Evening star., 1947-07-13

H. H. Na,oab Mir Hinayat Ali
Khan Bahadur, Azam Jah,
Prince OF Berar, and heir to
Indta's Ntzam OF Hyderabad
and Berar, toho is kno1Dn as
the richest man In the
world," Is shoW1 1Dith his
,oite. She is the only daughter
OF the former Sultan OF
Turkey.
for Kashmir lies close to the Rus
sian border and its defense would be
PakiStan's worry.
The lapse of British power is like
ly to give the princes new problems
in plenty, among them the matter
of holding their thrones. Britain
was committed to help the rulers
retain their scepters and to handling
their foreign policies. From now.
on, unless they make quick COM
mitments with the democracies of
British India, it will be up to them
alone.
The princes themselves, notori-
ously jealous Of each other, have
decided to break up the only or
ganization they have had for ex-
pressing themselves jointly and have
not yet made any visible move to
replace 1t with another. The
Chamber Of Princes, established by
the British 26 years ago, now is
defunct in everything but name
and will pass out Of being officially
in August.
Many Keep Quiet
The chamber split up ahead Of
time over differences among the
Maharajahs about whether they
should join the Constituent Assem-
bly, set up under the cabinet mission
plan of last year. The Moslem
League boycotted the cabinet mis-
sion plan and the result was the
latest blueprint for the British with
drawal under which India can be
divided in accordance with the
leagues demand for an independent
Moslem state.
The chamber crisis came when
the Nawab Of Bhopal, head Of one
Of the larger states and reputedly
the man who frightened the cham
ber's organization considerably, re-
signed the chancellorship because
number Of princes disagreed with
his policy of holding off until Brit
ish Indians parties had come to an
agreement. The Maharajah of
Patiala, tall, beared Sikh ruler of
a Punjab state, took over as pro-
chancellor, but the other princes
decided dissolution was best. Patti
ala, who, on state occasions, wears
one of the finest five-strand pearl
necklaces in India and whose coat
buttons are studded with emeralds,
diamonds and rubies, still Is ON
cially the chambers head.
Patiala is expected to stick with
the Congress Party, which has
taken up the Sikh cause for sep
aration from the Moslem majority
in the Punjab. Bhopal Is keeping
quiet. Many others are doing the
same.
But it is evident that the old
order is changing and that princes
whose chief loves were such things
as hunting and otherwise keeping
themselves entertained may have
to work to keep their jobs. Hunting
Is a passion with many Of them,
such as the ruler of Udaipur who,
although crippled, has shooting
boxes so constructed that he can
lean on them and kill game. The
Prince of Berar, son Of the Nizam
of Hyderabad, uses a powerful spot
light, mounted on q car, to transfix
tigers until he kills them.
Some Live Abroad
There have been unconfirmed
rumors that some princes are send
ing large amounts of money abroad
with the intention of exiling them
selves If the worst befalls. Some
others, such as the Gaekwar Of
Baroda, who is reported to have paid
the worlds highest price for race
horse, have been living abroad much
of the time for years.
The Maharajah of Indore, whose
last two wives have been American,
also has spent much time abroad,
as have some OF the not-so-well-
known rulers.
But that type of life probably
wouldn't suit such men as the Nizam
of Hyderabad and Berar, who seldom
venture outside his own broad bor-
ders and who never has been out
sdie India. Rulers Of this type are
expected to sink or swim On the
basis of what they can work out IN
India. The Nizam, who Is known
to aspire to religious leadership In
the Moslem world, now is. building
mausoleum in Hyderabad for the
last Sultan of Turkey, whose
daughter is the wife of the Nizams S
son, the Prince Of Berar. The
caliph now is buried in France,
where he died during the liberation.
/ 1t appears generally that the
future OF India's princes Is pretty
much up to them and the conces-
sions they are willing to make. 1t
seems certain too, that the lush days
Of the past are all but gone.
Distributsd by the Associated Press.)