A Royal Proposal

Kinnaird, a matrimonial proposal, and the Christians of Travancore

I mentioned this incident in the TNB bank article, and as you study this story, you may, like I did, consider the whole thing preposterous. But when you sit back and digest it, you will realize that it was not so, for in history, all across the world, there have been alliances and marriage proposals for the sake of political or monetary convenience, often concluded under threats and pressure. This one can fit into any one of those categories and was probably planned by the British higher powers, in the first place.

Saroja Sunderarajan, in her exhaustive biography of Sir CP, covers the involvement of a British woman named Emily Kinnaird, who meddled in certain matters concerning Travancore. Though Saroja details aspects related to issues faced by the palace from the Christian missionaries, she does not delve into the proposal as such, and so I thought it a good idea to air this story.

Interestingly it started as a marriage proposal for the young Maharaja, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, then about 20-23 years old. What commenced with a curt exchange of letters regarding a marriage proposal for the Maharaja, between Lady Kinnaird and CP, continued as a barrage, involving personnel from various parts of the British Empire, namely London, Madras, Delhi, and powers such as the Viceroy, the resident, the archbishop of Canterbury and many more. Kinnaird tried at first to cajole and persuade Sir CP, but seeing his resolute stance, went on to threaten him. The discussions then shifted from the marriage proposal to the treatment (by the sircar/regency) of the Travancore Christians and other high-handed activities related to the state congress etc.  CP was equally curt in his replies, for Kinnaird’s accusations were far-reaching and prejudiced, as you will see.

Emily Kinnaird the daughter of Mary Jane Kinnaird, who established the YWCA, was a staunch Christian missionary, quite active in India. Kinnaird and her sister worked at the school carrying the family name at Lahore. During the First World War period, she teamed up with the Young Men’s Christian Association to set up many centers for Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps workers, and after the war, founded the Indian Student’s Union and Hostel. Quite a formidable and outspoken woman, she was regarded highly in the British hierarchy and a CBE recipient.

Sir CP at Travancore

Sir CP’s involvement in Travancore started with his recommendation to the Viceroy in support of the young Chithira Thirunal succeeding his deceased uncle as the Maharaja of Travancore, in 1931. The Viceroy acceded to the request on condition that CP remain by the Maharaja’s side as an adviser. He then served as Legal and Constitutional adviser to the prince from 1931 to 1936. Becoming a good friend of the Royal family, especially the Junior Rani Sethu Parvathy Bayi, CP took over as the dewan of the state and worked together with the new King and his mother, in administering Travancore through a tough period, until Indian independence, after which the kingdom devolved to become a state within the Indian union. During this period, CP working from his offices at Bhakti Vilas was a tough administrator, who brought about several good changes to the Kingdom, but at the same time alienated many factions within the state, due to his high-handed activities.

Princess Sethu Parvathy Bai was the mother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last King of Travancore and was titled the junior regent, while her cousin Sethu Lakshmi Bayi (the subject of Manu Pillai’s Ivory Throne) was the regent and senior Rani. CP and Setu Parvati Bayi worked together to persuade Lord Willingdon who became the Viceroy of India in 1931, to terminate the regency and grant reigning powers to the young Maharaja.

Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma – The last Travancore Maharaja

Chithira Thirunal was the eldest son of the junior regent Sethu Parvathi Bayi, popularly known as "Amma Maharani", or the Queen Mother of Travancore. He became the Maharajah of Travancore, at the age of 11, after the death of his maternal great uncle Sree Moolam Thirunal, on 7 August 1924. From then onwards, he ruled with the assistance and guidance of Sir CP and his mother Sethu Parvathy Bai.

Travancore intrigues & Christian movements

This is a large topic but suffice to say that the Travancore royals had a long history of antagonism with the many Christian missionaries who worked with and tried to convert and ‘liberate’ the lowest of classes, resulting in many revolts that we discussed earlier. The palace was at loggerheads not only with the missionaries but also with some of the British residents who leaned towards their co-religionists – a phrase we will see uttered again, as connected to this story. It was obvious that the British administration directly encouraged missionary activities and conversion, which the Royals and their Dewans objected to. We had covered some of these in the TNB and the Ouwerkerk stories, and are not brought up again, though they figure prominently in the Kinnaird assaults.

M R Govinda Kaimal was the person who desired to get one of his two daughters married off to the Maharaja, and to further his cause decided to team up with the Church, the British residency and associated bureaucracy, as well as the offices of the Dewan Sir CP, to forward this alliance to the Maharani and her son the Maharaja. Whether it was a wish, a whim, or a desire, Kaimal was quite persistent about this and tried to muscle this through to the Rani and Raja for over 6 years! Though his ancestry and standing are still not quite clear, by his admission, he seemed to have some past connection to the Champakassery Rajas, an aspect we will try to analyze later in this article.

