It was in July 1971 that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi introduced the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India, abolishing privy purses and recognition granted to the rulers of Indian states. 

Soon after Independence, privy purses, in proportion to the size of the revenue of former princely states, had been granted to the royals as a quid pro quo for surrender of their ruling powers and dissolution of their states. The then home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was instrumental in the integration of 562 princely States with the Union of India. 

Though the privy purses were abolished, the royals continued to use the titles in their daily lexicon. In 2009, the Congress party issued an advisory asking its leaders to stop prefixing royal and feudal honorifics to their names and personal lives. 

But the practice continues even today. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Vasundhara Raje (Maharani) and Jyotiraditya Scindia (Maharaja)and Digvijaya Singh (Raja) of the Congress are some of the politicians whose names are often prefixed with such titles.