When Indian Royalty Spoke Up For Communism – Essay

Historic speech in 1969 gave Udaipur’s new Foundation its mojo


At a simple ceremony in the City Palace on 20 October 1969, Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar announced the establishment of the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation. Photo-credit: MMCF archives (Accession no: 2009.10.0246-00026)

October 26, 2025
By Raju Mansukhani


In today’s time and age the term ‘communism’ is used as a slur, often an outright abuse for political opponents not toeing the neo-liberal line of capitalist development. In 1969, on October 20th, Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar of Udaipur spoke up for communism when announcing the formation of the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, a public charitable trust to which he donated large portions of The City Palace along with cash donation of Rs 11 lakhs. “By changing the colour of our cap or ‘ism’ no benefit can be derived,” he said, “if Communism be any solution for our present precarious condition, we should not be afraid to accept Communism.” He spelt out words of caution when accepting Communism, “provided it is Indian oriented; it is not an imported inspiration and commodity; the sustenance of our life is not in foreign hands.” In his speech, at the simple ceremony, the Maharana underscored the importance of promoting self-reliance and self-respect through the new Foundation in the Republic of India.

Coming from an Indian Royal, who traced his ancestry to the 8th century CE, these thoughts and words may seem contrarian, difficult to understand and place in the context of a newly-independent India facing scarcity, shortages on various fronts. By 1969, the Indian National Congress under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was raising slogans of ‘Garibi Hatao’ (Remove poverty) to whip up popular support among the masses. The Maharana, in contrast, was focusing on ‘national character’. He said, “since our Independence the biggest casualty has been that of our character. Without character no nation can keep its country independent.” Being conscious of India’s ancient culture and its traditions, he observed “the West is trying to evolve a media for peace within and prosperity outside from our literature. Can we not evolve an ‘ism’ of our own wherein the respect and freedom of Mankind is considered sacred and individual aspiration is respected?”

Sharing the objectives behind establishing the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar consistently used the word ‘temple’, a place of worship when referring to it. “This temple, the inspiration centre of self-respect and self-reliance should inspire the people,” he said adding, “and assist activities and institutions which promote self-reliance and self-respect.”
Focused on the vision

“I am honoured to commemorate the vision of my illustrious grandfather, our Founder-Chairman and Managing Trustee His late Highness Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar and my father, His late Highness Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar,” said the young Dr Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, the present Chairman and Managing Trustee of MMCF. On the occasion of 56th founding day of MMCF, he said, “Under their leadership, MMCF has grown as a ‘temple of inspiration’ dedicated to nation-building tasks, generating employment through tourism-led activities, education and philanthropic programs since 1969. As a result of their collective pioneering efforts, the city of Udaipur has emerged on the global map of tourism, giving the state of Rajasthan a new progressive identity, besides several additional benefits. Today I reaffirm my pledge to build on the platforms created by my forefathers. On this auspicious anniversary, my best wishes to visitors and stakeholders working towards the sustainable development of Udaipur and Rajasthan in the 21st century.”

Undoubtedly the MMCF has been at the forefront of giving the heritage-city of Udaipur opportunities to develop centres of excellence and consistently working to ensure The City Palace Museum provides its million-strong visitors a world-class cultural experience, year after year. Explained Dr Lakshyaraj, “Our Foundation manages The City Palace Museum and its affiliate bodies and trusts. Philanthropy is integral to the Foundation, and I am proud to say, that they continue to enhance their work, and are making a significant difference in the lives of the people they connect with.”

In its sixth decade of operations, the Foundation has grown and collaborated with the world’s leading museums, institutions and global agencies: the Getty Foundation, USA; UNESCO India Office; Ministry of Culture, Government of India; Rajasthan Tourism, Government of Rajasthan; Udaipur Municipal Corporation; Embassy of France in India; Domaine National de Chambord, France; ICOMOS; the Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation; Oxford eResearch Centre, Oxford University; Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, USA; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Museum Rietberg, Zurich; Pinacothèque de Paris and Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum, Vadodara, India. “We have merited their support as we keep alive the heritage of Mewar and India,” he said with considerable pride. “The challenge is to perpetuate our legacies through holistic heritage management in our globalized world of the 21st century. This is where MMCF is making its mark,” he said.

In a recent publication of CII-FBN India chapter, Dr Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar wrote: “Yes, heritage management is quite a challenge. What is important to realize is that our heritage and value systems are our identity. These are the pillars on which our Family and our Businesses are built upon. I often refer to it even in financial terms by stating: it is our equity. We can say it with pride and honour that we bring our centuries-old heritage and values to the table. With time, equity needs to grow; it cannot be diluted. We can invite other like-minded individuals and organisations to contribute to this equity; we are open-minded about this invitation.” The focus on heritage management, hospitality, education and environmental protection is steadfast. “In each of these domains there are new opportunities and challenges; it adds to the excitement of making our commercial and non-commercial enterprises grow,” he said.
Vignettes of history

The years 1969 to 1971 were filled with political turbulence across India, just 22 years after Independence. Not only was the Congress Party facing internal dissensions, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was pursuing a socialist programme to nationalize major industries, the banking sector. She had been a strong opponent of the Princely States who had merged into the Union of India but were still granted several privileges and retained their titles.

