End of a Dynasty (1399-1947)... (2013)

Arts & Culture History
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With the death of Prince Srikanta datta Wadiyar, the long standing Wadiyar dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947(2013) except for a brief time when the commander-in-chief Haider Ali and his son Tipu Sultan usurped the throne has come to an end. The Prince died childless I think.
The kingdom of Mysore reached its Zenith under the Prince’s great grand father Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (1894–1940) and his Diwan Sir Mirza Ismail. That era was considered as the golden era of Mysore.
Krishnaraja Wadiyar was a philosopher-king, who was seen by Paul Brunton as living the ideal expressed in Plato’s Republic. He has been compared to the Emperor Ashoka by the English statesman Lord Samuel. Mahatma Gandhi called him Rajarshi, or “saintly king”, and his kingdom was described by his followers as Rama Rajya, an ideal kingdom akin to the rule of Lord Rama.
Some of the most notable achievements of as a king are…
1.The Hydro Electric Project at Shivanasamudra Falls in 1902.
2.Minto Eye Hospital Banglore, established in 1903, is among the world’s oldest Ophthalmology super speciality hospital
3.Bangalore was the first city in India to get electric street lights in the year 1905.
4.Vani_Vilasa_Sagara Chitradurga, completed in 1907. This is the oldest dam in Karnataka state.
5.Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore established in 1909
6.Mysore Boys Scouts, Mysore established in 1909. First of its kind in India
7.State Bank of Mysore established in 1913
8.Mysore Agricultural Residential School, Bangalore, established in 1913.
9.University of Mysore,Mysore, established in 1916
10.The Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1916
11.Yuvaraja College, Mysore, established in 1916
12.School of Engineering, Bangalore, established in 1916: Later renamed as UVCE
13.Mysore State Railway(MSR) between 1916 and 1918, opened 232 miles of railway to traffic. By 1938 MSR had 740 miles of railway track opened to traffic
14.Government Sandalwood oil factory, Bangalore, established in 1917
15.Maharani’s Science College for Women, Mysore, established in 1917
16.Lalitha Mahal palace in 1921
17.Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant,Bhadravathi was started as Mysore Iron Works in 1923. Later renamed as VISL.
18.Krishna Raja Sagardam, KRS, established in 1924
19.Mysore Medical College, Mysore, established in 1924
20.Krishna Rajendra Hospital, Mysore, established in 1927
21.K.R.Market, Bangalore, established in 1928. This is the main wholesale market dealing with commodities in Bangalore.
22.Marakonahalli dam in Tumkur district completed in 1930. The dam has an automatic siphon system,** first of its kind in Asia.**
23.Mysore Sugar Mills, Mandya, established in 1933
24.KR Mills, Mysore, established in 1933
25.Vanivilas Women and Children Hospital,Bangalore, established in 1934 was named after his mother Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhana
26.Mysore Paper Mills, Mysore, established in 1936
27.Mysore Lamps, Bangalore, established in 1936
28.Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited, Mysore, established in 1937. It became a public sector in 1947.
29.Mysore Implements Factory, Hassan, established in 1939 to produce agricultural and garden implements.
30.Hindusthan Aircraft, Bangalore, established in 1940 later renamed as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
31.Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, First Chancellor and co-founder
32.Irwin Canal: Later named as Visveshwariaha Canal
33.City Improvement Trust Board, first of its kind in India

Now this is whom I call a worthy king.

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Re: End of a Dynasty (1399-1947)... (2013)

Mirza Ismail the Diwan of the above mentioned king was called by the Diwan of Travencore as one of the cleverest men in India.He was born on October 24, 1883 in Bangalore Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and he were classmates in college.

Mirza Ismail became the private secretary to the Maharajah, who had great faith in his administrative acumen and abilities to implement them. It was at this time the King urged Sir M Visvesvaraya to guide him. It is well documented that Sir M Visvesvaraya became Mirza Ismail's mentor. In 1926 on the recommendation of Vishvesvaraya the King supplemented Mirza Ismail by elevating him to the coveted position of the Diwan of Mysore.He attended to the needs of society with an impartial outlook, religious biases were never part of his administrative agenda. Peace, Progress, Economic Wealth and welfare for the people and the state were his top priority.

Considered a pioneer he helped Bangalore attain its modern outlook and vision. His contributions over this period of time were countless the most notable would be the meticulously planned and designed Brindavan Gardens, located on the terrace of the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam, near the Mysore City. The gardens contain a number of fountains in all shapes and sizes and in the evenings they are tastefully illuminated giving the gardens a fairy tale look.
During his time the Medical College was established in Mysore also. The Bangalore Town Hall and the first rural electrification programme in India were also implemented by him. Like his mentor Mirza Ismail was a man who was Industry friendly and set up Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
His contributions to the Indian Science Academy in Bangalore also are worth mentioning also. It was his initiatives which helped to get twelve acres of land from the Maharajah for the Academy in which the Raman Institute also is established. The Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Raman paid eloquent tributes to Sir Mirza in the following words:” For many years, in fair weather as well as in foul, Sir Mirza Ismail remained the truest of friends to me, ever ready to give support and advice. He leaves behind him a memory which will be treasured and cherished by all who have known him.”

