The Unification of India, 1947-1951

Author(s): Holden Furber

Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Dec., 1951), pp. 352-371
Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2753451 .
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 The Unification of India,
1947-1951
Holden Furber

W5
THEN theplanforthepartition Indiaintotwonew
of British
independentDominions-India and Pakistan-was announced
early in June I947, therewere widespreadfearsboth in India and
abroad thatthe existenceof more than fivehundredIndian princely
states-a fewof themlargerthancertainEuropeannationsin area and
population,and all enjoyingvaryingdegreesoflocal autonomy-would
provea seriousobstacleto theunity,cohesionand stability of thenew
India. The weldingoftheformerBritishprovincesand Indianprincely
stateswithinthe geographicorbitof thenew Dominionof India into
one polityundera republicanconstitution in less than fouryearshas
beena remarkableachievement. ThroughoutIndia it is regardedas the
outstandingaccomplishment of Prime MinisterNehru's second-in-
command,the late VallabhbhaiPatel. It is the purposeof thisarticle
to explain how those of the formerIndian princelystates(except
Kashmir) whichhave accededto India have been integrated intothe
politicalframeworkof the new Republic of India. Kashmir is not
treatedin detailhere.
The accompanying map,when setbesideone of theformerBritish
"Indian Empire" on which "Indian States"are colored yellow and
"BritishIndia" red,will indicatetheextentof thechangeswhichhave
takenplace. The yellowmay be thoughtof as transmuted into three
new colors:one showingstateswhichhavebeenmergedin theadjacent
former"British"provinces;anothershowingstateswhich,havingeither
kepttheirown boundariesor been groupedin new "princelyunions",
are accordedthe same constitutional positionas the former"British"
provinces;and a thirdshowingstatesor groupingsof statesadmin-
istereddirectlyby the centralgovernment and not accordedthe same
constitutional positionas the former"British"provinces.In present
Indian politicalparlance,theformer"British"provincesare knownas
PartA statesin thenew Republic;theformerprincelystatesor group-
ings of statesaccordedthesame statusare called Part B states;and all
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 The Unification
ofIndia
U.S.S.R.

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353

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 PacificAfairs
areas (exceptthe Andamanand NicobarIs-
centrally-administered
will be dis-
lands) are calledPartC states.Each of thesecategories
cussedherein turn.

Comparedto theformation of new princely unions,themerger

ofsmallor geographically disparatestatesintoadjacentprovinces was
a simpleprocess. The explanation of theeasewithwhichit was ac-
complished lies in thefactthatafterJulyi947 thereneverwas any
prospect thatsmallormedium-sized princely couldresist
states pressure
to jointhenewIndianUnion.The onlyquestion waswhether oneor
twoofthelargerstatescouldsucceedin holdingaloof.Withaccession
of nearlyall of theimportant statesassuredin thesummer of I947,
Vallabhbhai Patel,as head of thenew StatesMinistry in thecentral
government, couldnegotiate withrajasofnon-viable states,wellknow-
ing thatreasonable guaranteesof adequatepensionswouldreconcile
themtothelossofall oftheirgoverning powers.
The process beganin Orissain theautumnof i947. A simpleform
of "merger agreement" was prepared whereby therulerin question
cededtotheGovernment oftheDominionofIndia"fullandexclusive
authority, jurisdictionandpowers forandinrelation tothegovernance"
of his state.In return, the Government of India guaranteed him a
stipulated sumannually forhis "privypurse"and the"enjoyment of
all privateproperties", andofall personalprivileges,dignities andtitles
enjoyedby him,whether withinor outsidehis state,on AugustI4,
i947. It furtherguaranteed thesuccessionaccording tolawandcustom.
Thoughbrief, theclausesofthisagreement wereframed toobviate any
possibilityoffuture dispute.The rulergaveup hisauthority on behalf
notonlyof himself butof hisheirsand agreedthatanycontroversy
overwhatconstituted privateas distinct
fromstateproperty shouldbe
settledbya judicialofficer oftheGovernment ofIndia.
Suchagreements werefirstappliedas ofJanuary i, I948, to thirty-
nineOrissaand Chhattisgarh statescovering an areaof56,ooo square
miles,witha revenueof twenty millionrupeesand a population of
sevenmillion.To thesewereaddedthesmallstateof Makraias of
Februaryi, I948, and thelargestateof Mayurbhanj(area,4,034 square
one million)as of November
miles;population, 9, i948. Whenthese
statesweremergedwiththegeographically contiguous provinces,
the
resultwas: forOrissa,theadditionoftwenty-four
stateswhoserulers
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 The Unificationof India
were guaranteedprivypursestotaling1,812,000 Rs.; for the Central
Provinces(now renamedMadhyaPradesh),fifteen states(total privy
purses guaranteed,i,666,650 Rs.); and for Bihar, two states (total
privypurses,I2I,900 Rs.).
This processwas continuedin the Deccan and in Gujarat during
I948, resulting in a largeexpansionof theprovinceof Bombay.In all,
sixty-sixstatesweremergedin Bombay(totalprivypursesguaranteed,
8,283,I2i Rs.). Of these,three-Kolhapur,Baroda,and Sirohi-deserve
specialmention.Kolhapur,a largeDeccan statewitha populationof
one million,objectedto the mergerplan. When seriousdisturbances
occurredthereafterGandhi's assassinationin late JanuaryI948, the
StatesMinistry persuadedthemaharajato acceptan administrator ap-
pointedby the centralgovernment. Aftera yearof strictsupervision,
Kolhapurwas integrated withBombayon March I, I949.
Baroda (area, 8,236 sq. miles; population,3,000,000), the premier
statein Gujarat,was uniquein beingthemostgeographically disparate
of all of theimportant Indian states.Its territories
wereinterlacednot
only with Bombaybut with otherGujarat states.There were also
pieces of Baroda territory in the Kathiawarpeninsula.The statehad
a long traditionof efficient administration, but the extravagances of
its new maharajain recentyearswerethe subjectof unfavorable pub-
licity.Aftersomewhatstormynegotiations, theStatesMinistry secured
the maharaja'sagreementto the mergerof Baroda with Bombayon
March 2I, i949. No commitment was made as to privypurseforthe
maharaja'sheirs.The maharajahimselfremaineda centerof contro-
versy.In i950 he becamea leadingspiritamongthoserulerswhoformed
an "associationof rulers"to presentrulers'grievancesto the States
Ministry.In April i95i he was deprivedof his titles,privilegesand
dignitiesby theGovernment of India,in favorofhis eldestson.
Sirohi,a smallstateon theborderof Rajputana,is theonlyprincely
statewhich,underthe new arrangements, has been divided.Partof it
has beenmergedin Bombayand theremainderassignedto theprincely
unionof Rajasthan.
The otherstateswhichhave been mergedwithadjacentprovinces
are: in Madras-Baganapalle,Pudukkottai, and Sandur(area, i,602 sq.
miles;population,485,ooo), all enclavesin thatprovince;in theUnited
Provinces(renamed Uttar Pradesh)-Tehri Garwhal on the Hima-
layanfrontier, Benares,an enclavenearthecityof thesamename,and