Readers may not be aware that in India till 1947, there were 565 Independent Princely States, the richest and largest among them were the States of Baroda, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir and Mysore. On account of its illustrious history, the State of Udaipur-Mewar was considered the foremost amongst all the Princely States of India. The Sisodia Dynasty of Suryavanshi Rajputs governed the State of Udaipur-Mewar, with its capital for the last five centuries at Udaipur in Rajasthan. At the time of India’s Independence in 1947, the State of Udaipur-Mewar was the first to amalgamate with the Indian Union. His late Highness Maharana Bhupal Singh, the Custodian of Mewar in 1947 said, “India’s Independence brings to fulfillment the 1400 years’ struggle and endeavour of my forefathers.” With the accession to India, Mewar ceased to exist as a sovereign State. Its economy, polity, administration, judiciary, lands and resources were now merged with, or handed over to, the Government of India.

Members of the former Royal families were now citizens of the free democratic Republic of India. In Udaipur these historical changes were seen as a challenge to the ongoing process of modernisation. The Maharanas, as heads of the House of Mewar, continued to work on socially relevant projects which meaningfully involved the community. They also realised the need to be prepared for the challenges ahead. Sure enough, in 1971 came the 26th Amendment Act of the Constitution of India. The Constitutional Amendment 1971 abolished the titles and special privileges of former rulers of Princely States. While it affirmed Parliament’s power to amend Constitution, the Abolition of the Princely Privileges by the Government of India dealt a severe blow to the former Princely States, most of whom had been governing their states for centuries.

It is in this context that Maharana Bhagwat Singh’s decision to establish the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, and several other charitable trusts, proved to be visionary beyond doubt. He could now continue working on developmental projects in Udaipur’s City Palace, keeping the focus on education, welfare, philanthropy and heritage management. Moreover, these endeavours were resulting in revenue generation from otherwise ‘immovable’ assets like palaces and buildings.
Building institutions

The City Palace Museum of Udaipur is today an iconic must-see Museum for visitors who marvel as they walk-through the palaces of the Mardana Mahal and Zenana Mahal, with over a million visitors each year. Said Dr Mayank Gupta, CEO of the Foundation, “our Museum offers cultural experiences across almost 20,000 square metres. Our galleries include: Asia’s first silver gallery titled ‘Splendour of Silver: Reflecting the finest of Silversmithy’; an exhibition dedicated to Architecture and Conservation; the sculpture gallery titled ‘Divine Gesture: The Magnificence of Mewar Spirituality’; ‘Symphony of Mewar: A Royal Collection of Musical Instruments’; Bhagwat Prakash Gallery of Mewar Miniature paintings; Fateh Niwas Gallery of archival photographs and maps; Salehkhana Gallery: Arms and Armoury Exhibition; ‘The Mewar Regalia’ dedicated to Royal Textiles and Costumes and ‘The Regal mode of Transport’ exhibition.”

He highlighted the establishment of a best-in-class conservation laboratory and the utilization of The Museum System (TMS) software as the ‘firsts in India’. “We are providing professionals from India and overseas a fine opportunity to hone their skills in Udaipur,” he said. Besides the Museum, the Maharana Mewar Special Library, Maharana Mewar Research Institute and Maharana Mewar Historical Publications Trust are the associate institutions carrying forward the vision of His late Highness Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar.

Fifty-six years seems like a blink of an eye in the long glorious history of Udaipur-Mewar dating back to pre-modern eras. Yet the establishment of the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation in 1969 has set new benchmarks in the domain of heritage management in contemporary India. The Nobel Laureate Sir V S Naipaul, during his visit in 2001 to receive a prestigious award from MMCF, had remarked, “Mewar and Udaipur may have lost political battles in recent times. But I can clearly see that they have won the war.”

Raju Mansukhani

Raju Mansukhani, based in New Delhi, is a researcher-writer on history and heritage issues; a media consultant with leading museums, non-profits, universities and corporates in India and overseas. Contributing regular columns, book reviews and features in the media he has drawn attention of the new generations to critical issues and personalities of Indian and Asian history. Over the last three decades he has authored books on diverse subjects including the media, palace architecture, sports and contemporary history. Through in-depth documentaries, he has profiled leading Asian public figures highlighting their research and publications.