The Progressive Maharaja- Sir Madhava Rao's Hints on the Art and Science of Government

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Hints on the Art and Science of Government was the first treatise on statecraft produced in modern India. It consists of lectures that Raja Sir T. Madhava Roo delivered in 1881 to Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III, the young Maharaja of Baroda. Universally considered the foremost Indian statesman of the nineteenth century, Madhava Rao had served as dewan (or prime minister) in the native states of Travancore, Indore and Baroda. Under his command, Travancore and Baroda come to be seen as 'model states', whose progress demonstrated that Indians were capable of governing well. Roo's lectures explain how and why a Maharaja ought to marry the classical Indian ideal of raj dharma, which enjoins rulers to govern dutifully, with the modern English ideal of limited sovereignty. This makes Hints an exceptionally important text: it shows how, outside the confines of British India, Indians consciously and creatively sought to revise and adapt ideals in the interests of progress. This edition contains both the newly rediscovered original lecture manuscripts and an authoritative introduction, outlining Roo's remarkable career, his complicated relationship with Sayaji Rao III, and the reasons why his lectures were neglected.

In 2016, I was immersed in constructing an index of English-language periodicals published in colonial-era India. Trawling through the archives, I came across the quaint sounding Feudatory and Zemindari India: An Illustrated Monthly Journal Published in the Interests of the Ruling Princes, Chieft and Zemindars, etc. Upon diving in, it became clear that far from being some amusing gallery of exaggerated pomp and pag-cantry, Feudatory and Zemindari India had in fact been a significant publication, serving as a platform for voices from the semi-autono mous Native States that comprised "Indian India". I was especially struck by a short article entitled "The Education of the Ruling Princes: A Note by the Late Raja Sir T. Madhava Rao", which called for Maharajas ruling these principalities to be given a "special educa-tion" that would enable them to live up to their "duties and respon-sibilities". Who was this highly decorated figure? And what had become of his plea? I soon learnt how little I knew about "Indian India". The Raja Sir, it turned out, was one of the towering personalities of nineteenth-century India, and as Dewan of Baroda he had been responsible for its Maharaja's "special education". Rao's enterprise was fascinating, because it appeared to be a modern example of what is known as the "mirror of princes" a genre of ethics in which writers directly address rulers on the tricky business of exercising power. Excited, 1 acquired a copy of Minor Hints, the book that apparently contained a facsimile of the lectures that Rao had delivered to Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, the ruler of Baroda. A swift inspection left me with mixed feelings. The content was certainly original and striking but the book itself was unpolished. It lacked an introduction, the lectures were obviously out of sequence, and there were no supporting materials It left me with more questions than answers, What prompted the lectures? Why were they printed out of order? Did they have the intended effect? I cast about for answers to little avail. There were a handful of marvelous works of the Native States, most notably by Robin Jeffrey, Barbara Ramusack, lan Copland, Manu Bhagavan, Caroline Keen, and Manu Pillai, but none of these addressed Minor Hints. There was a nice short essay by S. V. Puntambekar that summarized the lectures, However, as it was written in 1944, before British India's archives became available, the analysis was entirely abstract. Widening the search, I came upon Lessons on Raja Neeti, a little-noticed book, pub. lished in 2011 by M. Rama Jois, the former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana, It reprinted Rao's lectures and sang its paeans, describ. ing them as a "treasure of knowledge". Imagine my surprise when Jois revealed that Minor Hints had been recommended to him by the then-Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the now-Prime Minister had even penned a Foreword to Jois' volume, in which he urged the "political class to spare a little thought and time" for the "teachings of the great admin-istrator, Raja Sir T. Madhava Rao".3 Astonishing as this discovery was, it brought me no closer to figur-ing out the story behind Minor Hints. Seemingly at a dead end, I set the material aside. Then, a few months later, I came across yet another fascinating essay, "The Constitution of Native States: An Important Memorandum of the Late Rajah Sir T. Madhava Rao". Published posthumously in 1906 in Indian Review, one of the most influential periodicals of the era, it explained why Maharajas ought to establish a constitutional order that would give them a dignified but symbolic role while placing administration in the hands of experi-enced and impartial officials. Like the article in Feudatory and Zemindari India, this memorandum was elegantly constructed and carefully argued. Consequently, I began to suspect that the haphazard Minor Hints was printed without Rao's involvement.

THE PROGRESSIVE MAHARAJA

Raja Sir Tanjore Madhava Rao is virtually unknown today. This is a tragedy, for Rao was universally considered the foremost Indian statesman of the nineteenth century. His domain was what the British termed the Native States or what Indians pointedly described as Indian India. Between 1858 and 1883, Rao had the unique distinction of serving successively as Dewan (or Prime Minister) to the Maharajas of Travancore, Indore, and Baroda. In each instance, he was cele-brated for displaying excellence in administration. On his watch, Travancore and Baroda in particular came to be seen as "model states", whose progress demonstrated that Indians were capable of governing themselves well. Hints on the Art and Science of Government is the harvest of Rao's exceptional career. It came into being when Rao was tasked with preparing Sayaji Rao Gaekwad to become Maharaja of Baroda. Its contents are the lectures Rao delivered to the young prince. The lectures summarize the principles, gleaned from long experience, to which Rao credited his practical successes. These principles combine the classical Indian ideal of raj dharma, which enjoins rulers to govern dutifully, with the modern European ideal, familiar to readers of Charles de Montesquieu, that rulers must eschew arbitrariness. Put simply, Rao advised rulers to be tough on themselves but gentle toward citizens. Hints commends itself to posterity for two reasons. First, because of what it is the most important example there is of how the earliest generation of English-educated Indian elites tried to revise ancient ideals of statesmanship for the modern age. Second, because of what it teaches it promises rulers who govern liberally and prudently happiness for their people and fame for themselves. In this respect, Hints is not only timeless but also timely.

Who was Madhava Rao?

Madhava Rao was born in 1828 in Kumbakonam, a prominent town in Madras Presidency's Tanjore district, to a family long associated with public administration, His uncle, Venkat Rao, served as Dewan of Travancore from 1821-30, before being drafted to the Mysore Commission as Head Sheristadar (manager). His father, Ranga Rao, served as Deputy Sheristadar at the Madras Board of Revenue before also being recruited to Travancore, where he served as Acting Dewan between 1837-38 prior to his untimely death in 1839. In 1841 Rao entered the newly-established Madras High School, the precursor to Presidency College. Under the tutelage of its legend. ary Principal, Eyre Burton Powell, Rao received a decidedly modern and liberal education: Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare, John Locke, Adam Smith, Alexander Pope, and Edward Gibbon were studied alongside calculus, trigonometry, algebra, astronomy, optics, and electricity. Powell prized Rao, deeming his abilities "far more extensive than those of most native young men", his proficiency in mathematics in particular being such as "would secure him an honor-able position even in the University of Cambridge." This was no minor compliment for Powell was a Wrangler one of those demi-gods that had attained a First Class in Mathematics at Cambridge. Rao, in turn, revered his teacher. His successes, he would always insist, were "ultimately traceable to the influence of Mr. Powell's teaching", which had led "demonstrated truths" to take a "firm hold of our minds"." After graduating in 1846 Rao entered the Madras Accountant General's office, earning 20 rupees every month. He was not to remain a "Junior Assistant" for long. Later that year Uttaram Tirunal ascended to the throne in Travancore.