Not a Rolls Royce used to clean streets in India
4 days ago
- #historical-myths
- #Rolls-Royce
- #maharajas
- The anecdote about an Indian maharaja buying Rolls Royces to clean streets due to a snub is widely shared but lacks evidence.
- Multiple maharajas are linked to the story, including the Maharaja of Alwar, but details vary and no historical records confirm it.
- The Maharaja of Alwar was in Europe during the 1930s, making the story unlikely as he was exiled from India.
- Rolls Royce cars were not sold in showrooms at the time, further debunking the tale.
- A photo often associated with the story actually shows a 1934 Ford Tudor Sedan used in Palestine to avoid road spikes, not street cleaning in India.
- No contemporary newspaper reports or credible sources support the story, which only appeared in books from the 1980s onward.
- A more plausible origin involves the Maharaja of Bharatpur threatening to convert his Rolls Royces into garbage trucks due to repair delays, but evidence is still lacking.
- Conclusion: The story is a myth with no factual basis or photographic proof.