A former Indian maharaja has been disowned by his community for permitting his daughter to break tradition and marry her former chauffeur, a newspaper reported yesterday. Members of the warrior Rajput community decided on Sunday that Bhawani Singh, the former maharaja of Jaipur, should be "excommunicated (and) ostracised", the Asian Age said.
"With his excommunication, he will be barred from community gatherings and social events," the daily said.
Newspapers last week reported that Bhawani Singh, a former Indian ambassador to Brunei, had allowed his daughter, Diya Singh (25), to marry a "commoner".
The low-key wedding had to be switched from Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan to New Delhi because of anger among the local population. Only a handful of guests attended and the family refused to comment over the controversy. Diya Singh's choice of husband broke local age-old caste rules respected by Rajput clans.
India's maharajas, who once ruled over around 100 million people across 565 princely states, saw their kingdoms dissolved after independence in 1947.
Their final financial privileges were ended in 1972 when the prime minister, Indira Gandhi, abolished their privy purses.
Many maharajas, however, continue to be revered as royalty by their local populations.