The Crown, Courage and Legacy of India’s Queen Mothers

Throughout

history, we have seen that some women were queens for a reason. The king may have been present, but it was often the women who stepped up during times of crisis and took charge. They were the ones who wielded real power. In pre-Independence India, there were instances where queens became regents and governed decisively after the death of their husbands, until the male heir was old enough to officially ascend the throne. They also broke the rules of patriarchy and gave their children a progressive upbringing. Here are the queen mothers who deserve a mention as we approach Mother's Day.

Maharani Jind Kaur

Few figures embodied resilience like Maharani Jind Kaur, the last queen of the Sikh Empire in Punjab. The wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire, took on the might of the British Empire to protect the position of her minor son, Duleep Singh. She was feared by the colonial powers, who called her the Messalina of the Punjab.When she became Queen Regent while her son was still a child, Jind Kaur, as she was commonly known, struggled even to receive basic respect from ministers who were uncomfortable with a woman ruler. She fought against internal politics and, with the support of the Khalsa Panchayat, became regent with complete control of the Lahore Darbar. However, many coveted the throne and wanted Duleep Singh removed. The young queen refused to give up and transformed herself into a formidable leader, constantly seeking allies to strengthen her hold on power.In 1845, the Sikhs lost the First Anglo-Sikh War against the colonial forces. After the Treaty of Lahore was signed in 1846, Duleep Singh was retained as ruler and Jind Kaur as regent, but she was eventually replaced by a council of ministers. In 1849, Punjab was annexed and the British government became the guardian of the 10-year-old Duleep Singh. Jind Kaur was exiled to Nepal and did not see her son for more than 13 years after their separation.

Maharani Kempananjammanni Vani Vilasa Sannidhana

After the death of her husband, Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, at the age of 31, the young queen was left with two minor sons and three daughters. The responsibility of running the erstwhile princely state of Mysore, now Mysuru, fell to her. She rose to the challenge and became Queen Regent, as her son was only 10 years old.It was not an easy time to govern Mysuru, as the state was in the grip of the bubonic plague. There was devastation all around, and half of Mysuru had perished as a result. She responded by increasing spending on healthcare and building hospitals. She was willing to sacrifice everything for the development of Mysuru.Vikram Sampath, in his book Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars, wrote, "The KRS dam, completed in 1931, created the biggest reservoir in Asia, second only to the Aswan dam across the Nile in Egypt. Since the outlay for the dam exceeded the state budget, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar (then a mere teenager) and his sagacious mother, Regent Queen Kempananjammanni, sold costly diamonds, ornaments, gold, and silver plates of the royal family in Bombay to provide seed capital for the project."A prestigious institute such as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was set up in Bengaluru after the Maharani of Mysore gave a generous grant of land and money.

Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar

Maharani Indira Devi was the mother of one of the most famous Indian queens, Maharani Gayatri Devi. A modern and progressive woman far ahead of her time, Indira Devi was widowed at the age of 30. She became regent, a task that was far from easy, but she rose to the challenge. Her daughter, Gayatri Devi, once said, "I learnt style from my mother; she taught me all about style. She was one of the most fashionable, most independent, and most modern Maharanis, yet she always insisted she was ordinary."Indira Devi was the original fashionista who introduced chiffon sarees from Lyon, France, to India. She was an accomplished woman who was fluent in Marathi, Bengali and French, and was a force to reckon with. While widows in early 20th-century India were expected to lead lives of austerity, she refused to adhere to society's rules."Mother was quite simply the most beautiful and exciting woman any of us had known. She remains in my memory as an unparalleled combination of wit, warmth and exquisite looks," Gayatri Devi had said.