Deft Diplomacy During Delhi Durbar 1911: The Chair Unoccupied – Essay
Undoubtedly the Delhi Durbar in 1911 provided a spectacular start to the 20th century when King George V was crowned the Emperor of India. There were fortnight-long celebrations and military parades, marking the momentous imperial event at the Coronation Park, near Kingsway Camp, attended by a galaxy of Indian Princes paying their obeisance to the British Crown. Although the parade for the King’s arrival was awe-inspiring, the Maharajas’ procession alone was five miles long and included 6,000 men and 200 camels. It took all afternoon for half-a-million subjects to pass before the King and Queen on their specially-built balcony, reported the British press.
The Maharajas tried to outdo one another in their finery, as they paraded past awash with priceless jewellery. They brought performing elephants, a circus, kites, thousands of retainers and a Chinese fort built for a mock battle. When the celebrations ended, with typically British military efficiency, the entire canvas metropolis was disassembled in a week. Since then, innumerable exhibitions, books, seminars have commemorated the Delhi Durbar 1911, and its centenary in 2011, providing opportunities to relive and rediscover the bygone era through historical collections from the Princely States and England.
One of the most inspiring stories to emerge is from the State of Udaipur-Mewar and its 73rd Custodian, Maharana Fateh Singh. He was the only invitee among the Indian Princes who, on a matter of principle, did not attend the Delhi Durbars of 1903 and 1911. Maharana Fateh Singh had steadfastly refused to offer obeisance to the British Monarch or to admit a subservient sovereign status. In 1911, he made the journey to Delhi by a special train but did not attend the Durbar. His chair, made for the occasion, was never sat upon. King George V came to Salimgarh railway station to meet him, thus making Maharana Fateh Singhji the first Indian ruler to meet the King-Emperor in private audience. After congratulating the King as one sovereign to another, the Maharana returned to Udaipur, allowing the Durbar to proceed without him.
Maharana Fateh Singh's adherence to values of independence, self-reliance stemmed from the cultural ethos of Mewar and the inherited conviction that he must never allow the dignity of the House of Mewar to be impaired. Given the strength of his character, the Maharana's relations with British Royalty and officials, through 1884 to 1930, were always marked by cordiality, mutual respect and the singularity of vision that the interests of the people of Mewar were foremost.
Pride of place
At the International Museum Expo 2023 in New Delhi, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, The City Palace Museum of Udaipur gave the pride of place in its display to Maharana Fateh Singh’s non-attendance of the Delhi Durbar by focusing on the chair which remained unoccupied during the lavish Durbar.
His late Highness Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur, the 76th Custodian of the House of Mewar and great-grandson of Maharana Fateh Singhji, had earlier observed:
Maharana Fateh Singh was deeply conscious of his sovereign status in an age when India was governed either by the Indian Princes or the British Crown. The proclamation in 1911, crowning King George V as Emperor of India, was relevant to areas directly under the British Crown and not over the 565 Indian Princely States. It was for this reason that Maharana Fateh Singhji did not attend the Delhi Durbars of 1903 and 1911 and pay his obeisance to the British Crown.
“The Maharana's refusal to attend the Delhi Durbars demonstrated his free will and political acumen without creating a confrontation. In a true sense, he was an honourable Custodian, upholding the flame of freedom just as his forefathers had done. For me, Maharana Fateh Singh remains a quintessential up-holder of India's dignity and autonomy,” His late Highness Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar had commented in a public document, released during the centenary celebrations of Delhi Durbar 1911.
“Custodians like him have yet to be comprehensively understood by British and Indian historians alike. Maharana Fateh Singhji, the 73rd Custodian of our House of Mewar, was an unassuming leader who used his wisdom and discretion to not only develop Udaipur and the Mewar region, but also maintain a relationship of equality with the British Empire. This earned him respect from all quarters.”
The International Museum Expo 2023 witnessed the young trustee of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, and the great-great-grandson of Maharana Fateh Singh, Dr Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar acknowledging the deft diplomacy of 1911 which distinguished the era. “Our respect for the past, and our commitment to staying true to our roots, is self-evident. At The City Palace Museum Udaipur, we maintain the tradition of observing anniversaries of the Custodians of the House of Mewar, drawing inspiration from their lives and times,” he said, adding in 2025, the ninety-fifth year of Maharana Fateh Singh’s passing away was commemorated, while his 175th birth anniversary too had been observed.
A Glimpse of Empire
A fascinating contemporary story emerges from England when The Hon. Lilah Wingfield specially travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar 1911. She had not only maintained her diary but also her collection of photographs as she travelled through British India and the Princely States. Her granddaughter, Ms Jessica Douglas-Home, compiled the diary with the title ‘A Glimpse of Empire’ and utilized the photographs for a travelling exhibition in India during 2011.
In her diary, the young Lilah Wingfield revealed an understanding of the undercurrents of India's complex polity despite the paramountcy of the British Empire. Her travels brought her to Udaipur, the capital-city of State of Udaipur-Mewar, where the Maharanas of Mewar had established and preserved their governance through Custodianship for almost 1400 years. She noted the 'ambivalence' of rulers like Maharana Fateh Singh, the Custodian of Mewar since 1884, towards the British Empire, commenting on his being the only invitee among the Indian Princes who, on a matter of principle, did not attend the Delhi Durbars of 1903 and 1911.
Ms Lilah Wingfield met many of the most remarkable colonial characters of the day, including some of the foremost Indian Princes, vying to stage the most lavish display to prove their devotion to the Raj. As the tents were dismantled, Lilah travelled through India – to the dangerous Khyber Pass on the Afghan border, to Rajasthan, to the gory sites of the Mutiny and to stay with India’s only female Ruler, the Begum of Bhopal – an extraordinary adventure for single girl. Her diary shows her deepening awareness of mixed feelings of certain Maharajas towards British Rule, even while she was being entertained royally in their lakeside palaces. Her Irish upbringing gave her an instinctive feeling for the mixture of their longing for independence and affection for their mother country. The book is copiously illustrated by her own photographs.
The story behind Ms Lilah Wingfield’s diary is even more remarkable: it was found in a second- hand book shop by a total stranger, in Holt in Norfolk! He realised from the diary that Ms Lilah was a cousin of the local landowner, the Earl of Leicester, and sent the diary back to her family. The Leicesters gave the diary to Ms Lilah’s granddaughter, Jessica Douglas-Home. What a resurrection it has been for the diary, the historic photographs and memories of Ms Lilah’s travels!
It was indeed very touching when Ms Jessica Douglas-Home organized a private viewing of the photo-exhibition for His late Highness Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar at The Imperial hotel in New Delhi on 30th November 2011. The photograph, included in the 'A Glimpse of Empire' exhibition, portrays the Maharana in official British dignity and investiture as His Highness Hindu-Suraj Maharaja Dhiraj Maharana Sir Fateh Singhji Bahadur, G.C.S.I, G.C.I.E, G.C.V.O. On 12th December 2011, the exhibition opened at Indar Pasricha Fine Arts in Connaught Street, London W1, in the presence of HRH the Duke of Kent, grandson of King George V. Long after the sun has set on the British Empire, the Delhi Durbar 1911 continues to bring families, communities and countries together.