The Scindia legacy : From Ranoji to Jyotiraditya

From royalty to politics, a hard-hitting look at the history of one of the greatest dynasties of India, mired in wars, public disputes and property contentions. The Scindia dynasty, a 300-year-old royal house, is perhaps the only family in India which is known not just for its unlimited riches and never-ending popularity but also for its immense social service, mainly through politics. There are innumerable stories-some told repeatedly and others seldom told-from the time Ranoji Scindia founded the dynasty in 1731 to Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia's unwilling entry in politics in 1957 to Jyotiraditya Scindia's entry in the Rajya Sabha in 2020. The book deftly outlines how, of the three generations in politics over the centuries, it was only Madhavrao-Rajmata's son and Jyotiraditya's father-who had never lost an election. He was the darling of people from his erstwhile royal house of Gwalior, until his untimely demise in an air crash. Rajmata and her grandson Jyotiraditya were members of both houses of Indian Parliament at different times. The two share several similarities: both were in the Congress first and then left it dramatically, to say the least. Both, angered by prevailing political situations within their party, brought down their own governments-some 40 years apart! This book unveils many stories, about how the Scindias have conducted themselves in public with a degree of elan, despite the bitter legal and political fights which were the bane of the Scindias. The Scindia Legacy showcases the courage and charisma of one of the eminent political families of India.