[2] William Dalrymple wrote in his 1998 book The Age of Kali that she had been called "a madwoman and a saint; a dangerous reactionary and a national saviour; a stubborn and self-righteous old lunatic and a brave and resilient visionary.

"[3] Vijaya Raje Scindia was born in 1919 at Sagar in present-day Madhya Pradesh, the eldest child of Thakur Mahendra Singh of Kotla State (U.P.

[4] In February 1941,[5] at the age of 22, Lekha was married to Jiwajirao Scindia, Maharaja of Gwalior, one of the largest, richest and highest-ranking princely states in India.

Vijaya Raje and Jiwajirao had four daughters and a son: Vijayaraje was initiated into electoral politics in 1957 when she contested and won the Guna Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh on a Congress ticket.

She won the Karera assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh as the Jan Sangh candidate in 1967 and actively engaged in state politics.