The Champakassery Principality

The area comprising Ambalapuzha and portions of Kuttanad was merged some centuries ago into a separate principality ruled by a Namboothiri ruler titled the Chempakasssry Raja. The kingdom was known in history as Purakkad, Ambalapuzha, or Chempakassery, and seems to have been formed with the help of a few iterant soldiers of the Zamorin of Calicut. The tract from Kumaranellur to Kudamalur in Kottayam thus came under the sway of the Chempakassery King. The Raja being quite tolerant, sponsored the building of the Kudamaloor church, and was a patron of not only the Syrian Christian community settled there, but also many Muslim families. Dutch factories existed in Purakkad from the 17^th century, after they obtained a monopoly following the defeat of the British. It was after this and the Portuguese influence that the churches of Kudamalloor and Purakkad were built, as well as at Arathunkal Palli in the Karappuram area. The Rajas were later termed the Deva Narayanas. During the Dutch period, the area was termed Porca, in their records.

The Devanarayanan Rajas ruled wisely, and during their reign, art thrived, Ottam Thullal was formulated, and Kunjan Nambiar composed his Thullal’s. The state was also famous for its unique rowing boat designs. During the 18^th century, the kingdom was overrun by the armies of Marthanda Varma led by his Dewan Ramayyan Dalawa, and the last King Devanarayan was taken to Anatapuram, as a prisoner, but was later sent back to Kudamalloor. Here he plotted revenge and was supported by his Christian subjects, as well as the Dutch, but again lost in a conflict with Travancore, and eventually retired to become an ascetic, spending his last days at Ambalapuzha. Interestingly, Marthanda Varma spared his life on both occasions, only due to the fear of being accursed for killing a Brahmin. Kunjan Nambiar was forced to move to Travancore.

The Cherthala region of the present day was then known as Karappuram and it comprised two small principalities, viz, Muthedath and Ileyedath. The Kaimals who were the chieftains of these areas were related and allied to the Raja of Cochin. The first instance of a Kaimal/Chembakassery war alliance comes from the 1528-40 conflict between Purakkad and the Portuguese, where the Karappuram Kaimal allied with Chembakassery. Govinda Kaimal’s origins may have been from one of the two Kaimal factions (the last Chembakassery Devanarayan had no offspring). Alternatively, he may have belonged to the Aymanam Kaimals, the military commanders of the Chempakassery Rajas.

Kinnaird’s initial contact with Sir CP

It is not clear if the Kaimal proposal was already known to the Junior Rani as early as 1933 (mind you, the boy was just 20 years old), but there are indications from Kaimal’s letter that he had broached it to the Raja’s grandfather Kilimanoor Kerala Varma in 1933 or so, who seemed to find it agreeable. Whether the Queen mother or the Raja objected to it right away is also not clear, but we hear of it come up formally through Emily Kinnaird who wrote to Sir CP in 1937. The 1938 file states that earlier papers on the subject are not traceable.

Kinnaird wrote to CP from Lahore on 16th April 1937 that in the best interests of the state, which she had a long connection with, she wanted CP to meet and introduce MR Govinda Kaimal, a person popular with his neighbors and whom she had met several times, to the Maharani and thence to the Raja, with an intent to get one of Kaimal’s daughter’s married to the young Raja. In addition, she wanted CP to recommend another young boy for employment with the Sassoons as an intern. She intended to write directly to the Maharani on this matter later, with CP’s support.

CP replied on 23^rd April 37, expressing his surprise and making it clear that it was quite inappropriate of Kinnaird to contact him, that he did not have the remotest idea who Kaimal was and how and why Kaimal in the first place thought it a good idea to make this contact with others (the Royalty), through him. He curtly closed the correspondence stating that he could not be of any assistance in either matter.

Unbeknownst to CP, Kinnaird had written directly to the Viceroy six months earlier about finding a suitable consort for the King, and the Viceroy replied to her stating that it did not fall within the range of his responsibilities.

Kinnaird’s retort

Kinnaird was incensed, to say the least, she when she got her chance, wrote to CP in Feb 1938 pointing out that Travancore was persecuting Christians in the kingdom, that CP was taking the state back to the dark ages, and pointed out that those persecuted were co-religionists of the Viceroy! CP replied that Kinnaird on 15^th Feb that his government was very tolerant, and that she was being prejudiced, making unfounded accusations without basis, and that he shall take no notice of its contents.

