Did India let down the maharajahs?

2023-08-06 08:51

On the eve of Indian independence in 1947, India's 562 princes ruled over a third of its population.

They lived in fairy-tale palaces, amassed untold fortunes in diamonds and precious stones, maintained fleets of Rolls-Royces, and travelled in specially appointed train carriages, arriving in the capital Delhi to the sound of thunderous gun salutes. They had the power of life and death over their subjects...