12 lakh. Providing details of immovable assets, Wadiyar has specified that he does not have any agricultural land, and possesses Rs 12 crore plus worth of non-agricultural land in Alanahally, Kurubarahally and lands in and around Mysore (Garikemala, Doddakere and a plot adjacent to Regency theatre). He has laid claim to the Mysore and Bangalore Palaces , which he values at Rs 1,500 crore, according to the affidavit. However, he has mentioned that the Acquisition Act has been challenged before the Karnataka High Court and Supreme Court. Besides, the scion has Lokaranjan Mahal and Stables in Nazarbad, spread over 30 acres and valued at Rs 3 crore, and Rajendra Vilas Palace atop Chamundi Hills, Fernhill Palace in Ooty and Gun House in Mysore . __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/

> Arun singh ji is my Uncle(father's cousin brother) > so i know about their lives very well.. > the harem was large but just imagine the kind of > work Are you grandson of prince amarjit singh or prince mahjit singh? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/

hi Akshay.. It's true the Kapurthala Maharajkumar was like that... but that time everybody was into the same things... Arun singh ji is my Uncle(father's cousin brother) so i know about their lives very well.. the harem was large but just imagine the kind of work maharajkumar did.. from rail coach manufacturing cenrtre.. to Jagatjit distilliries...etc etc oh he was a great man... honoured by her the queen of england.. >From: akshay chavan <[email protected]> >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: [INDIA-ROYALTY] Kapurthala Princesses >Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 21:59:52 -0800 (PST) > > > I am extremely pleased to know that princess Sita >of kapurthala is still alive. She is mother of >minister Arun singh. I saw some stunningly beautiful >photos of her by cecil beaton in Ritu Kumar's book. >Princess Sita has led a glamorous life in india and >paris. I really hope she writes a book about her life >like Brinda and Indira . > Kapurthala princesses Princess Brinda, Sita, >Anita , Indira ,rani kanari and Amrit kaur of mandi >led fantastic lives. They travelled around the world , >wrote poems and books and were trendsetters of their >age. Princess Indira even wrote a novel in 1928 called >"Revenge of the gods" . Its a pity so little is known >about them. > Also what I feel bad is only one aspect of >Mahraja Jagjit singh's personality is highlighted (the >size of his large harem ). But in an age when most >princes locked their women in strict purdah , jagjit >singh emancipated the women of his family. Without his >support they too would have been nameless and faceless >like other maharanis . > I can only hope that someone can prevent the >saga of their extraordianry lives being lost in oblivion. > >__________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway >http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/ > > >============================== >Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration >Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > _________________________________________________________________ Contact brides & grooms FREE! http://www.shaadi.com/ptnr.php?ptnr=hmltag Only on www.shaadi.com. Register now!

I am extremely pleased to know that princess Sita of kapurthala is still alive. She is mother of minister Arun singh. I saw some stunningly beautiful photos of her by cecil beaton in Ritu Kumar's book. Princess Sita has led a glamorous life in india and paris. I really hope she writes a book about her life like Brinda and Indira . Kapurthala princesses Princess Brinda, Sita, Anita , Indira ,rani kanari and Amrit kaur of mandi led fantastic lives. They travelled around the world , wrote poems and books and were trendsetters of their age. Princess Indira even wrote a novel in 1928 called "Revenge of the gods" . Its a pity so little is known about them. Also what I feel bad is only one aspect of Mahraja Jagjit singh's personality is highlighted (the size of his large harem ). But in an age when most princes locked their women in strict purdah , jagjit singh emancipated the women of his family. Without his support they too would have been nameless and faceless like other maharanis . I can only hope that someone can prevent the saga of their extraordianry lives being lost in oblivion. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/

no henry i'm talking about kumar vikramaditya singh of kasmir son of dr.karan singh >From: Henry Soszynski <[email protected]> >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: [email protected]web.com >Subject: Re: [INDIA-ROYALTY] Additions and Corrections >Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 21:29:24 +1000 > >At 08:35  25/03/04 +0530, you wrote: > >are u talking about kumwar vikramaditya singh of kashmir??? > >hhmm > > >Its Vikramaditya Singh of Palaitha, an off-shoot of the Kotah Royal Family. >Cheers, >Henry > > >============================== >Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration >Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > _________________________________________________________________ Apply now for a Citibank Suvidha Account. http://go.msnserver.com/IN/45532.asp Get a FREE Citibank Picture Card .