princly states unit-3.pptx, History, B.A.LL.B

princly states unit-3.pptx, History, B.A.LL.B

• 1.
  Transfer of Powerand Indian Independence Act 1947 INDIAN INDEPENDENCE ACT (1947) MARKED THE FINAL STAGE IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTION OF THE COUNTRY. POLITICALLY IT WAS THE FINAL OUTCOME OF THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE OF INDIA THAT HAD WITNESSED DIFFERENT STRAND OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT FROM 1885 TO 1947. IT WAS THE GOAL OF ALL AND WAS FINALLY ACHIEVED BY ENACTMENT OF THE ACT OF 1947 AFTER UNDERGOING THROUGH VARIOUS PHASES OF NATIONALISM UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DIFFERENT NATIONALIST LEADERS. SOON AFTER THE MOUNTBATTEN PLAN WAS ACCEPTED BY BOTH THE CONGRESS AND THE MUSLIM LEAGUE, THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT PREPARED A BILL FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF INDIA. THE BILL WAS PASSED BY THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT ON 18TH JULY 1947 WHICH WAS FAMOUS AS THE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE ACT 1947.
• 2.
  According to thisAct two independent states such as Indian union and Pakistan were to be created in the Indian sub- continent on 15 August, 1947. These newly independent states were to be at liberty to choose whether they would like to be the members of British Commonwealth of Nations or not. (3) The existing Legislative Assemblies were empowered to frame laws concerning their respective states until new constituent assemblies were formed these states. The offices of the Secretary of state for India and his advisers were to be abolished. The Commonwealth Secretary was to be assigned responsibility of maintaining relations with Pakistan and the Indian Union. The title of the British king as 'Emperor of India' was to be abolished. The Indian Independence Act of 1947, thus, marked the close of the constitutional development of India under the British rule. In the night of 14th August 1947 a special session of the constituent Assembly was held at Delhi. As the clock struck twelve Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the President of the constituent Assembly, triumphantly announced that the Constituent Assembly of India had assumed power for the governance of India. Lord Mountbatten was sworn in as the governor general and Pandit Nehru as the first Prime Minister of free India. Mountbatten remained as a mere constitutional figure head whereas Jawaharlal Nehru became the real administrative head of the Government with his council of ministers. On the other hand of the Radcliffe Line Mohammed Ali Jinnah was sworn in as the first Governor General of Pakistan on 14 August 1947. Soon after Independence Act of 1947 was passed in the British Parliament, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the iron man of India, advised the Indian Princes to join the Indian Union, immediately. There was wide response to the call of Sardar Patel. The Princely States joined India partly on their own initiative and partly after military intervention. The Constituent Assembly became the Parliament of Indian Dominion immediately after the transfer of power. A Drafting Committee was formed under B.R. Ambedkar on 29 August 1947 to prepare the constitution of India. India was declared a Sovereign Democratic Republic on 26th January 1950 after the completion of constitution.
• 3.
  Salient features ofthe Indian Independence Act of 1947: 1) The Indian Independence Act, 1947 provided for the creation of two Independent Dominions of India and Pakistan from August 15, 1947. 2) It defined the territories of the two new Dominions and made possible the adjustment of existing boundaries and the accession of other boundaries by consent. 3) It provided for the partition of Bengal, the Punjab and Assam after ascertaining the wishes of their inhabitants. The final fixation of the boundaries was to be done by the Boundary Commission. 4) The Dominion of Pakistan was to have two wings, East Pakistan and West Pakistan. East Pakistan comprised East Bengal and Sylhet district taken out from. Assam. West Pakistan included the N.W.F.P, West Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan. 5) Either of the two Dominions was to have a Governor- General appointed by the king for the purpose of the government the Dominion. The Act also provided that the same person could be appointed Governor- General of both the Dominions. 6) The Legislature of each of the Dominions is free to make laws for that Dominion, including the laws having extraterritorial operation.
• 4.
  7) No Actof British Parliament passed on or after August 15, 1947 was to extend to either of the Dominions. 8) The suzerainty of British Government over the Indian states lapsed and with it, all treaties and agreements Between His Majesty and the rules of Indian states also came to an end. The Indian states would become independent in their political relations with the Governments of the new Dominions. 9) The assent of the Parliament was given for the- omission of the Royal Styles and titles like Emperor of India. 10) The powers of the Legislature of the Dominion would be exercisable in the first instance by the Constituent Assembly of that Dominion. 11) Dominion and provinces and other parts thereof would be governed in accordance with the Government of India Act, 1935 for the interim period. 12) The provisions requiring the Governor-General or any other Governor to act in his discretion or exercise of his individual judgment would cease to have effect as from August 15, 1947. 13) The Governor – General was, however invested with’ plenary powers until March 1948 to issue orders for the effective implementation of Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the division of the assets between the two Dominions, and to adopt or modify the Government of India Act, 1935 and to remove any difficulties that might arise during the transitional period. 14) The Act of 1947 provided for the abolition of the office of the Secretary of State for India and his advisers. 15) The two Dominions were given freedom to join or not to join the Commonwealth. 16) The members of “the civil service and the judges of the Federal Court and High Courts appointed before August 15, 1947 would continue to serve in either of two Dominions’ and would be entitled to receive all facilities in respect of their
• 5.
  ivision f states an verview
• 6.
