Post-Independence Integration
In 1947 India inherited some 560 princely states. Sardar Patel and V. P. Menon brought nearly all of them in by agreement; three refused and each was resolved differently. Two of the hardest cases — Junagadh and the Saurashtra cluster — are in Gujarat, which is why this topic is asked here more than elsewhere.
Mental model
Integration of princely states is a three-actor drama: Sardar Patel (the will), V. P. Menon (the drafting hand, Secretary of the States Department), and Mountbatten (the persuasion). The instrument is a single document — the Instrument of Accession, initially covering only three subjects: defence, external affairs and communications. Then remember the three that resisted, each with a different solution: Junagadh (Nawab acceded to Pakistan, people rejected it, settled by a plebiscite in February 1948 that voted overwhelmingly for India), Hyderabad (settled by police action, Operation Polo, September 1948), Kashmir (acceded after tribal invasion in October 1947). Junagadh is the Gujarat case — with the Arzi Hukumat under Samaldas Gandhi as the people's parallel government.
Associations
A short trigger on the left, everything it pulls with it on the right.
Three holdouts, three methods: plebiscite, police action, accession under attack.
Junagadh — the Nawab acceded to Pakistan, a provisional government formed, and a plebiscite in February 1948 settled it for India. Hyderabad — police action, Operation Polo, September 1948. Kashmir — the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947 as tribal forces invaded. One method each, never mixed up again.
Arzi Hukumat = the provisional government of Junagadh.
When the Nawab of Junagadh acceded to Pakistan, a provisional government called Arzi Hukumat was formed under Samaldas Gandhi. The Nawab left, the state's administration collapsed, and the plebiscite followed. The phrase itself is often the answer.
Things to remember
The night-before list. Short enough to recall cold.
- 1The States Department was created in 1947 under Sardar Patel, with V. P. Menon as secretary; states signed an Instrument of Accession covering defence, external affairs and communications.
- 2Junagadh's accession to Pakistan was reversed by a plebiscite held in February 1948, which went overwhelmingly for India.
- 3The United State of Saurashtra was formed in 1948 by merging over two hundred princely states; U. N. Dhebar was its Chief Minister.
- 4Kachchh was administered as a centrally administered area before being merged into Bombay State in 1956.
- 5The States Reorganisation Commission of 1953 had Fazl Ali as chairman with K. M. Panikkar and H. N. Kunzru as members; its report led to the Act of 1956.
- 6Privy purses guaranteed to former rulers were abolished by the Twenty-sixth Amendment in 1971.
In detail
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel headed the States Department created in 1947, with V. P. Menon as its Secretary; Patel is called the 'Iron Man of India' and 'Bismarck of India'.
- The Indian Independence Act 1947 lapsed British paramountcy, leaving princely states free to accede to India or Pakistan; the Instrument of Accession covered defence, external affairs and communications.
- In Junagadh the 'Arzi Hukumat' (provisional government) was set up under Samaldas Gandhi; the Nawab fled to Pakistan and the February 1948 plebiscite went decisively in favour of India.
- Hyderabad was integrated through 'Operation Polo' in September 1948 against the Nizam's rule.
- Saurashtra's many princely states were merged into the United State of Kathiawar (later Saurashtra) in 1948, with U. N. Dhebar as its Chief Minister.
Where people slip
- Junagadh was settled by plebiscite, Hyderabad by police action. Swapping the two is the most common error on this topic.
Check yourself
Nothing here is scored — it will not change your mastery figures.
The accession of Junagadh to India was finally settled by:
From the question bank
Who, alongside Sardar Patel, is credited as the principal architect of the political and administrative integration of India's princely states?
From the question bank
The Nizam of which princely state resisted accession to India, leading to the 1948 military action known as 'Operation Polo'?
Books to read
- India Since Independence by Bipan Chandra
- The Story of the Integration of the Indian States by V. P. Menon
- Standard Gujarat state board history textbook (Junagadh and Saurashtra integration)
Official sources
Hand-checked official domains only — the notes above carry no links of their own.