He was a superlative administrator and set an inspiring example to the officials by undertaking extensive tours and personally looking to the grievances of the people. Over his fourteen years of service, Mysore State made substantial progress in the field of industries, both in the private and public sectors. If Vishvesvaraya paved the way for the eventual establishment of the sugar industry, the credit for actually bringing the factory into existence went to Mirza Ismail who was largely instrumental in sponsoring the company by taking advantage of the favourable opportunity presented by the grant of protection to the sugar industry in 1932. The sugar factory at Shimoga and the Khadi Production Centre at Badanval were the other industries that were set up during his time. A trade commissioner was also appointed in London.

In 1945 Muhammad Ali Jinnah had a fall out with Mirza Ismail when he refused to help build a Great Pakistan, this decision was made because Mirza Ismail objected to the Partition of India in entirety and there was nothing beyond India for him. So it came as no surprise when Jinnah heard that Mirza Ismail was considering moving to Hyderabad, he opposed the decision openly.
In 1946, he finally accepted and became Diwan of Hyderabad, also called Sadar-i-Azam (Prime Minister), during the difficult years of 1946-48 of the Princely State of Hyderabad, while Lt.General Mir Osman Ali Khan (r.1911-48). Hyderabad was ruler. Sir Mirza Ismail put forth his best skills on the issue of accession of Hyderabad and negotiated a 'Standstill" agreement with the Indian Government for a one year period to resolve the issue of accession of Hyderabad province to the Indian government amicably. Pro-India leaders like Nawab Mehadi Nawaz Jung, Barrister Akbar Ali Khan[disambiguation needed], famous editor Sohaibulla Khan, Nawab Ali Yavar Jung and others supported the peace moves of Sir Mirza Ismail and tried to change the attitude of the Nizam from confrontation to coordination. With the assassination of Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Nizam became more set against acceding to India and took on a militant stand. As a result, Sir Mirza Ismail resigned from his post in disgust, which led to a very public and unpleasant interview by the Nizam. Soon after in 1948 as a result of insubordination the police launched Operation Polo and Hyderabad became part of the Indian Union in 1948.
Sir Mirza's grandfather Ali Askar was a Persian trader who fled Iran and took refuge under the wings of the Maharaja of Mysore. He trained the royal cavalry and supplied horses to the stable. He was an ardent advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. Over a period of time he evolved into a prominent builder and landowner in Bangalore and adjoining cities. Bangalore has named two thoroughfares in the honour of him Ali Askar Road and his brother Aga Abbas Ali Road honoring their accomplishments in the city of Bangalore. Ali Asker created the Ali Asker Waqf Estate.
His nephews Agha Shahi and Agha Hilaly were inspired by Mirza Ismail but they choose to migrate to Pakistan during partition and became Foreign Secretaries Pakistan.(I think, pls correct me if I am wrong)
Source: Wiki

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Re: End of a Dynasty (1399-1947)... (2013)

Interesting read. Were British not able to rule Mysore, after they defeated Tipu?

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Re: End of a Dynasty (1399-1947)... (2013)

Like the other princely states, Mysore was a British puppet after Tipu Sultan was overthrown. The moral justification given by the British for the war gainst Tipu Sultan was that his father and him had usurped power from the Wadiyar dynasty and that Britain was simply helping to rightful ruler regain the throne. The reality is that once the Wadiyars were in place they were under British control and simply ruled Mysore for Britain.

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Re: End of a Dynasty (1399-1947)... (2013)

