The descendants of Rajput ruler Maharana Pratap, who fought against the mighty Mughal emperor Akbar nearly 450 years ago, have now had to deal with a family to complete the rituals of accession to the “throne” in Udaipur. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, was challenged by his uncle  Arvind Singh Mewar and his son Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar who allegedly denied him entry to the ‘dhuni’ (sacred fire) temple in the palace premises and then to Eklingnath Ji temple to finish the ritual.

This led to a heated confrontation on Monday night as tensions flared between two factions of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar, resulting in stone pelting, injuring several persons and a standoff at the historic City Palace.

The clash followed the coronation of BJP MLA Vishvaraj Singh Mewar as the 77th Maharana of Mewar earlier that day at Chittorgarh Fort. On Tuesday, the district administration of Udaipur appointed a receiver to manage a disputed area of the City Palace. The issue stands unresolved. However, the situation is under control, district officials said.

Property dispute is at the core of this entire episode, which apparently has turned into the battle of supremacy. City palace and Eklingnathji temple are under the control of Arvind Singh. A stand-off between Vishvaraj Singh and his cousin Dr Lakshay Raj Singh Mewar followed at the gates of the historic city palace after  Vishvaraj Singh Mewar was refused entry into the palace, which is now run by a trust managed by his cousin and uncle Shreeji Arvind Singh Mewar.

The row it sparked escalated as the day progressed. Post-10 pm, the MLA’s supporters started throwing stones and attempted to storm the palace gates. Others are retaliating from inside the palace.

Vishvaraj Singh Mewar was anointed as the titular head of the erstwhile royal family after his father Mahendra Singh Mewar’s death on November 10. However, the ceremony was overshadowed by a long-standing feud between Mahendra Singh, and his estranged younger brother, Arvind Singh. Both are descendants of the Rajput king Maharana Pratap.

In the ceremony, Vishwaraj’s ‘Tilak’ was done by the head of erstwhile Salumbar royal family, Devvrat Singh who slashed his finger on a sword and anointed him in blood- a tradition which has been followed for hundreds of years.

Vishvraj and others had plans to go to pay obeisance at the ‘Dhuni’ in Udaipur city palace and at Eklingnathji temple but both the places are under the control of Arvind Singh. The latter, through his lawyer, reportedly got two public notices published  in local newspapers on Monday to warn of legal action on trespassers and those damaging the property.

When Vishvaraj and others reached the city palace, they were denied entry by the local police. Vishvraj waited for several hours at Jagdish Chowk to enter the city palace, but tension escalated in the night when there was stone pelting from both sides. After Dhuni, Vishvaraj was scheduled to go to Eklingnathji temple in Udaipur where he was to be given a ‘Chhadi’ or stick of silver as a symbol of ‘Deewan’ of Eklingnathji. However, Vishvaraj Singh, who was waiting in Jagdish Chowk, returned to his residence in Udaipur at 1.30 am Tuesday without visiting the city palace.

Mewar’s “pagari dastur” or coronation ceremony was held at the 7th-Century Chittorgarh Fort. Members of erstwhile royal families from across India attended the ceremony marked by a 21-gun salute. “What Lakshayraj Singh has done is a blot on the history of Mewar. By not allowing Vishvaraj Singh to pay obeisance at the Dhuni, he has not only hurt the glorious legacy of Mewar but has also disgraced himself,” Randheer Singh Bhindar, the head of erstwhile royal family of Bhindar, said.

“We asked him that Vishvraj will return after having darshan of the Dhuni and no one will be occupying that place. The Rajput community is furious with him,” he said. Bhindar, a former MLA, said that Lakshyaraj might have thought that if Vishvaraj is allowed to enter the City Palace and he completes the ritual then it will be validated that he is the head of the family.

The Mewar family head used to be called ‘Maharana’, a title which was abolished by the government of India in 1971. However, in community and social circles, many still regard the head as ‘Maharana’. When Mewar was a princely state before integration of Rajasthan, the ‘Maharana’ used to have 16 ‘Umrao’ (or ministers), 32 ‘Thikanerdar’ (Battisa) and several Gol sardars for ruling the state.

District  Collector Arvind Poswal said that talks with both the sides have been going on to resolve the issue. Udaipur Police superintendent Yogesh Goyal said Mewar was unable to perform the ritual at the palace due to the dispute.