Gayatri Devi
Gayatri Devi[1] (born Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II.[2] Following her husband's signature for the Jaipur State to become part of the Union of India and her step-son's assumption of the title in 1970, she was known as Maharani Gayatri Devi, Rajmata of Jaipur.[3]
For the member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, see Gayatri Devi (Madhya Pradesh politician). For the member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, see Gayatri Devi (Bihar politician).Gayatri Devi
She was born in the Hindu royal family of Cooch Behar. Her father was Maharaja Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar in West Bengal, and her mother was Maratha Princess, Indira Raje of Baroda, the only daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, and she was sister to Jagaddipendra Narayan, informally known as 'Bhaiya', who became the Maharajah of Cooch Behar.[4]
Following India's independence and the abolition of the princely states, she became a successful politician in the Swatantra Party. Gayatri was also celebrated for her beauty and became something of a fashion icon in her adulthood. She served 12 years in Swatantra Party, during which she was a prominent critic of Indira Gandhi's government. After her departure from politics, she lived a quiet life in her large estate, spending time on hobbies and leisure.
She died on 29 July 2009 in Jaipur, at the age of 90. She was suffering from paralytic ileus and a lung infection. She left an estate estimated at £250 million, which was passed on to her grandchildren.[5]
Political career[edit]
Gayatri Devi ran for Parliament in 1962 and won the constituency in the Lok Sabha, winning 192,909 votes out of 246,516 cast.[20] She continued to hold this seat in 1967 and 1971 as a member of the Swatantra Party founded by C. Rajagopalachari,[7] running against the Indian National Congress.
In 1965, during a meeting with Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Gayatri was again asked to join Congress. Despite the fact that her husband was being made ambassador to Spain, she stuck to her principles and decided not to join the party. In 1967 the Swatantra party joined hands with Jan Sangh that was led by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. The alliance won a large number of seats in the 1967 election. In the assembly election Gayatri lost to Damodar Lal Vyas, in Malpura constituency, but won the Lok Sabha election.
The privy purses were abolished in 1971, terminating all royal privileges and titles. Gayatri was arrested under the COFEPOSA Act during the Emergency in July 1975 on the accusation of violating tax laws, and served 5 and a half months in Tihar Jail.[21][22] She retired from politics and published her biography, A Princess Remembers,[23] written by Santha Rama Rau, in 1976.[24] It was also published in Marathi language as A Princess Remembers: Gayatri Devi.[25] She was also the focus of the film Memoirs of a Hindu Princess, directed by Françoise Levie.
There were rumours that she might re-enter politics as late as 1999, when the Cooch Behar Trinamool Congress nominated her as their candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, but she did not respond to the offer.[26]
Death[edit]
She was admitted at Santokba Durlabhji Memorial hospital (SDMH) on 17 July 2009. She died at the age of 90 on 29 July 2009, reportedly due to lung failure.[28][24]
Her family has approached the Delhi High Court to regain 800 kg of gold which was taken away by the government in 1975 describing possession of the gold by Gayatri Devi to be illegal as per the Gold Control Act, 1968. In 2012, the central government counsel S.K. Dubey told the court the possession of raw gold was illegal. Dubey added, "The family has violated both the rules, so a fine of Rs.1.5 crore was imposed on them by the government. It was later reduced to Rs.80 lakh."[29]