Prior to independence, India consisted of hundreds of princely states, and descendants of their rulers continue to play a prominent part in local and national politics.

Several politicians of royal lineage still use titles like 'maharaja' (king) and 'maharani' (queen). The Congress party said this would have to stop.

'Everybody is a common man in India. Royal designations are a thing of the past,' Congress general secretary Janaradhan Dwivedi told AFP on Wednesday.

'All feudal titles will be removed from the Congress party records. No one will have king, queen or prince appendages before their name.'

The party said it has sent an advisory to all its members who use royal titles in their official correspondence. -- AFP