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Coups In Kutch
By Frank Grey
Feudal Kutch had its share of wars, skirmishes, rivalries with neighboring rajas and rulers during its recorded feudal history of nearly two thousand years. And as it usually happens in such a set-up, the ruling families had differences among themselves also which led to dramatic events in some cases. The King is dead, I am the King The Kutch Ruling House followed the accepted norm of succession. When a rao (ruler) died, the eldest prince, next in the line, ascended the throne. This process had been going on smoothly since the founding of the Jadeja Dynasty by Rao Khengar I. But things took a new turn in the time Rao Raydhan. The King Raydhan had 11 sons - the eldest two of whom had died while Rao Raydhan was still alive. So by the law of succession, the sons of the dead eldest sons had a claim to the throne. But Prince Pragmal, the third son of the ruler, had other ideas. As the eldest living son of the ruler, he considered himself better qualified to become the next king than any of his nephews. And for that he had started the process of consolidating his position among the kin of the ruling family and the military officers as a strategy to gain his end. Pragmal put into action his plan of seizing the power when his father Rao Raydhan died in 1698. When the king's body was being taken to the cremation grounds, Pragmal did not join the funeral procession with his nephews and other relatives on the pretext of eye illness. He, with his partisans, remained behind, seized the treasury, manned the guns and closed the gates of the city on the retuning funeral party. Pragmal's strategy succeeded. He became Rao Pragmal but at a price. He had to confer favors upon his helpers in form of grants and territories. His nephews had also to be appeased by similar favors so that Rao Pragmal could rule in peace. According to historians, this coup had the long term effect of weakening the central authority of the principal rulers of Kutch who were the masters of the whole Kutch region. Rao Pragmal's favors created a number of estates whose owners enjoyed complete freedom over their territories with the result that over the time they became spheres of influence independent from the power of the main rulers. Another effect of Rao Pragmal's master stroke was that from then on no heir-apparent usually accompanied the funeral procession of his father.
Dinner Diplomacy Now the scene shits to the year 1741. Prince Lakho, the heir apparent to the ruling king Rao Desal was all smiles and courtesy as he welcomed his father and his retinue to the banquet in his quarters. The differences between the father and the son had long been resolved and the king looked forward to a hearty dinner in an atmosphere of amity. But the dinner was long in coming. The Prince grew impatient at the delay and excused himself to find out what was the matter. As soon as the prince was out of the dining hall, the doors were closed and the king and his faithful adherents were seized and bound. Without shedding a drop of blood, Prince Lakho became the Rao Lakhpatji while his father Rao Desal was confined to his quarters where he lived in peace until his death in 1752. The new king didn't face much opposition because he was to become the king anyway. What he had done was to hasten his ascension to the throne by about 11 years. But the Kutch historians date his reign from 1752 instead of 1741 when he seized absolute power. Rao Lakhpat was a patron of arts, science and architecture and has left an indelible mark on the culture of Kutch which is still visible in a number of buildings and museums in the region.
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Contributor's Note
Source: The Black Hills - Kutch in History and Legend by L F Rushbrook Williams (Pgs.124-125, 134-136)
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May, 2012
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