Sam Dalrymple

A Hindu Cromwell courteously decapitates hundreds of maharajas

Through a mix of charm, diplomacy and coercion, Sardar Patel, Nehru’s uncompromising deputy, ensured that 565 princely states vanished from the map of India in 1947

Sir Shivajirao Holkar, 12th Maharaja of Indore, in 1877. [Getty Images]
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  • Dethroned: The Downfall of India’s Princely States

    John Zubrzycki

    Hurst, pp. 352, £25

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