British Commonwealth of Nations: Maharaja Feted

Occidental moralists were vexed last week as they scanned despatches from that thrice beautiful and opulent Indian native state, the dual realm of Jammu and Kashmir. There the last act of a fairy tale as exotically unmoral as are the majority of “grand operas” was in progress. Before the week was out, a young man who recently paid $750,000 to a group of international blackmailers, who even then did not keep to themselves the fact that they had surprised him with a certain “Mrs. Robinson” in Paris (TIME, Dec. 15, 1924, LAW), brushed aside that fact with a gesture peculiar to statesmen, and ascended the throne whence he will rule over three million souls, over 80,000 square miles with an income of some $5,000,000 a year.

The young man, of course, was the once notorious “Mr. A,” now Maharaja Sir Hari Singh* of Jammu and Kashmir. During the past fortnight slightly over 1,000,000 was expended by the State upon a series of coronation fetes which proceeded day and night, to the exuberant delight of the people, who were showered with gifts of food and money.

The elephants of participating native princes, groomed carefully for months in advance, at length had their faces painted, their tusks gilded, their backs saddled with howdahs encrusted with gold and gems.

On the night before his coronation, Sir Hari and his peers dined off the traditional gold plate, while their underlings supped from silver. Next day he rode out at the head of the state procession of elephants. His favorite pony, which trotted after, was decked with a jeweled harness, containing among other gems an emerald valued at $150,000. As usual at all great Indian functions, the Maharaja of Patiala (TIME, Aug. 10) was in evidence, almost smothered beneath robes and jewels to a value running well into the millions.

For seven minutes, holy water was sprinkled over the heads of Sir Hari and his consort. Then, as Maharaja and Maharani, they ascended the throne of Jammu and Kashmir, “the land of nightingales and roses,” the Kasparturos of Herodotus.

*Nephew of his predecessor, the Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh, whose adopted son unsuccessfully contested the succession with Sir Hari.