After his abdication, Tukojirao went to Switzerland, where he fell in love with a rich heiress named Nancy Miller. The two decided to tie the knot. Their marriage was opposed by his community as she was a Christian and a foreigner. However, social reformers Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Raobahadur Sitaram Keshav Bole managed to tide over this opposition from Tukojirao’s caste brethren. Nancy was converted to Hinduism and given the name Sharmisthadevi at the initiative of revolutionaries turned Hindutva ideologues Ganesh Damodar ‘Babarao’ Savarkar and his younger brother Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The conversion rites were performed by Shankaracharya Lingesh 'Mahabhagwat’ Kurtakoti.

Yeshwantrao-II, the last king of Indore, had been married to Chandraprabhabai, the cousin of Chhatrapati Shahu of Kolhapur in an inter-caste match, which was a radical act in those days.

Shahu Maharaj was the first to begin affirmative action in India by launching reservations in jobs in his princely state in 1902. He wanted to smash the prohibition on inter-caste marriage and hence sought that Chandraprabhabai, his cousin and daughter of the ruler of the Kagal state (junior) be married to Yeshwantrao. For this, Shahu also tried to establish that the Dhangars were also Kshatriyas like the Marathas. However, opposition to the marriage from within the Maratha princely class ensured that it took place only in 1924, which was two years after Shahu’s demise. Chandraprabhabai was later renamed Sanyogitabai.