A tribute to Mohinder Kaur, the last reigning Maharani of Patiala
Perhaps more than his father - Yadavindra Singh, the last ruling Maharaja of the erstwhile princely state of Patiala - Captain Amarinder Singh, who's now responsible for all of Punjab as its chief minister, took after his mother. Mohinder Kaur, who passed away at the age of 95 years on July 24, was, in fact, the last reigning Maharani of Patiala, although since her husband's death in the Netherlands in 1974, Kaur has assumed the title of Rajmata (Queen Mother).
Born on September 14, 1922 in Ludhiana to Harchand Singh Jaijee of Sangrur, she was just 16 years old when she wed Yadavindra Singh in August 1938, just a few months after he succeeded his father Bhupindra Singh, as Maharaja. Patiala was agog. Their Maharani, they said, was without contest the most beautiful young woman in the state. But while Kaur retained her poise and charm till her final conscious moments, it was her grit and generosity that eventually won hearts.
Well before partition in August 1947, Patiala became a natural magnet for tens of thousands of Sikh and Hindu refugees arriving from their homes in what had been proclaimed as Pakistan. All of Patiala and its royals took them all in. Just 25 years old at the time, Mohinder Kaur took the lead role in organising camps for the "refugees" from West Punjab. Assisted by others, she set up round-the-clock langars (community kitchens) and ensured an adequate measure of medical care through what was the most grueling Monsoon in living memory in Punjab.
Later, on Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's bidding, Kaur joined the huge campaign to track down, recover and repatriate Muslim women and girls abducted from refugee caravans as they were making their way to Pakistan. She was instrumental in reuniting scores of such young women with their families.
Former external affairs minister Natwar Singh, who was her son-in-law by his marriage to the Rajmata's oldest daughter Heminder Kaur, says, she grew particularly close to Indira Gandhi after Feroze Gandhi's demise in 1960. Singh describes how the two of them spent a whole month at the Patialas' summer home in Chail (Himachal Pradesh).
She made a formal entry into politics in 1964 as a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha until 1967. She then won the 1967 Lok Sabha poll from her home constituency of Patiala. But Kaur had an unhappy parting of ways with the Indira Gandhi-led Congress and was denied the party nomination for a second shot at the Lok Sabha in 1971.
Kaur, who moved abroad with Yadavindra Singh when he was made ambassador to the Netherlands, may well have sought an early retirement from active politics. She returned to Patiala following her husband's death in 1974, choosing a largely quiet life with her grandchildren away from the glare of politics. But said to be highly upset with the excesses during the Emergency of 1975, Kaur joined the Janata Party that formed the government under Morarjee Desai in 1977. A year later, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha for a full six-year term.
In the end, she became the example in politics that Amarinder Singh would emulate. Like him, she never forgot a name or a face. "You're Shobi!" she said to an old friend's daughter who came to see her a week before she died. Although given her frail health, the recognition dawned slowly. And just as she taught her son, she remained full of grace and generosity. All of Patiala and beyond turned out to see their Rajmata off, many with tears in their eyes.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)