Integration of princely states

Integration of Princely
States
British India was divided into what
were called the British Indian
Provinces and the Princely States

BRITISH INDIA
BRITISH INDIAN PROVINCES PRINCELY STATES
• The British Indian • Several large and small
states ruled by
Provinces were directly princes, called the Princely
under the control of States, enjoyed some form
the British government of control over their
internal affairs as long as
they accepted British
supremacy.
• Princely States covered
one-third of the land area
of the British Indian Empire

The problem
• It was announced by the British that with the
end of their rule over India, supremacy of the
British crown over Princely States would also
lapse. This meant that all these states, as many
as 565 in all, would become legally independent.
The British government took the view that all
these states were free to join either India or
Pakistan or remain independent if they so
wished. This decision was left not to the people
but to the princely rulers of these states. This
was a very serious problem and could threaten
the very existence of a united India.

THE PROBLEM
First of all, the ruler of Travancore
announced that the state had decided on
Independence.

The Nizam of Hyderabad made a similar announcement
the next day

Rulers like the Nawab of Bhopal were averse to join the
Constituent Assembly

Government’s approach
The interim government took a firm stance against
the possible division of India into small principalities
of different sizes.

Sardar Patel was India’s Deputy Prime Minister and the
Home Minister during the crucial period immediately
following Independence. He played a historic role in
negotiating with the rulers of princely states firmly but
diplomatically and bringing most of them into the
Indian Union.

The government’s approach was
guided by three considerations
• Firstly the people of most of the princely states
clearly wanted to become part of the Indian
union
• Secondly, the government was prepared to be
flexible in giving autonomy to some regions
• Thirdly, in the backdrop of Partition which
brought into focus the contest over demarcation
of territory, the integration and consolidation of
the territorial boundaries of the nation had
assumed supreme importance.

Problems solved ?
• Before 15 August • Accession of the Princely
1947, peaceful negotiations States of
had brought almost all Junagadh, Hyderabad, Kash
states whose territories mir and Manipur proved
were contiguous to the more difficult than the rest.
new boundaries of • The issue of Junagarh was
India, into the Indian Union resolved after a plebiscite
• The rulers of most of the confirmed people’s desire
states signed a document to join India
called the ‘Instrument of • The issue of Kashmir is part
Accession’ which meant of modern Indian history
that their state agreed to • The cases of Hyderabad
become a part of the Union and Manipur are discussed
of India in detail

Hyderabad
• Hyderabad, the largest of the Princely States
was surrounded entirely by Indian territory.
• Some parts of the old Hyderabad state are
today parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh.
• Its ruler carried the title,‘Nizam’, and he was one
of the world’s richest men.
• The Nizam wanted an independent status for
Hyderabad. He entered into what was called the
Standstill Agreement with India in November
1947

PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT AGAINST
NIZAM
• In the meantime, a movement of the people of
Hyderabad State against the Nizam’s rule gathered
force.
• The peasantry in the Telangana region in
particular, was the victim of Nizam’s oppressive rule
and rose against him.
• Women who had seen the worst of this oppression
joined the movement in large numbers.
• Hyderabad town was the nerve centre of this
movement.
• The Communists and the Hyderabad Congress were
in the forefront of the movement

Hyderabad’s accession to India.

• The Nizam responded by unleashing a para-
military force known as the Razakars
• They murdered, maimed, raped and looted,
targeting particularly the non-Muslims.
• The central government had to order the army
to tackle the situation. In September 1948,
Indian army moved in to control the Nizam’s
forces.
• After a few days of intermittent fighting, the
Nizam surrendered. This led to Hyderabad’s
accession to India.

Purani Haveli palace located in
Hyderabad

Sardar Patel with the Nizam of
Hyderabad

MANIPUR
• A few days before Independence, the Maharaja
of Manipur, Bodhachandra Singh, signed the
Instrument of Accession with the Indian
government on the assurance that the internal
autonomy of Manipur would be maintained.
• Under the pressure of public opinion,the
Maharaja held elections in Manipur in June 1948
and the state became a constitutional monarchy.
Thus Manipur was the first part of India to hold
an election based on universal adult franchise

Anger and resentment in
Manipur, are still being felt.
• In the Legislative Assembly of Manipur there were
sharp differences over the question of merger of
Manipur with India. While the state Congress wanted
the merger, other political parties were opposed to
this.
• The Government of India succeeded in pressurising
the Maharaja into signing a Merger Agreement in
September 1949, without consulting the popularly
elected Legislative Assembly of Manipur.
• This caused a lot of anger and resentment in
Manipur, the repercussions of which are still being
felt.

Anger and resentment in
Manipur, are still being felt.

THE END
A POWER POINT PRESENTATION BASED
ON N.C.E.R.T TEXT BOOK

Integration of princely states

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