CP later forwarded his correspondence as well to the Political Secretary Glancy on 17th Dec 1938. Glancy took note and pointed out to the Viceroy’s private secretary G Laithwaite that he was surprised to see Kinnaird’s role included that of a marriage broker to the prince’s market! He agreed that CP’s replies to Kinnaird were not exactly conciliatory, but that CP had sufficient provocation.

Kinnaird had in the meantime contacted Patrick at the India office and complained about torture being resorted to on political prisoners, attaching a statement of Dr NS Pillai of Attingal, a doctor practicing in E Africa. Apparently when arrested he had some State congress papers and was rough-handled at the police station. Patrick and Lord Zetland upon checking on this found that there was no foundation to her suggestions, so also some other instances brought up by Kinnaird, and replied to her so.

A Nov 1938 noting reveals that Kinnaird continued her accusations of CP and accused the Resident CP Skrine of having been squared by the Dewan. In this case, the Maharaja ordered an amnesty for the prisoners, and the matter was dropped ending in the file comment – if possible, tactfully to indicate to her for a more careful scrutiny of the information reaching her.

The details of the proposal formed the content of the correspondence between Kaimal and the Archbishop of Canterbury, and this was forwarded by Patrick from the India Office in London to Glancy, in Jan 1939. The archbishop confirms that he had correspondence with Kaimal ‘some’ years ago about a matrimonial alliance and had written to the then Secretary of State Sir Samuel, in Nov 1933. The matter went dormant until 1939 when Kaimal again wrote to him. The archbishop wanted nothing to do with it and forwarded it to the Secretary of state!

Kaimal’s overtures

Kaimal had been in contact with the Pro India archbishop of Canterbury over this matter even before the arrival of Kinnaird. He explains in his 17^th Dec 1938 deposition to the archbishop that he belonged to a family of Dewans and Gurus to the Chempakassery Rajas, enjoying tax-free lands and other perks due to their high standing in society (which included the marriage of their daughters only with Namboodiries!). He adds that they were called Yajamans and the ladies Kunjamma’s and that owing to special historical antecedents, they had a special place in the Christian community of Chempakassery. Furthermore, he had been well known to the Travancore Royals, had stayed with the young Raja in Ooty, and the thought of getting his daughter betrothed to the Raja crossed his mind. Accordingly, he had approached the grandfather of the Raja with the idea of a matrimonial alliance. However, the old man, though in general agreement with the idea, replied that Kaimal should contact the family through some persons in a ‘high position’. The archbishop and the foreign secretary were contacted as suggested by the Malankara Church authorities. Further, it was thought that it would be a better idea to moot a formal proposal through ladies and hence he broached the subject to Lady Kinnaird. She (as Kaimal puts it) discussed the matter with Lord and Lady Halifax, the Zetlands, and even Lord and Lady Linlithgow.

A subsequent plan was made for Kaimal to meet the Viceroy, but this did not work out as Kaimal did not speak English, and eventually a meeting with Lord and Lady Erskine (Madras governor), was planned, which also did not pan out due to scheduling issues. Kinnaird then wrote to the Raja’s grandfather for his opinion, in 1936. The grandfather replied to Kinnaird stating that the consorts of the Travancore Raja were made from the Nair community, and this being a Kaimal (elevated in caste), may be far better. Kinnaird came and met the Kaimals in 1936 and expressed her opinion to the Viceroy that the prospective couple looked like ‘Brother & Sister’ (perhaps to mean alike in general looks or suited to each other).

Kaimal added that all these details had also been submitted to Sir CP and the Maharani, Sethu Parvathy Bai, through the grandfather, but that no decision had been made, as he felt the Dewan and the Rani were not too sure how it would benefit them in future!

To sway their mind, and perhaps show them the potential benefits, he entreated the British powers (as responsible persons) to show and declare their interest in this negotiation!!  To quote Kaimal “If they come to know that responsible persons are interested in this union, and that it will do them good in the future, I am sure that this marriage will take place in no time!!

The Chaplain confirmed to Kaimal that they notified the Marquis of Zetland and Kaimal wrote to Zetland a month later asking for details of any progress. He ends his letter with the sentence – May your Excellency be blessed to see India working its way to peace! Now what did he mean by that? Was he connecting the addressee to the disturbances current to Travancore then?

