Rajmata Vijayraj Kumari Mewar Laid to Rest; IIM Udaipur and Airport Terminal Mark Progress
The week of September 15 through 20, 2026 brought grief and milestones in equal measure to Udaipur. The city mourned Rajmata Vijayraj Kumari Mewar, whose decades of quiet work in education shaped one of Udaipur's most respected schools, as her funeral procession wound through cenotaphs that have received Mewar royalty for four centuries. Meanwhile, IIM Udaipur made its debut in the QS Global MBA Rankings for 2027 and Rajasthan's aviation upgrade continued with a new terminal at Maharana Pratap Airport on the verge of completion.
Rajmata Vijayraj Kumari Mewar Passes Away at 83 After Prolonged Illness
Vijayraj Kumari, a member of the erstwhile Mewar royal family of Udaipur, passed away on the night of Monday, September 15, at the age of 83 following a prolonged illness, according to ETV Bharat. The Rajmata was regarded as one of the quieter yet more consequential figures in the modern history of the Mewar household. Her most enduring contribution to Udaipur was her pivotal role in establishing Maharana Mewar Public School during the 1980s, an institution she helped structure along modern educational lines while keeping it grounded in the values associated with the Mewar legacy. ETV Bharat noted that she personally drove efforts to give the school a curriculum and administrative framework appropriate to contemporary education. The funeral procession left the historic City Palace on Tuesday, September 16, bound for Mahasatiyaji — the royal cenotaph site where members of the Mewar household have been memorialised for centuries. Multiple outlets described the procession as drawing a large gathering of residents and dignitaries who came to pay their last respects. The Mewar household, led in contemporary times by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, continues to play a role in preserving Udaipur's heritage properties, many of which have been opened to the public or converted into heritage hotels. Vijayraj Kumari's contribution to education stands alongside this heritage work as a reminder of how the royal household has adapted its role in post-independence India. [5]
🤝 Times of India Profiles a Legacy of Service Within the Mewar Household
The Times of India published an extended profile examining who Rajmata Vijayraj Kumari Mewar was beyond the ceremonial identity of royalty. The piece traced her legacy as someone who understood that the social transformations of post-independence India required a different expression of the Mewar heritage — one founded in service and institution-building rather than privilege. Her most cited contribution was the role she played in the formation and structuring of Maharana Mewar Public School, which she helped establish in the 1980s as a modern institution equipped to serve a new generation of students in Rajasthan. The TOI profile emphasised that her approach to education was not ornamental but substantive, involving direct input into the school's organisation and curriculum standards. The Mewar dynasty, which traces its lineage over more than a thousand years to the Sisodiya Rajputs and whose ancestral seat is the City Palace in Udaipur, has navigated the post-independence era by converting its historic properties into heritage destinations while maintaining active custodianship of its traditions. Vijayraj Kumari's personal legacy was distinct from this public role, residing in the less visible but consequential work of educational institution-building. The TOI profile suggested that her passing closes a chapter in a particular Mewar tradition — that of royalty expressing itself through quietly substantial contributions to civic and educational life in Rajasthan. [6]
Funeral Procession Winds Through 425-Year-Old Cenotaphs Amid Rain
The final rites for Rajmata Vijayraj Kumari Mewar were conducted with full royal ceremony on September 15 and 16, 2026, as reported by Bhaskar English. The funeral procession departed the City Palace and made its way to Mahasatiyaji — the ancient cenotaph ground associated with the Mewar royal family where funeral traditions have been observed continuously for approximately 425 years. Rain fell on Udaipur during the proceedings, lending a solemn quality to an occasion already deeply felt across the city. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, the current custodian of the Maharana Mewar Foundation and the public face of the household's cultural activities, was visibly emotional throughout the last rites. He has in recent years managed the heritage properties and the many charitable and cultural programmes that the Mewar Foundation supports. Mahasatiyaji, which contains cenotaphs of Mewar queens and senior household members, is one of Udaipur's most historically significant sites, not typically open to large public gatherings. The presence of the ceremonial procession through this historic ground in the rain was noted by local media as a moment that captured both the weight of the Mewar household's centuries-long history and the personal grief of a family marking the loss of a matriarch whose quiet work had shaped institutions that outlived her. [9]
🏢 Rajasthan to Complete Udaipur Airport Terminal by September 2026
Rajasthan is advancing plans to significantly upgrade aviation infrastructure across the state, with a new terminal at Maharana Pratap Airport in Udaipur targeted for completion by September 2026, according to Trav Talk, a publication focused on India's travel and tourism sector. The expansion is part of a wider initiative to modernise airport facilities in major Rajasthani tourism cities — including Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur — where growth in both domestic and international travel has placed increasing pressure on existing infrastructure. Maharana Pratap Airport serves as the primary aviation gateway to the Mewar region, handling scheduled domestic routes to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and several other cities. The new terminal is designed to increase passenger handling capacity, modernise amenities for travellers, and reduce congestion — a particularly important priority during the busy winter tourist season that typically runs from October through March. The Airports Authority of India is overseeing construction. Aviation upgrades of this kind are widely regarded by travel industry analysts as essential drivers of tourism revenue for destination cities like Udaipur, where a significant proportion of economic activity is tied to heritage tourism, hospitality, and large events such as destination weddings. A completed terminal ahead of the peak season would position the city to accommodate growing travel demand without the friction that passengers currently experience at the existing facility, strengthening Udaipur's standing as one of Rajasthan's most visited destinations. [7]
🎓 IIM Udaipur Debuts in QS Global MBA Rankings 2027
The Indian Institute of Management Udaipur has entered the QS Global MBA Rankings for 2027, appearing in the listing alongside some of India's most established management institutions, according to a PTI report carried by The Wire. The rankings, among the most closely followed measures of global business school quality, assess programmes on criteria including employer reputation, return on investment, faculty research output, and career outcomes for graduates. IIM Udaipur appears in the rankings alongside Manav Rachna's School of Leadership and Management, MDI Gurgaon, XLRI Jamshedpur, and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade — reflecting the expanding breadth of Indian management education's global visibility. IIM Udaipur was established in 2011 as part of the central government's initiative to extend high-quality management education to underserved regions of India. Its campus is located in Balicha, on the outskirts of Udaipur, and has progressively built its academic profile in the years since its founding. A debut in the QS rankings represents a significant milestone for the institution and for Udaipur as an emerging education hub in Rajasthan. The city, better known globally for its lakes and heritage palaces, is increasingly asserting an identity as a centre of academic excellence — a development that resonates particularly this week, as the city also honours the memory of Rajmata Vijayraj Kumari Mewar, whose own contribution to education in Udaipur was remembered across the state. [8]
Sources: [5] ETV Bharat · [6] The Times of India · [9] Bhaskar English · [7] Trav Talk · [8] thewire.in