Clashes At Udaipur Palace Gates Over New Maharana’s Face-Off With Cousin

Udaipur witnessed a row in the erstwhile royal family today after the coronation of BJP MLA Vishvaraj Singh Mewar as the 77th Maharana of Mewar. A stand-off with his cousin Dr Lakshay Raj Singh Mewar followed at the gates of the historic city palace, with Vishvaraj being refused entry into the palace which is now run by a trust managed by his cousin and uncle Shreeji Arvind Singh Mewar. The row that followed escalated as the day progressed. Post 10 pm, the MLA’s supporters started throwing stones at the police and attempted to storm the palace gates.

Vishvaraj Singh — the BJP MLA from Rajsamand from where his wife Mahima Kumari is the sitting MP — was formally declared the heir to the Mewar dynasty at a traditional coronation ceremony in the historic Chittorgarh fort 12 days after the death of his father Mahendra Singh Mewar. 

The coronation ceremony, conducted by priests who performed pujas and did a havan, saw Vishwaraj’s raj tilak done by an erstwhile noble who cut his finger on a sword and anointed him in blood. This is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years in the Mewar dynasty, which traces its lineage back to Bappa Rawal in the 8th Century. Its most famous royal was Rana Pratap, who fought the Mughals in the battle of Haldi Ghati. 

After the symbolic coronation, Vishvaraj had decided to take the blessings from family deities — the dhooni mata temple inside the city palace and the Ekling Shiv temple about 50 kilometres from Udaipur. 
But since both temples are run by the trust, Vishvaraj was denied entry into the city palace. 

Anticipating trouble, the police had set up barricades and deployed additional personnel in the area around the city palace gates.
But when Vishwaraj Singh was denied entry into the palace, his enraged supporters broke through the barricades and tried to get close to the city palace gates. 

The administration also tried to persuade the Museum Trust to allow not the entire procession, but a few erstwhile nobles to accompany Vishwaraj into the palace for darshan, which has led to a huge stand-off at the palace gates. 

“The situation that we see today is unfortunate,” Vishvaraj Singh told media persons. “I am grateful for your support. On one side is properties, but there are also traditions where we seek blessings. This is wrong as far as traditions and society norms are concerned,” he added. 

The new generation of Mewar royals have been involved in a legal dispute over palaces, temples and forts that are now run and managed by 9 trusts. All these trusts are handled by the uncle and cousin of Vishvaraj Singh.

Early this morning, the Maharana Mewar Charitable Trust published in the local newspapers that they would not allow anyone to enter the trust premises as they anticipated that this could be done with an intention to trespass on and damage trust properties.  

The dispute goes back to 1984, when the former Maharana of Mewar Bhagwat Singhji made his younger son Arvind Singh the director of the trusts, effectively ousting the elder son Mahendra Singh from the royal properties. 

As the stand-off continues in Udaipur, this is a royal row that’s going to echo in the City of Lakes for some time.