The “Responsible Persons”

Lord Linlithgow (VA John Hope) - Viceroy to India
Secretary to the Viceroy – Gilbert Laithwaite
Marquis of Zetland (John Lumley Dundas) - Secretary of State
Bertrand James Glancy – Political Secretary to the Viceroy
Lord Irwin – Previous Viceroy, in 1938, the foreign secretary
Lord Erskine – Governor of Madras Presidency
C.P. Skrine - Resident – Travancore
William Cosmo Gordon Lang – Archbishop of Canterbury

The result

Nothing seems to have helped, CP and the Maharani dug in their heels and the proposal went nowhere. No further information is at hand on the Kaimals.

The political situation in Travancore deteriorated quickly in the latter part of 1938 due to various other issues well known to us. Abdul Karim took over the police. CP became increasingly unpopular, his relations with the British went downhill after he muzzled the Manorama and the Mano Mohanam press, and his handling of the TNB case exacerbated the issue further. In 1939, Britain got into the forefront of WW II. The marriage proposal was the least of their worries and died out.

How did all this come about?

There is one more matter to consider - The Kaimals and the Raja were not equals, regardless of the caste levels of potential consorts. The reason why word got around was that the junior Maharani had at some time mentioned that she was against a bride from Travancore because it could lead to relatives and others trying to meddle in local politics, form patronage networks, etc. So, the idea was to get the Maharajah married to a Malayali from outside Travancore. Perhaps word reached Kaimal that there was a possibility and Kaimal tried to play the Christian card, to further his case, which presumably upset the Amma Rani. We do know from KOC Pillai's accounts that the Queen and the Raja were considering multiple proposals for the Raja and that none worked out, though there is a comment that the boy was rather shy.

Maharaja’s consort

Chithira Tirunal did not officially take a consort.  Whether he had one or not and if he had any issues from such a consort, official or unofficial, are not quite clear, though many rumors float around, as they usually do, in Trivandrum.

Kinnaird & Gandhi

Kinnaird was a persistent lady, she was 86 years old when she met Gandhiji on July 20, 1940, and had a very interesting dialog with him on religious matters, this can be read in the Harijan of August 4, 1940 (Vol. 72 p. 297-299).

Whatever was said and done, Sir CP was an outspoken man and did not cow down to British authority or pressure. He was quite rigid in his stance and somewhat arrogant at times but kept the best interests of his principals and employers, the Royals of Travancore, foremost in his mind and actions, as their paid servant and Dewan. That he could not match his actions to the aspirations of his subjects at Travancore, was his unfortunate failing.

References

Political department File 739, 1938, Travancore affairs

Sir C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar, a Biography - Saroja Sundararajan

Padathalavan – Parameswaran Pillai

 

Read More

A Quid Pro Quo

Revisiting the Nanavati Case

The case has been talked about often, there have been a few books, numerous articles, and no less than 3 movies as well as a TV series based on the story. The latest book by Bachi Karkaria uncovers quite a few gaps and makes it heady reading. Nevertheless, there could be a few who are still looking for some finer details, and I intend to cover those today.

Nanavati’s Navy background & stay in the UK

Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati, a Parsi, was born in 1922 and educated in Bombay, and later joined the Royal Indian (British) Navy in 1942, after which he was sent to the UK for training. During training, he was identified as OLQ – Officer like quality material and was pushed rapidly through the ranks, a decision proven wise with his 16 ½ years of meritorious service through WWII serving in both the European Anzio (Russian convoys – see my article on the Luckenbach) campaign and the Burmese Arkan assaults. Nanavati was considered a blue-eyed boy to the Naval brass, rose to become a lieutenant commander on INS Rajput, INS Delhi, and a few years after Indian independence in 1952, found himself posted back to London as a Naval attaché (Deputy Naval advisor) reporting to the new High Commissioner VK Krishna Menon. Perhaps they built a good rapport, and this was to stand him in good stead as we will soon see. It was during his UK training sojourn, that he met and got married in 1949, to an English girl Sylvia. The couple were blessed with three children in quick succession and returning to Bombay around 1953, were welcomed by the close-knit Parsi community of Colaba. In 1956, he was sent back to the UK to bring home the INS Mysore (rechristened from HMS Nigeria), as second in command to HM Nanda. Just before the tumultuous events that took place in 1959, Menon had earmarked him for a promotion to DG of the Naval dockyard scheme.

Krishna Menon had returned to India and was working in the Nehru cabinet, and by 1956, was appointed as the defense minister.  During the late 50’s and early 60s, Menon campaigned in Bombay and was elected as the Member of Parliament from Bombay. The Parsis as well as the film fraternity joined hands and ensured that he won with a thumping majority, so Menon was well known there.

