JAIPUR: “I warn the Princes that they are sitting under a cracked roof. It would be in their interest to demolish that structure before it comes down over them,” said Acharya Kripalani, Congress President, addressing a largely attended public meeting here… . Mr. Kripalani said that the Congress was not opposed to individual Princes as it was not opposed the British People, but it was opposed to the system that was prevalent in the States and which made the poor poorer.

“We do not want to harm the British People nor do we want to harm the Rulers of the States. We are opposed to imperialism and to the autocratic system of Government in the States. All those who are against that system are our friends. The Princes who willingly establish ‘panchayat raj’ in their States are entitled to our affection and regard and it is our sacred duty to stand against those Princes who act otherwise. … The institution of kingship has become too old to survive in its present from and our Princes should realise this. They must understand the trend of the modern times. The Empire on which the sun never sets is vanishing before their own eyes.”

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2022