New Delhi, Oct 6 : Even six decades after independence, southern Kerala has not seen the scale of development that it witnessed under the rule of then Travancore state 'Diwan' (prime minister) Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar, says the present head of the erstwhile Travancore royal family.

"C. P. was a very good administrator. It should be seen in the perspective of the developmental work done by him in the kingdom," Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma told IANS, for the first time publicly praising the controversial official who had to flee the state in 1947 after an assassination attempt.

Sir C. P., as Aiyar was popularly known, had set up the country's first fertiliser factory, the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT), the Travancore Rayon and the Pallivasal Hydro-Electric Project during 1936-47 when he was diwan of the princely state in southern Kerala, said the 87-year-old Varma.

Sir C. P. also set up the Travancore University, now known as Kerala University.

"C. P. should not have been mistreated," said Varma, who was appointed the heir-apparent by his brother and the last king of Travancore Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.

Sir C. P is often portrayed as a villain for his authoritarian rule as prime minister of the kingdom. He had opposed Travancore's unification with the Indian state and openly advocated independence. He invited bitter opposition from the Communists for his ruthless suppression of the popular Punnapra-Vayalar uprising in 1946.

"The basic structures of Travancore's grassroot level development were built by C. P. with the consent of my brother, the maharaja. After that the region has not seen such developmental works. Whatever he (C. P.) did was meant for the development of the state," Varma said.

According to Varma, Mahatma Gandhi appreciated his elder brother for issuing the revolutionary Temple Entry Proclamation in 1936 which gave Hindus of all castes and classes, including Dalits, the right to enter temples.

"He (king) was only 24 when the historic Temple Entry Proclamation was made. After the proclamation, Gandhiji visited the palace and told my brother 'they (the people) are calling me Mahatma. But they should call you Mahatma'," he said.

The Travancore royals consider themselves servants of Lord Sree Padmananabha, the presiding deity of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The Travancore king used to be the spiritual leader of the state.

Varma, who commands respect among various sections of Kerala society, said: "Our only asset is 'bhakti' (devotion)."

The erstwhile royal, who lives in the palatial Kowdiyar Palace in Thiruvananthapuram, prefers a one-room set at the Ma Anandamayi Ashram for his stay in New Delhi. He was in the capital to release his English translation of the Vishnu Sahasranama.

Asked why the Travancore royals shy away from politics when members of other erstwhile royal families join political parties and get elected, Marthanda Varma said Sir C. Rajagopalachari (former governor-general of India) asked him the same question when the latter founded the Swatantra Party in 1959.

"Then I told him 'election is selection and selection is rejection'. This is still my answer." (IANS)