A quick run-through of the case

Nanavati’s case is quite well known to Bombay's old timers but is now only remembered by movie buffs and a few following the history of the teeming city. After his INS Mysore stint, Kawas Nanavati got back home for his routine furlough, and it became unhappily apparent to him that Sylvia was distant, cool, and disinterested. Upon questioning her, Nanavati came to know that she was in the middle of a hot affair with Prem Ahuja, an automobile dealer, a person well known in the Malabar Hill circuit for his elan and his parties. Ahuja was quite popular with women and when Nanavati understood that his wife was in an amorous affair with him, seems to have lost his cool.  After dropping his wife and children for a film, Nanavati went to his ship, and signed out a revolver and 6 rounds, informing the storekeeper that he was going on a road trip, or to shoot birds (according to Jethmalani). He then proceeded to Ahuja’s office, but not finding him there, to his home, where Nanavati accosted Ahuja in his bedroom, and a heated argument ensued. It appears that Ahuja said he had no intention of marrying Sylvia or taking care of Nanavati’s children when asked so point-blank by Nanavati, following which a physical scuffle is said to have taken place. Memmi, Ahuja’s sister who was sleeping through a migraine had heard the visitor coming in, and had seen him proceeding to meet her brother, now heard three gunshots, the sound of a body crashing on the floor, and rushed to see what was going on. She saw a bleeding Ahuja, (two bullets had struck his chest and one his head) towel-clad, on the floor, and a silent and calm Kawas standing over him with a 0.38 Smith & Wesson in his hand.

Nanavati left quietly, then visited the Navy Provost Marshall MB Samuel, got directions to the police station, and going there, surrendered to CID Inspector John Lobo, stating that he had shot Ahuja. Sylvia was informed of the happenings at the theater where she and the children were watching ‘Tom Thumb’, and shocked, she shot up, screamed, and collapsed.

After parleying by the Naval brass and ‘higher ups’, it was decided to place Kawas in Naval custody even though this was a civil case. Nanavati was thus confined to the Naval detention quarters on shore, part of the INS Kunjali complex at Colaba, also home to the fledgling naval aviation and helicopter fleet. Here he cooled his heel for a few months, while outside, all hell had broken loose. Meanwhile, Sylvia and Kawas had come back to terms and decided to fight the upcoming case, together, as the family moved and settled at Nanavati’s parents’ house.

Kunjali IV in whose name this complex had been built, would have smiled wryly seeing all this, for it was all a far cry from the days when his paroes played hide and seek and fought the Portuguese with flaming arrows and guerilla tactics. The only fight he would soon see would be verbal calisthenics in a courtroom, pitting naval folk and politicians against the judicial system.

The Navy and the Parsis lined up behind Kawas, and Menon the powerful Defense minister who had Nehru’s ears, pulled the strings. Karanjia, who ran the tabloid Blitz, Menon’s steadfast supporter, ensured Bombay’ites were kept up to date with explosive and salacious details, so written by RP Aiyer.

Prem Ahuja was a partying, well-spoken, Bombay socialite from a rich Sandhi family, hailing from Karachi. He was considered discrete, ready to lend his ear to any attractive lady who started a conversation with him. He came across as an ‘am admi’, a common man, not a posh Parsi speaking with a clipped British accent.

The Navy wives felt he did right in shooting Ahuja but added that he should then have shot Slyvia and committed suicide. While the vast majority were on Nanavati’s side, the Sindhi community was quite hurt when snide comments were made about them, by the Parsi-led media, as Ahuja was a Sindhi. In any case, the air was thick with all kinds of rumors, and when the case came up for trial in the sessions court, the Judge had a tough time reigning in the ‘Tamasha’ as he termed it. A few Brits still hanging around in Bombay, felt that it was a travesty to justice, and grumbled seeing Nanavati coming to court, resplendent in Navy whites. They felt that in the Blighty, Nanavati would have been found guilty and jailed for life.

The trial took place at the sessions court at Flora Fountain in Sept 1959, and huge crowds gathered to witness it. The case pitted the posh and well-settled Parsis against the Sindhis who were by now rising as equals to them, in business.  True, there was competition between the two trading communities, but the feelings simmered and bubbled when Parsis painted Sindhis as adulterers. The Gujaratis sided with the Parsis as fellow Banias. Shouts of ‘Nanavati Zindabad’ rang in the air, as the meticulously uniformed Nanavati walked in and out, his medals glistening in the sun. Outside Ahuja towels “which won’t fall off’ and Nanavati toy pistols were being sold by enterprising hawkers.

