In the early twentieth century, when royal alliances were currency and compliance was expected of princesses, Indira Devi of Baroda rewrote the script entirely.
Born in 1892 to Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III and Maharani Chimnabai of Baroda, she grew up in a palace that blended regal discipline with progressive ideals. Educated in the Western style, she earned admiration for her wit, composure, and striking presence long before she altered the course of her own story.
A Royal Engagement And A Breakup Over A Letter
Indira was famously good-looking and was courted by numerous Indian princes as a young woman. She was betrothed young; at 18; to Madho Rao Scindia, who was around 38 at the time. Gwalior was one of the most powerful princely states in India back then. The match was impeccable on paper, from a princely-state-alliance point of view, but fate had other plans.
Madho Rao Scindia was once engaged to Princess Indira Devi of Cooch Behar. Photo: iwm.org.uk
At the Delhi Durbar in December 1911, she met Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, the younger prince of the state. This was a year after Indira's engagement. The encounter sparked a romance that defied all expectations.
Jitendra was born in 1886, and was the son of Nripendra Narayan, the King of Cooch Behar (an erstwhile kingdowm and a district in West Bengal today). Like most Indian royals, Nripendra Narayan received his education in England, studying at Eton and Cambridge.
Indira Devi knew that calling off the engagement would create quite the scandal. Yet she chose love. In a move unheard of for a princess of her time, she personally wrote to the Maharaja of Gwalior, ending the engagement. The fallout in Baroda was sharp, the shock palpable, yet the decision spoke of a mind unwilling to bow to convention.
A London Wedding And An Unexpected Throne
Determined to avoid further uproar, Indira's parents sent her to Europe. It did little to deter her resolve. In August 1913, Indira married Jitendra in a quiet civil ceremony at the Paddington Registry Office in London. No members of her family attended the wedding.
Days later, destiny turned again. The death of Jitendra's elder brother made him the Maharaja of Cooch Behar. Suddenly, Indira was not simply a princess, she was queen consort of a princely state. The couple went on to have five children: Jagaddipendra Narayan, Indrajitendra Narayan, Ila Devi, Menaka Devi and Gayatri Devi, who would later become the legendary Maharani of Jaipur.
A Young Widow
Tragedy arrived early. Jitendra died less than a decade into their marriage, leaving Indira a young widow and mother, faced with a state in need of leadership. From 1922 to 1936 she served as regent for her minor son Jagaddipendra, and her rule proved both capable and modern in spirit.
Indira Devi was a fashion icon and progressive figure known for her love of high society. Photo: Wikipedia
According to The Tatler, she stabilised Cooch Behar's finances, slashing lavish court expenditure to clear debts. She demanded efficiency from administrators and personally oversaw state departments.
She encouraged education and advocated progressive reforms for women, rare convictions in princely governance. Indira also stood firm against intrusive colonial oversight, safeguarding her state's autonomy with poise and force of will.
Her reign was not merely administrative. She shaped culture too, leaving an imprint on fashion and royal etiquette, popularising the chiffon saree and cultivating a cosmopolitan social milieu around the Cooch Behar court. Her image combined elegance with authority, offering a model of modern Indian royalty that is still remembered.
The Rajmata Of Cooch Behar
Indira Devi's life reads like a remarkable refusal to be confined. One of the first Indian princesses to attend school and college, she became a sovereign in spirit long before she governed in name.
Her legacy extends through her lineage as well. Her daughter Gayatri Devi's luminous presence in Jaipur and in Indian public life only amplified the stature of a woman who chose love, intelligence, and sovereignty over silence and ceremony.
A century later, Indira Devi remains an emblem of a different kind of royal power: one rooted not in lineage alone, but in courage and conviction.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
