Amid a row over film Padmavati, former Union minister Shashi Tharoor claimed today that the "so-called valourous maharajas" had scurried to accommodate themselves when the British "trampled" over their honour and were now after a filmmaker claiming their prestige was at stake.


At an event Tharoor was asked why his book, An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India, had a "whiff of victimhood" when he holds that Indians had connived with the English.


"In fact, every single one of these so called valorous maharajas, who today are after a Mumbai filmmaker because their honour is at stake, they were less concerned about their honour when the British were trampling all over it. They scurried to accommodate themselves. So let's face it, there is no question, that we were complicit," he said.


The Congress leader's comments come at a time when Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movie Padmavati has been in the eye of a storm as the Shri Rajput Karni Sena and some other outfits have accused the filmmaker of distorting history and hurting Hindu sentiments.


Tharoor, meanwhile, said that his book was "not a plea that 'Oh! We are poor victims, forgive us". It very much points out that the British empire is not what many made people believe it to be, the former minister said.Tharoor said Mahatma Gandhi showed mirror to the British to made them realise about their acts. -- PTI