The Prince of Arcot

The current Prince of Arcot, Mohammed Ali, who is known for his work toward harmony between religions, has created a website, which opened today, The Prince of Arcot.

As Newstodaynet reports,

A website has been designed and created containing a brief history on the Nawabs of the Carnatic, in South India (1690-1855 A D). The Nawabs were the sovereign and independent rulers of this part of the country.

...

Nawab Mohammed Ali Wallajah, who ruled from 1749 to 1795 AD of the second Carnatic dynasty which traced its lineage to the second Caliph of Islam, Omar Bin-Al-Khattab , distinguished himself eminently in South Indian history by his vast and unforgettable contributions to civil society. Nawab Wallajah stands out as the epitome of religious tolerance and nobility.

The website narrates historical events and developments from the times of the first Nawab of the Carnatic, Zulfikar Ali Khan (1690 AD) up to the present descendant, the Prince of Arcot.

I see that the website includes pictures of Amir Mahal, the current residence of the Prince of Arcot, which the British gave to the Arcots in 1876 -- it had been a police court -- but no pictures (or I missed them) of the much more attractive Chepauk Palace, built in 1768, which the British grabbed for their own use in the 1850s. It now houses government offices, and is therefore dilapidated. (The Chepauk Palace link is to a photograph and a good article by historian S. Muthiah, about the Nawab of the Carnatic, and how he came to build his palace.)

See also the photo gallery, which includes pictures of some of the rooms in Amir Mahal -- princely domesticity.

(Here's another, recent article about the present Prince, and about Amir Mahal: The House of Arcot.)