Madhavi Raje Scindia passed away on Wednesday after a chronic ailment due to a lung infection. She was admitted to the AIIMS, Delhi where she breathed her last. She was the mother of Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and the wife of the late Madhavrao Scindia.
Princess of Nepal
She hailed from the Rana dynasty in the kingdom of Nepal. Not only was she a queen of Gwalior but her stature was remarkably big in the clan she belonged to. Her grandfather Juddh Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana was the chief of the Rana dynasty who later became the prime minister of Nepal.
One picture changed her story
Her maiden name was Kiran Raj Lakshmi. In the 1960s, a wedding proposal was sent from the Rana dynasty to Gwalior. It is said that while there were numerous proposals, Madhavrao accepted this relationship in one go as he saw her picture. It was just a single picture that he received. Madhavrao wanted to meet her before their wedding, he wanted to spend some time but it wasn’t allowed on those days.
Becoming Madhavi Raje Scindia
Later, when she came to Gwalior as the wedded wife of Madhavrao Scindia, as per the rituals, her name was changed from Kiran to Madhavi Raje Scindia. Their wedding made headlines in 1966 and many prominent personalities attended it. For this royal wedding, a special train was scheduled from Gwalior to Delhi to facilitate the conveyance of baraat.
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Madhavrao Scindia was one of the power centres in the Congress government and was close to the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He died in a plane crash. Son Jyotiraditya Scindia currently holds the portfolio of aviation in the Modi government.
