Pratap Singh Gaekwad

Shrimant Maharaja Sir Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad (29 June 1908 – 19 July 1968), belonging to the Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas, was the last ruling Maharaja of Baroda. He succeeded to the throne upon the death of his grandfather Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1939. In 1947, India became independent of Britain, and by 1949, Baroda had been merged into the Union of India.

Pratapsinh retained his title and certain privileges, but he was "deposed" by the government of India in 1951 for irresponsible behavior. He then retired to Europe with his second wife, a woman of notorious reputation, and settled in Monaco. He died in 1968 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Fatehsinghrao Gaekwad, who had been officiating as Maharaja since 1951.

He founded the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1949 as per the wishes of his grandfather, Sayajirao, and settled the "Sir Sayajirao Diamond Jubilee and Memorial Trust" which still exists, and caters to the educational and other needs of the people of the former Baroda State.

He was a hedonistic spend thrift who had a tendency to squander his state's money. He had inherited an estate that was conservatively valued in excess of $US300 million (in 1939 dollars), which included an assortment of jewellery estimated value of $US15 million. He went on a 1948 six-week tour of the United States, where he and his second wife were welcomed into the salons of high society. They spent a reported $US10 million during their visit to America. The Indian Union did an audit of Baroda's treasury after the widely read news reports. The audit concluded that the Gaekwad had taken several inappropriate interest free loans from Baroda's treasury. He agreed to pay the money back in yearly installments from his income of US8 million.

When India gained its independence from Britain, it also sought to absorb the princely states. This was a thorny issue, as technically the Princes were independent rulers and their states were private domains. The British withdrawal from India left a vacuum, with the British releasing the princes from their subsidiary alliances. However, most were militarily weak, and pressure from the new Indian Union resulted in the maharajas and other princes acceding their dominions to the one of the new countries of India and Pakistan. Pratap Singh was so distraught after he signed the Instrument of Accession for Baroda that he wept in the arms of V. P. Menon.

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Wikipedia