OfCourse they did. Was there any part of India that was independent of British rule? The wodeyars got back a largly reduced territory and a depleted treasury. Tipu sultan's revenue collection from people was not a big success. Other than rockets there is nothing else he did for the people to make their life easier. he was also hounded by the British on one side and the Marathas of the other. It was only in the later part of his rule that he realised that he did not have the respect of the majority community and started making overtures to other religious people than his. Well real life necessity changed a bigot.
When Tipu died, the Wodeyar prince was only 5 years old. Diwan Purnaiya who served under Tipu also served and guided the young prince. Still Mysore was seized by the British for some monetary nonpayment issues before the Wodeyars got it back. But Mysore was lucky in the sense that even under direct British control, it was in the hands of somebody who did a lot of local development -- Sir Mark Cubbon Cubbon restructured the government of Mysore, helped reform its finances, and created a peaceful and prosperous state. Cubbon is credited with the construction of over one thousand miles of roads, hundreds of dams, coffee production and improvements in the tax and revenue systems. When the kingdom was once again handed back to the wodeyars, the development was on the right track.
There was a British resident in place after that at the palace. Even as a princely state, Mysore came to be counted among the more modern and urbanized regions of India. This period (1799–1947) also saw Mysore emerge as one of the important centers of art and culture in India. The Mysore kings were not only accomplished exponents of the fine arts and men of letters, they were enthusiastic patrons as well, and their legacies continue to influence music and art even today .There were officially 565 princely states in India at the time of independence in 1947, but the great majority had contracted with the Viceroy of India to provide public services and tax collection. Only 21 major ones had actual state governments, and among them only four were large (Hyderabad State, Mysore State, Baroda State and Jammu and Kashmir State).
I spoke about Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV since he was one of the best rulers of his time who despite the circumstances and political climate, did a lot for the people instead of starting wars and tring to expand. That is what a real king should do first. What is the use of looting and fighting with another kingdom because your treasury is empty. That shows mismanagement at best.Are these rulers worthy? Under the Wadeyar king, Mysore had been the first Indian state to have a Representative Assembly, a democratic forum in 1881. During Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV's reign, the Assembly was enlarged and became bicameral in 1907 with the creation of the Legislative Council, a house of elders which introduced many new legislation for the state.
There have been other smaller rulers who have done a lot for the people and we need to remember them, One such person is the Nawab of Savanur.The final ruling Nawab of Savanur, Abdul Majid Khan II, succeeded as a minor at two years old, and had been carefully raised and educated by his British overseers. He traveled widely and mixed with people in all walks of life in India and abroad. He returned to assume power determined to modernize his state, engaging in a furious program of building modern schools, dispensaries, government offices, courts, palaces, jails, irrigation tanks, and roads. In the short period of thirty-five years of his active rule, this little state advanced beyond anything achieved in the previous three centuries.

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Re: End of a Dynasty (1399-1947)… (2013)

Every dynasty has its highs and lows… Interesting read…

400-year-old curse haunts Wodeyar royals of erstwhile princely state of Mysore : South, News - India Today

400-year-old curse haunts Wodeyar royals of erstwhile princely state of Mysore

Fact is stranger than fiction. With the death of its last heir on Tuesday, a 400-year-old curse has come back to haunt the Wodeyar royals of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore.

It all started in 1612, when Raja Wodeyar took over Mysore, then under the Vijayanagara Empire, after dethroning the ailing Tirumalaraja.

After the change of guard, Tirumalaraja’s wife Alamelamma took all the royal ornaments and escaped to Talakadu, an area in the vicinity. According to historians, Alamelamma was upset about what she considered was her husband’s unceremonious ouster from the ruler’s chair.

When Wodeyar’s soldiers tracked her down to confiscate the ornaments, in order to escape arrest, she committed suicide by jumping into the Cauvery river. But not before she uttered ominous words cursing the Wodeyars to an heirless future. “May Talakad turn into a barren expanse of sand; may Malangi (a village on the banks of Cauvery) turn into an unfathomed whirlpool; may the Wadiyars of Mysore not have children for eternity,” she is said to have chanted as she took the leap to her death.

Incidentally, soon after learning of Alamelamma’s suicide, Wodeyar installed a statue of her at the Mysore palace and offered it prayers. To date, her statue is worshipped as a deity in the palace.

If you were the superstitious kind, though, you would look no further than Alamelamma’s desperate words to explain what has been happening since.

Over the past century, Talakadu has been a renowned tourist spot where excavation of sand - which the area happens to abound with - has yielded many a temple. Malangi, on the other hand, is given a wide berth because of the killer whirlpools that form in its patch of the Cauvery.

Most significantly, ever since, the Wodeyars have birthed male children only in alternate generations.

If a king ended up not having a son, his younger brothers’ progeny would be crowned the heir. For instance, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, one of the most celebrated Wodeyar kings, had no children and chose his nephew Jayachamaraja as his successor. Srikantadatta, who died on Tuesday, was Jayachamaraja’s son. Srikantadatta died childless.

“If we take a scientific view, there is no scope for a curse. But if you observe the Wodeyar family tree, six rulers since the 17th century have been adopted sons (nephews). The Wodeyars too acknowledge it as fact,” historian Dr A. Veerappa said.

On Wednesday, Kantharaje Urs, son of Srikantadatta’s eldest sister Rani Gayathri Devi, performed his last rites. In all likelihood, he might be announced the next scion of the Wodeyar family.