No Elephants For the Maharaja

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Social and Political Change in Travancore 1921-1947

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Social and Political Change in Travancore 1921-1947

In commemoration of the old hunting parties of the Maharaja ofTravancore used to lead a silent procession adorned by gorgeouslycaparisoned elephants from the temple in Trivandrum to the seabeach. Blood had been shed in the hunt and the gods must bepurified by a bath in the sea. After Independence the formerMaharaja still made regular visits to the same temple in hisancient Rolls-Royce. But the pomp and ceremony of the Princely rulewere gone and there were no elephants for the Maharaja. This changesymbolizes the larger transformations in Travancore documented inthis book.In 1921 Travancore was still ruled by an all-powerfulDewan. Local Hindus, Muslims and Christians pressed for greaterparticipation in the state administration by appealing to loyaltiesof caste and religion. The result was a strong communalism whichclever Dewans could make use of as part of a policy ofdivide-and-rule. Louise Ouwerkerk dwells extensively on thesedevelopments which led to the formation of the Travancore StateCongress in which she was personally involved. From 1929-1939Louise Ouwekerk was Professor at the Maharajas Womens College andTravancore University. Although a Government servant, she threwherself into politics and tried to unite the communal leaders on acommon platform for more responsible government. As these attemptsbrought her into conflict with the Dewan, she was dismissed fromservice. In the early 1970s she wrote the text for this book,largely based on her own files and recollections, supplemented byinterviews. She died in 1989.Dick Kooiman, who found theunpublished manuscript among her personal papers, edited the textfor publication and wrote an introduction. In spite of Louises ownactive involvement, she has succeeded in keeping that criticaldistance which makes reading her history both entertaining andrewarding. Her work still stands as a major piece of research by akeen, contemporary eye-witness and makes excellent reading asnarrative history, rich in its description of lo

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