The Sovereign Ruler Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad

This is the 75th year of Indian independence. The sacrifice, valour and perseverance of lakhs of freedom fighters, social reformers, and common people who managed to bring in self-rule for Indians.

The British controlled India for 150 years. India had 564 princely states in pre-independence, big and small. Almost all of them were subservient to the British. The Baroda state had signed a treaty of friendship with the East India Company. As a young ruler, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad studied this fact and was conscious of the reality that he was a sovereign ruler.

The Maharaja’s fierce nationalism saw him support figures like Aurobindo, Barrister Keshavrao Deshpande and Khaserao Jadhav, all of whom worked for the state of Baroda, and supported the revolutionaries that found a safe haven there.

The British Government kept an eye on the Maharaja through the CID. The Maharaja used the guerrilla approach to frustrate their efforts to nab him on any issue. Secret files against the Maharaja piled up but were useless due to a lack of solid proof. The British Government had no option but to close them. The files were stamped as A Banded Box Case and stowed away for the next six decades. We have been able to lay our hands on 15 of them.

The Maharaja, who was one of the strongest supporters of independence, was a man of impeccable character. The British justice system supported the Maharaja’s claim of sovereignty, embarrassing the mighty empire. The files will bring forth new facets of modern Indian history.