The defense plan by lead counsel Kandhalwala was to make it clear that the navy and the defense ministry were squarely behind their man, and that it was all an accident, that the gun had gone off during a scuffle. Khandalwala was assisted by barrister Rajni Patel and SR Vakil. Public prosecutor CM Trivedi was accompanied by Sindhi Ram Jethmalani, there as an observer, on Mammie Ahuja’s request, while Judge RB Mehta presided. Nanavati pled ‘not guilty’, and the defense argued a case of accidental death. During the examination, Kawas admitted having surrendered but mentioned that he did not shoot to kill and that it was all an accident. Chief of Naval Staff RD Katari testified on Kawas’s impeccable character, while Dr. AV Baliga poked holes in the testimony of the medical witness Dr Bhaganay. SM Nanda, who together with Nanavati had just brought INS Mysore from Britain to India also testified in Kawas’s career. Sylvia who was called to the stand mentioned that Ahuja had promised to marry her and that he had a gun (which was the reason why Nanavati took out a gun when he went to see him).

The jury verdict

A jury of 9, pondered over the results of examination and cross-examination and decided 8-1 by the end Oct 1959, that Nanavati was ‘not guilty’. The Sindhis were furious, seeing how the case was getting fixed, murmuring that the jury had been bought. At this point, one should take note that Jethmalani’s observation that it was simply impossible for a towel not to fall off during a tussle, cast considerable doubt on Nanavati’s cooked-up ‘accident story’ and the defense strategy. The agitated judge disagreed with the jury verdict and ordered a review by the high court. Nanavati was sent back to INS Kunjali for further detention.

Much to contrary belief, this was not the last jury case or the case (many blamed Blitz) that stopped the use of the jury in India (I was also under that impression until I read Jaffe’s paper). It had been a perineal problem, due to the difficulty in obtaining qualified jurors. As Jaffe explains, Jury trials survived well into the 1960s. Courts with original jurisdiction over criminal cases, and several high courts continued to employ juries long after the Nanavati trial, as did many sessions courts, especially in Bengal, but not as often, until 1973. It was not until the passage of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, that the jury was written out of the criminal trial in courts of session by simply stating, "After hearing arguments and points of law (if any), the Judge shall give a judgment in the case." It was thus by an act of omission rather than an act of commission that trial by jury finally was ended in sessions courts. The common juror, according to the judiciary, was thought of as ‘wild’, ignorant, illiterate, and corruptible. That is, they were ‘not the right people’ to perform the juror’s role.

The high court case & the governor’s pardon

The case was heard again at the High Court, in Feb 1960, where the state was represented by YV Chandrachud., with the defense led by ASR Chari. Justices Shelat and Naik took apart the flimsy defense arguments and pronounced Nanavati guilty of murder under sections 300 and 302, sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment, following which a warrant was issued for his arrest. Within four hours however, Nanavati’s sentence was suspended by the Maharashtra Governor Sri Prakasa (after discussions with the CM), under article 161, while Nanavati appealed to the Supreme Court. The case was discussed again on appeal and Kawas continued his detention at INS Kunjali.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, the parliament was in uproar, and Nehru as well as Menon had to field questions on why Nanavati was provided Rs 10,000/- government assistance, to fight the case. Nehru replied to heated questions, stating that intervention was at the behest of Chief of Navy Staff Katari. But it becomes clear that the person who threw all the weight behind the order was none other than VK Krishna Menon who in an interview with Max Lerner mentioned that he had talked to Sri Prakasa – telling him that the stain of turpitude should not destroy the career of a promising young officer.

This was the first test for the Indian constitution and the first time an Article 161 pardon was implemented. While the legal community was aghast at the order, the public was jubilant. For Nanavati, the situation was tricky because if found guilty, he could be dismissed from service per the regulations, and lose many benefits. The unhappy judiciary decided to contest the governor’s obstruction to justice, as they saw it. HM Seeravi appeared for the state, while Nani Palkhiwala joined the defense. The constitution is dissected and examined, together with the powers of the governor, and the logic in confining Nanavati in a naval goal. After much deliberation, they decide that the governor's order shall stand, leaving the legal community quite unhappy.

Supreme Court it is

Nanavati’s team meanwhile filed a couple of special leave petitions in the Supreme Court against the HC ruling. The Supreme Court taking up the issue, objected to the Governor usurping the court’s rights. A majority decision was reached and Nanavati’s requests were dismissed and he was asked to appear and pray to the court for the return of the writ and warrant. Nanavati during these periods was shuttled between INS Kunjali and the Arthur Road civil prison. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court decided that Nanavati had without any doubt, intentionally shot & killed Ahuja. They also threw out a possibility of culpable homicide and confirmed life imprisonment for the defendant.

