Clash of Mewar titans live on streets of Udaipur, courtesy royal family's dispute

Jaipur: Stories of erstwhile royal era battles and differences bespeaking tales of palace intrigues came out on the streets of Udaipur earlier this week when the Mewar royals showcased frictions brewing within the family for decades.

This time, these differences came out soon after the coronation ceremony of BJP MLA Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, held in Chittorgarh. The newly anointed head of Mewar chose to visit Udaipur for Dhuni Darshan inside the City Palace as per the ritual after the coronation in Mewar dynasty.

However, this palace is under the possession of his uncle Arvind Singh Mewar and his son Lakshya Singh Mewar, and they got the doors of City Palace closed before the visit of Vishvaraj.

Following this were events of fights, verbal duels and followers' fights which turned violent as both the groups' followers engaged in stone-pelting.

Vishwaraj, on Tuesday morning, stood outside the City Palace with his followers waiting all day and night and had to return as the doors of the Palace remained closed. He urged his followers to return as stone-pelting here had already left six people injured.

Next came the exchange of allegations and counter-allegations between members of the Mewar family, namely Vishvaraj and Lakshayraj and the administration was questioned for staying silent during all this tension.

Speaking to IANS, Vishvaraj said, "Why did the administration and police do nothing and stay silent when all this was happening? Why did it allow the City Palace doors to be closed."

However, later, officials were sent from Jaipur as CM Bhajan Lal Sharma intervened in the matter. What raised eyebrows was that the matter which should have been resolved on the same day, took three days to be addressed.

IG Rajesh Meena, when asked why ACS and ADG came from Jaipur, said, "Wherever a law and order situation arises, there has always been a tradition of sending senior officers of the department from Jaipur. For this reason, ACS Anand Kumar of the Home Department and ADG (Law and Order) Vishal Bansal were sent from Jaipur."

"Earlier also, when the incident happened in Kankra-Dungri, senior officers were sent from the Police Headquarters and the Home Department," he added.

Meanwhile, the Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar camp said that the City Palace belonged to a trust and permission should have been taken before the scheduled visit. Shutting the place down was a necessity. We’re not going to compromise our safety, security, and least of all — our dignity,” said Lakshyaraj Singh, son of Arvind Singh Mewar.

Meanwhile, there were questions about why Vishvaraj Singh Mewar's anointment as the 77th Maharana of Mewar received such strong opposition from his cousin and uncle.

Arvind Singh Mewar and Mahendra Singh Mewar are sons of late Bhagwat Singh Mewar, the titular ruler of Mewar. After he died in 1984, both sons claimed to be the 76th custodian of the House of Mewar.

The dispute went on for the next three decades, and finally, a landmark decision was announced by the Additional District Judge at an Udaipur District Court in July 2020. The court decided that the disputed property of the Royal family of Mewar would be divided into four parts among Bhagwat Singh's three children, Mahindra Singh, Arvind Singh, and Yogeshwari Kumari. Interestingly, Bhagwat Singh Mewar had reportedly willed his entire property to his younger son, Arvind Singh, due to a rift with his elder son, Mahindra Singh. Fast forward to 2024, Bhagwat Singh Mewar's grandchildren, Vishvaraj Singh and Lakshyaraj Singh, still carry the soured bond between their families which came out in the open on November 25.

With this, a 72-hour saga between two cousins, which also had the government on tenterhooks, came to an end.