False Allies

India's maharajas have often been portrayed as corrupt and pleasure-seeking despots. According to common belief, these bejeweled individuals were more concerned with their own lavish lifestyles and possessions than with the welfare of their people. The British propagated the idea that Indian royalty required the guidance of "enlightened" white hands, and this stereotype was widely accepted by Indians themselves by the 20th century.

However, in his extensively researched book, False Allies, author Manu S. Pillai challenges this narrow view. By tracing the journey of renowned painter Ravi Varma through five princely states from the 1860s to the early 1900s, Pillai uncovers a much more complex reality. Rather than being mere puppets of the British, the maharajas were active participants in political resistance, supporting industrialization and funding nationalists. They constantly tested the imperial authority, from denying British officials the right to wear shoes in durbars to striving to exceed British administrative standards