Blitz went on an overdrive, publishing mercy petitions from Sylvia and their elder son Pheroze. As the uproar grew in Bombay, the children were sent off to Lovedale in Ooty. At the Arthur Road jail, Nanavati was given a special room, but was moved to the Yervada jail in Pune, developed chest pains, and was treated at the JJ hospital. He was discharged from the Navy in April 1962, and Nanavati applied for parole on health grounds. This was granted, and he moved to a bungalow in Lonavla.

On 16^th March 1964, Nanavati was pardoned by the new Maharashtra governor and Nehru’s sister Vijayalakshmi (Nan) Pandit. Interestingly Nan knew Nanavati for had succeeded Krishna Menon as HC in the UK and had taken formal possession of the INS Mysore. This was made possible by the strangest of possibilities, so let me stop here and take you through the story of another individual, Bhai Pratap Dadlani.

Bhai Pratap and the Sindhu Resettlement Corporation

Bhai Pratap a good friend of the Indian freedom movement, a personal friend of both Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, had decided to resettle the Sindhis who had trudged to Bombay, after a painful partition. On the 15,000 acres of land donated by the Raja or Kutch, he started the town projects at Adipur, Khandla, and Gandhidham. In 1954, a fellow Sindhi accused Bhai of wrongdoing and this started a witch hunt and a legal case which he lost, so also the appeal that followed, after which he was jailed. He fell sick in jail and struggled with multiple heart ailments.

According to the parliament Q&A, Bhai Pratap, the Managing Director of the Sindhu Resettlement Corporation Ltd., was convicted of offenses of conspiracy and cheating and/or abetment thereof under section 120-B and section 420 read with section 109 of the Indian Penal Code for dishonestly inducing the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports to issue three import licenses on the plea that they were required by the Corporation for the development of the Kandla Port and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 4,000.

The case alleged disposing of in the black-market electric goods worth several lacs of rupees obtained under an import license and intended for use in the development of Gandhidham, which as you will read on, was proved wrong. According to the transport minister, he was not lodged in jail but remained as an in-patient in St. George Hospital, Bombay, till 13-12-1961 when he was released on parole.

The quid pro quo settlement

The Jethmalani book provides us with the story of the settlement – Bhai Pratap was a close associate of Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and Patel. Bhai Partap was a wealthy businessman who had moved to Mumbai after Partition and had become the driving force behind the movement to provide a homeland for homeless Sindhis in Gandhi Dham. Bhai Partap's businesses included importing various goods. A complaint had been filed against him for the misuse of these goods in the early 1960s. He had originally engaged Jethmalani to defend him but was later advised to engage an older, better-known lawyer.

Unfortunately, Bhai Partap was convicted and sentenced to eighteen months of rigorous imprisonment. Despite having employed a prominent lawyer, not only was his subsequent appeal rejected, but his sentence was also increased to five years. Thanks to his political influence, he was able to apply for a mercy petition to Mrs Vijayalakshmi Pandit, who had become governor in 1962. Unlike most other such petitions, his (petition) was scrutinized closely by two diligent secretaries, B.B. Paymaster, and R.L. Dalal, who discovered that he had been unjustly convicted and was, in fact, innocent. The public prosecutor had withheld from the court important information that proved his innocence. He, therefore, deserved a pardon.

Around the same time, there was also pressure on the government to grant a pardon to Nanavati, who had by then already served a few years in prison. However, the government was aware that pardoning Nanavati would antagonize the Sindhi community. One evening, there was a knock on the door of Ram's apartment at Panchshila, and he was surprised to see Rajni Patel, one of the defense lawyers in the Nanavati case and now a power broker of the Congress Party, and the beautiful Sylvia outside his door. He was hard-pressed to guess what the visit was about. Patel immediately came to the point and explained that the government was prepared to pardon Bhai Partap and, simultaneously, wished to do the same for Nanavati. But, before that, they needed the concurrence of the Sindhi community. In this case, the one person who mattered was Prem's sister Mamie whose concurrence would end all controversy.

They were aware that Ram (as a prominent Sindhi, and well-known to Mamie) alone could prevail upon Mamie. They told him that such a joint pardon would be in the interest of both communities. Ram gave in and convinced Mamie to give in writing the fact that she had no objection to Nanavati's pardon.

Nanavati and Bhai Partap were pardoned on the same day, 16th March 1964.

