Sardar Patel and "Union" of India

Hello my family of readers, as you all know today that is 31st October is the Birth Anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, affectionately called the Iron Man of India.

It has been days since I last came in with some interesting stories and trivia here in Quizzing Palace, so today I would try to get you aware of how India became a "Union of States" which it proudly mentions in Article 1 of the Constitution of India.

Today I will tell you all about his efforts in making each of the 552 independent states to join India. Today, we will embark on a journey to Unite India with Sardar Patel.

A Brief Preface

As we are going to be on a journey of Uniting India, it is in our best interest to also know our guide of the Journey, Sardar Patel. Born on October 31, 1875, in Gujarat. As with all the famous leaders of that time. Sardar Patel was also a lawyer by profession, he was instrumental in organizing peasants in Kheda and Bardoli which later came to be known as Bardoli Satyagraha. By Independence, he was a very influential Congress Leader and was given the charge of Home Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Of India under Nehru Cabinet.

As you all may know, at the time of Independence, around 48% of the land was under princely state who were not under Indian control. So there was enormous Home "Affairs" for Sardar Patel to manage. He was directly put in charge of making these princely states, (552 in number) to merge with India.

It was due to his efforts along with VP Menon (Maybe my next article is on him, who knows?) that we avoided the Balkanisation of the subcontinent. Balkanization is a fancy word for the segmentation of landmasses, taken from the history of Balkan States.

The Architect of India on Work

It is sometimes misunderstood that Patel was there to do the dirty job for a soft Nehru. He himself was a very astute statesman. We might remember him for his forceful annexation of Hyderabad and Junagarh (more on that later) but was also instrumental in diplomatically convincing the states of Baroda, Bikaner, Cochin, Gwalior, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Patiala, and Rewa to participate in Constituent Assembly formed to make the constitution of India.

He was the creator of the Instrument of Accession (might have heard from Kashmir saga of the same time) and also the Standstill Agreement (which was useful in buying time with Hyderabad and Nizam)

He was constantly meeting with different princes and throwing out lunches with them. It was his untiring efforts and personal approach, which convinced most of the princes to accede to India where they found to have the best interests for them.

His biggest trouble was the 6 large princely states who were either trying to remain independent (like Hyderabad, Kashmir, and Travancore) or was trying to have better deals with Pakistan (Jodhpur, Junagarh, and Bhopal). Let's jump into them one by one.

State of Jodhpur

Jodhpur was a princely state in the border areas of present-day Rajasthan, belonging to the largely-independent Rajputana Union. Although Sardar Patel managed to take assurances of Maharaja of Jodhpur, Umaid Singh regarding accession to India, it took a dramatic turn after his son Hanvant Singh took the throne

In June 1947, with the transfer of power looming on the horizon, Maharaja Hanvant Singh began faltering in the commitment his predecessor had made about joining India. Young and inexperienced, he reckoned that may get a better “deal” from Pakistan since his state was contiguous with the country.

So Hanvant Singh along with the other border state of Jaisalmer entered into negotiations with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who is reported to have given the Maharaja a signed blank sheet of paper to list all his demands. From free access to the Karachi port to arms manufacturing and importing, the princely state was allowed to accede to Pakistan on any terms it chose. Although predominantly Hindu and with a Hindu ruler, it was a bit odd to join Pakistan but with a better deal on the table, he almost agreed.

It was only after Sardar's direct intervention and assurances like Privy Purse and no harm to private royal properties did Jodhpur finally agreed to join the Union of India on 7 April 1949

Thanks to him, today we can visit the city of Jodhpur and its beautiful palace without a passport.

State of Junagarh

Junagarh was a princely state in Gujarat under British dominion but ruled by a local Muslim dynasty. Despite of large population of Hindus, Nawab acceded to Pakistan on 15th September 1947. With close aid of Muslim League, Shehnawaz Bhutto being dewan of the Nawab, Junagadh's was officially acceded to Pakistan by the Nawab.

This decision didn't go down well with the public or principalities of Junagarh. A government-in-exile was formed in Bombay under Samaldas Gandhi (don't be surprised, he was nephew of Mahatma Gandhi) called Arzeee-ae-Hukumat. All this was done by VP Menon, under orders of Sardar Patel to create more pressure on the state sitting deep inside Indian State of Gujarat.

It was due to swift actions of the Iron Man, that Indian forces entered the state and took control even before Pakistan could gather any international support.

