"...With special emphasis on themes like communal harmony and social and political reform, No Elephants for the Maharaja is an intimate account of Travancore's transition from tradition to modernity. According to the editor, Ouwekerk unfolds the thesis that the movement for freedom and responsible government in Travancore was a truly indigenous one, stemming from local grievances and not artificially fostered from outside. Indeed, events at Travancore generated there own popular clamour which merged into the national movement, so that at Independence Travancore swiftly and easily became part of the Indian Union. Repeatedly, though, Ouwekerk stresses that communal conflict in Travancore had never been a serious affair..." Gommans, Jos. "Book Review." Itinerario 19.2 (1995): 175.