Canada it is

A few months following the pardon, Nanavati and his family obtained immigration to Canada, seemingly as an emotional refugee, and over time became the Marketing director of Laurier Life Insurance, (some say backed by JRD Tata’s recommendation). There was a large Parsi community in Toronto and Nanavati blended in easily and seems to have done very well in his job. Nanavati, as he admitted, chose to forget that sorry part of his life. They were certainly not low profile and the Nanavatis did make a few visits to Bombay. They moved to Burlington in retirement and Nanavati passed away in 2003, Sylvia from what I last read had moved to an assisted living community.

It was such a volatile case and the first time the Indian constitution was also put on trial, with so many luminaries involved. Ram Jethmalani made his name from the case, Chandrachaud and others rose to become chief justices of the Supreme Court, Sri Prakasa, YB Chavan, Rajni Patel, Acharya Kriplani, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Nehru and Menon were all well known for their political lives. BS Soman and SM Nanda became Chiefs of naval staff, Krishnan who took over from Nanavati at INS Mysore, commanded INS Vikrant and became Chief of Southern Command, to oversee the sinking of the PNS Ghazi and the 1971 Pak surrender, while many others including Inspector Lobo wrote books or recounted their memories for others. Bhai Pratap did not live long after the pardon, the great man who built the busy Kandla port moved to London and passed away in 1967.

In 1962, Menon beat Kriplani in the Bombay elections, and Rajni Patel was the key person for him at that time. Jethmalani became Menon’s translator for his campaigning speeches in 1962 and rose to become one of the finest lawyers in India. Menon’s career graph tumbled south after the Chinese incursions and he left the political main stage, soon after.

When you look back, this case became what it was, as RD Pradhan reasons, only because of Krishna Menon’s strong sense of loyalty to a serving officer. But when the China event happened, many who served under Menon in the armed forces ganged up in revolt, made him a scapegoat, and ensured his removal from the ministry. Menon did not utter a word about all this, other than saying good things about his peers and subordinates. That is life, I guess….

The trial according to Jaffe - was significant in Indian legal history not because of popular politics or its sensationalism. These were nothing new in India. And it certainly should not be famous for being ‘the last jury trial in India,’ which it was not. Instead, the Nanavati trial perhaps should be better remembered as the culmination of decades of anti-jury rhetoric, especially among the judicial establishment.

The book by Bachi Karkaria is a must-read for those who want to delve deep into this case, and I thank her for filling the many holes in the story. Thanks also to Saaz Agarwal for providing much information on Bhai Pratap, an individual who did not get a second life after the fateful pardon, but died soon after, with I am sure, a broken heart.

The bad blood between the communities had dissipated by the time I started working in Bombay in the mid-80s. I knew many Parsis and Sindhis from my office days in Bombay, I fondly remember Nena our Sindhi receptionist, and Noreen, our Parsi stenographer, who arranged a Parsi dabba lunch for me right through my years there.

And without a doubt, I miss Bombay, now ‘Mumbai’…I will go back someday soon if only to walk through those streets which I once traversed - treading on foot, the BEST double-deckers and the suburban trains if only to relive those days …

Until then…..

References

In Hot Blood – Bachi Karkaria
Mumbai Fables – Gyan Prakash
Commander Nanavati & the Unwritten Law – Emily Hahn (The New Yorker Nov 1960)
RS and LS debate records, High Court & Supreme Court rulings
After Nanavati: The Last Jury Trial in India? - James Jaffe
‘Not The Right People’_ Why Jury Trials were Abolished in India -James Jaffe
Sensational Love Scandals and their After-lives: The Epic Tale of Nanavati - Sabeena Gadihoke
On the Case of the State Against Kawas Maneckshaw Nanavati – Ashok H Desai
A Chequered brilliance: the many lives of V.K. Krishna Menon – Jairam Ramesh
Ram Jethmalani – Nalini Gera
Bare acts – The honorable murder – Arathi Sethi
Never a dull moment – RD Pradhan
Love, death, and scandal in Bombay – Murali M Menon
Bhai Pratap, Tribute to a Forgotten Hero (Sahapedia) – Saaz Agarwal

Trivia

Dishoom, the cookbook introduces a cocktail, named Commander after this case, made with navy strength gin, pepper, absinthe, kamm & sons ( a spicy London aperitif)

"Quid pro quo" is a Latin phrase that means "something for something" or "this for that". It is used to describe an exchange of goods, services, favors, or money, where one transfer is dependent on the other.

Turpitude - is a legal expression designating an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community, i.e. one that is contrary to justice, honesty, or morality and one which shocks the public conscience as being inherently base, vile, or depraved.

 Pics - Wikimedia, and Google images - thanks to all the owners and providers

Read More