Also to note, it was during his visit to the state, he announced for reconstruction of our pride, the Somnath Temple. It was due to his resolute and efforts of VP Menon, that temple was constructed after it was destroyed by muslim invaders from Central Asia. One more reason to thank the duo of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and VP Menon.

covered a quiz about Indian Temples, check the quiz set here>>

State of Bhopal

Bhopal was under Nawab Hamidullah Khan, a muslim ruler and a close aide of Muslim League chif, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It was natural of him to side with his friend even though it meant being in dead centre of the Indian Central Province. His was one of the four states, along with Hyderabad, Travancore and Kashmir to declare desire to remain independent from both the nations.

Hamidullah Khan expressed his wish to retain Bhopal as a separate independent state in March 1948. Agitations against the Nawab broke out in December 1948, leading to the arrest of prominent leaders including Bhai Ratan Kumar Gupta and Shankar Dayal Sharma, the future president of India on 5 & 6 January 1949 respectively. Sharma was sentenced to eight months imprisonment for violating restrictions on public meetings; some other satyagrahis like Ram charan Rai, Biharilal Ghatt, Thakur Lalsingh, Laxminarayan Sinhal were also arrested. Amidst the Vilinikaran Andolan, many were shot dead by the Nawabi police, including the martyrs of Boras.

Sardar Patel took the situation seriously, sent V P Menon for the Merger Agreement negotiations on 23 January 1949. Later, in February 1949, the political detainees were released and the Nawab Bhopal had to sign the agreement for merger on 30 April 1949.

Bhopal might have been the easiest of these 6 states for Sardar Patel and also the best showcase of his diplomatic side.

State of Travancore

Travancore state covered areas of kerala which had historically remained free from any direct foriegn rule. Interistingly, this time state did not had any benefit of getting a better deal from rival nation, or any religious affinity. Travancore had refused to join Indian Union or Pakistani Union as early as 1946.

Travancore state was rich in a mineral called Thorium (which would later define the nuclear programme of India), with a large coast in Arabian Sea. It made the state ideal for any foriegn trade.

People also claim that UK government was also in support of an independent Travancore for the hopes of getting Thorium.

The ruler of Travancore finally agreed to sign instrument of accession after several negotiations with Sir C. P. Ramamswamy Aiyar, the dewan of Travancore and a distinguished lawyer.

State of Hyderabad

Coming to the largest princely state of them all, Hyderabad. Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan was one of the richest person of the world. He always sided with the British and contributed huge sums for the war effort.

The largest monarchy of Hyderbad (about the size of UK) refused to join India and even applied for UN membership. They had their own army, telecommunications, currency, etc. It was Sardar Patel's conviction that he made the Nawab sign standstill agreement to buy out some time to settle other princely states, and when the Hyderabad state was internally disturbed, in September 1948, Indian army had a military engagement with Hyderabad to bring the state to India. One of the most one-sided battles in history, going by the name of Operation Polo.

The Nizam of Hyderabad, in his radio speech on 23 September 1948, said "In November last [1947], a small group which had organized a quasi-military organization surrounded the homes of my Prime Minister, the Nawab of Chhatari, in whose wisdom I had complete confidence, and of Sir Walter Monkton, my constitutional Adviser, by duress compelled the Nawab and other trusted ministers to resign and forced the Laik Ali Ministry on me. This group headed by Kasim Razvi had no stake in the country or any record of service behind it. By methods reminiscent of Hitlerite Germany it took possession of the State, spread terror ... and rendered me completely helpless."

State of Kashmir

As for Kashmir, a princely state with a Hindu king ruling over a predominant Muslim population, it had remained reluctant to join either of the two dominions. It was not only the toughest one but also incredicabally important as it had important international boundaries — to the east was Tibet, to the northeast lay China and to the northwest was Afghanistan.

Knowing Pakistan’s intentions about the volatile situation in Kashmir, Patel took a series of steps immediately. Planes were diverted to Delhi-Srinagar route, and telephone and telegraph lines were laid between Pathankot, Amritsar and Jammu as well. He further undertook strategic steps to place the Indian Army in an advantageous position.

Watching the prospects of Kashmir slipping out of its hand, Pakistan planned an invasion. On October 22, 1947, over 5,000 Pakistani lashkars (armed tribesmen) Army, invaded Kashmir. Two days later, a desperate Maharaja Hari Singh offered to accede to India in return for immediate military assistance.

With India’s only motorable road link to Jammu and Srinagar (passing through Sialkot in Pakistan) being snapped, Indian troops were facing great difficulty in their strategic movement. Taking it upon himself to build the missing link, Patel ensured that, within a fortnight, necessary materials was sourced. Workers (brought through special trains) started working round the clock to complete the creation of a war-ready motorable road between Jammu and Pathankot.