The third Maharani of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi, was sent to Tihar Jail in July 1975, where she spent nearly six months during the Emergency imposed under the direction of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In 1962, Gayatri Devi contested the Lok Sabha elections from Jaipur, and won by a landslide majority, 192,909 votes out of 246,516 – 78% – a world record margin according to multiple reports at the time. Gayatri Devi contested on the Swatantra Party’s ticket.
At the height of the Emergency, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had several people imprisoned. Opposition leaders, journalists and others she viewed as a threat were incarcerated during the Emergency, Among those targeted by Indira Gandhi was the then Princess of Cooch Behar, third Maharani of Jaipur, Rajmata Gayatri Devi.