  ACCESSION OF THEPRINCELY STATES AND REORGANISATION OF THE STATES At the time of independence, there were more than 500 princely states in India that were not a part of the British Empire officially. These states were given the choice to accede to either India or Pakistan or remain independent. Why was the Integration of the Princely States necessary: Post-independence, one of the first and major problems that surfaced was the integration of the princely states into the concept of a single unified, uniformly administered India. Since these princely states were patronized by the British on a large scale during the 19th and 20th centuries, they were not comfortable with the idea of giving away their power and prestige. Some of these states that posed problems were Jodhpur, Bhopal and Travancore before independence and Junagarh, Hyderabad and Kashmir post-independence. The newly-formed Government of India was against the idea of having independent nations within the state would only jeopardise the internal and external security of India. It was speculated that in case of an act of aggression by a foreign power, these Princely States would be used as the staging ground for an attack on the country at large. It wasn't just the Indian Government trying to woo the Princely states but also Pakistan as well. Thus it was necessary to integrate the Princely states as soon as possible.
• 7.
  Integration of PrincelyStates After Independence  The Indian Independence Act of 1947 gave princely states an option to accede to the newly born dominions India or Pakistan or continue as an independent sovereign state.  At that time more than 500 princely states have covered 48 percent of the area of pre Independent India and constituted 28% of its population.  These kingdoms were not legally part of British India, but in reality, they were completely subordinate to the British Crown.  For the British these states were the necessary allies, to keep in check the rise of other colonial powers and nationalist tendencies in India.  Accordingly, the princes were given autonomy over their territories, but the British acquired for themselves the right to appoint ministers and get military support as and when required.  Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (India’s first deputy prime minister and the home minister) with the assistance of V.P Menon (the secretary of the Ministry of the States) was given the formidable task of integrating the princely states.  From invoking the patriotism of the princes to remind them of the possibility of anarchy on event of their refusal to join, Patel kept trying to convince them to join India.  He also introduced the concept of “privy purses”— a payment to be made to royal families for their agreement to merge with India.  Bikaner, Baroda and few other states from Rajasthan were the first ones to join the union.  There were several other states that were adamant to not join India. Some of them thought this to be the best moment to acquire independent statehood, while there were others who wanted to become a part of Pakistan.
• 8.
  How were allthe Princely States integrated into the Union of India: India's first Deputy Prime Minister, Sardar Vallabhai Patel used a combination of political manoeuvring and brute force to integrate the Princely states. Some of his notable actions on these states are listed below: Jodhpur: The services of the Diwan of the neighbouring state of Bikaner were used to persuade the King of Jodhpur to align herself with India. Thus, the Instrument of Accession with Jodhpur was signed. Bhopal: After Lord Mountbatten asked the Nawab of Bhopal to sign the Instrument of Accession, he tried to avoid any integration to the Union of India by reasoning the interests of Muslims in the Hindu dominated region will be compromised after the accession. But the people of Bhopal had realized that this was only being done to preserve the Nawab’s owns power in the state and had nothing to do with the genuine interests of any community. Hence, the Nawab had to sign the Instrument of Accession with India.
• 9.
  Travancore: Since Travancorehad good reserves of natural resources, it was believed it could survive on its own and hence wanted to remain independent. The Dewan of Travancore, C. P. Ram swami Iyer, was invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to Delhi, in an effort to persuade him, but he refused to sign the Instrument of Accession. CP was also unpopular with the Communists of the Kingdom for his anti-communism stands. An assassination attempt was made on C. P. on 25 July 1947. From his hospital bed, he advised the King of Travancore to accede to India and thus the Instrument of Accession was signed. Junagarh: Junagarh was a princely state which had a majority of Hindus but ruled by a Muslim ruler. It had already signed the pact with Pakistan to be a part of the latter’s territory. However, India firmly believed in the will of the people for such a decision. Hence, V.P Menon and V.B Patel tried to convince the Diwan of Junagarh (Shah Nawaz Khan Bhutto) to conduct a plebiscite. But not before severing air and land links of Junagadh. Following clashes between Indian and Junagadhi armies, the Nawab fled with his family to Pakistan. His Dewan Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the father of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, decided to invite the Government of India to intervene and wrote a letter to Mr Buch, the regional commissioner of Saurashtra in the government of India to this effect. The subsequent plebiscite held later saw the accession of Junagadh to India.
• 10.
  Hyderabad: The indicationthat the power of the rulers of Hyderabad was short-lived, could be sensed through the events such as the movement of peasants under the communist leadership against the Jagirdars and Talukdars, the Telangana uprising, and the spread of Gandhian programmes such as Prabhat Pheri and Khadi. The Nawab of Hyderabad succeeded in mobilizing a group of orthodox Muslims called the Ittehadul Muslimeen and a militia called Razakars. They challenged the idea of India and hence finally a police action was taken by the Government of India in 1948. The Nawab agreed to accede Hyderabad to India. In return, he was made the Rajpramukh (Governor) of the democratic state of Hyderabad. This can be referred to as a smooth transition of the king into democracy without feeling a sense of dethronement. Kashmir: At the time of Independence, Kashmir was neither a part of India nor Pakistan. When on 22nd Oct 1947, a section of Pakistanis backed by their army attacked Kashmir, the King of Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh requested for help from the Indian Government. After the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession, the Indian Army was sent to the help of Kashmir. Finally, a ceasefire between India and Pakistan took place on 31st Dec 1948. India took this matter to the United Nations. As a result in 1951, the United Nations asked Pakistan to remove its army and asked India to hold a plebiscite in the area. However, Pakistan has not pulled its army away from the area and till today, it is a matter of conflict between the two nations. The area held by Pakistan is referred to as ‘Pak occupied Kashmir’ by India and is referred to as ‘Azad Kashmir’ by Pakistan.