Princes on Strike

There would be no free tickets to the viceregal audience for India's princes in New Delhi this year, though all other preparations for it had been made. In the narendra Mandal (Chamber of Princes) the two high-backed plush thrones (for the Viceroy and his wife) had been dusted off. The red velvet Victorian armchairs (for India's princes) were all in place. The heavy Mogul tapestries had been hung from the high marble walls. The thick red carpet had been duly swept. India's princely rulers, each entitled to his salute of guns, should soon stalk in, stiff with brocade and glittering with jewels for two days of genteel debates. Afterwards they would be entertained at a formal party by the Viceroy and Lady Wavell.

But two princes--the polo-playing Nawab of Bhopal (19 guns) and the tiger-hunting Maharaja of Nawanagar (15 guns)--had more pressing business. The day before the audience they drove up resolutely to the Viceroy's house. To affable Lord Wavell they handed the resignation of the nine princes who constitute the Chamber's Standing Committee. The signatures were impressive: the Nawab of Bhopal, the Nawab of Rampur, the Maharaja of Nawanagar, the Maharaja of Indore, the Maharaja of Dungarpur, the Maharaja of Patiala, the Maharaja of Jaipur, the Maharaja of Bikaner, the Raja of Bilaspur. This was a royal strike without precedent in Their Highnesses' relations with the Crown. Promptly the session was cancelled.

The cause of the well-bred walkout was reportedly the Viceroy's intention to modernize the administration of India's many petty states* in line with "changing times." Sensing a slight to their sovereignty, the princes were indicating their alarm at the "tendency to alter the States' relationship with the Crown." Some of the ruffled rulers even talked of "browbeating." Most sulked in their, princely mahals (palaces).

Said a New Delhi newspaper: "You can belabor an elephant and he will not resent it, but a small irritant under one toenail may drive him mad."

* The princes' 562 states range in size from 19-sq.-mi. Lawa to Hyderabad, which is almost as large as Great Britain. TIME, DECEMBER

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