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 PacificAflairs
Rampur, a statewitha Muslimrulerforming an enclavenearMorada-
bad;' in EastPunjab-thetinystatesofLoharu,Dujana,andPataudi;
in WestBengal-CoochBehar;and in Assam-theKhasiHill States.
Administratively and legally,all of these"merged"states(except
theKhasiHill States)wereabsorbed in therespective provinces which
in theirturnbecamePartA states in thenewIndianUnion.The rulers
wereshornofall power,thoughstillenjoying theirtitlesanddignities,
theirprivate property and thestipulated privy-purse allotments.These
privy-purseallotments were,in thefirst instance, madea chargeon the
revenues of the"merged"areas,butundersubsequent arrangements
theybecamea chargeon thecentralbudget.The integration of the
mergedareasis proceeding undertheofficials of theparticular pro-
vincesconcerned; in mostof themergeragreements theprovincial
government is obligatedto takeovertheexisting officialstaffwith
guarantees ofuniform payandpensionscales.
Seatsin theprovincial legislaturesforthemergedareashavebeen
allottedon thesamebasisas fortherestof theprovinces. It has not,
however, beenpossible to fillthembya process ofelection.The appli-
cationof theprovincial franchise provisions of theIndiaActof i935
to all oftheseareasis a complicated process. Consequently theseseats
havebeenfilledbyappointment. Suchappointments havebeenmade
by thecentralgovernment, notby theprovincial governments. This
problem willnaturally be resolved whenelections areheldunderthe
newIndianConstitution in thewinter of I95I-52.
Becauseoftheirtribalpopulations, theKhasiHill Statesandother
tribalareason thenortheast ofIndiahavehada specialregime
frontier
setup forthem.UnderthenewConstitution, theybecomean "autono-
mousdistrict" of Assam,the UnitedKhasi-Jaintia Hill District,in
whichtribalcouncils havea largemeasure oflocalautonomy.

THE process offorming thefive"unions"ofprincely states-named

Saurashtra,
MadhyaBharat, Patialaand EastPunjabStatesUnion,the
UnitedStateofRajasthan,andtheUnitedStateofTravancore-Cochin
-has beena verycomplicated one.Theseprincelyunions,together
withMysore, Hyderabadand Kashmir(all of whichis regarded by
theGovernment of Indiaas de jureIndianterritory),
formtheeight
1 Rampurwas administeredby the centralgovernmentduringa transitional
periodof six
monthsbeforebeingmergedin UttarPradeshon Decemberi, 1949.

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 The Unificationof India
Part B statesunderthenew Constitution. If we leaveout of considera-
tion for the momentHyderabadand Kashmir as special cases, the
integrationof theseareas with the new Republictook place in three
stages.In Julyand Augusti947, theStatesMinistry persuadedthelead-
ing princesto "accede"to theUnionwithrespectfirstofall to thethree
essentials-defence,foreignaffairsand communications. In 1948-49,
the objectwas to show the wisdomof the plans forthe "unions",to
prove that,in orderto make themwork,a far largerdelegationof
power was necessary.In 1949-50, the object was to accomplishfull
integrationbyhavingtherulersagreeto acceptthenew Constitution of
as
India the constitution of their states;such acceptance meant recog-
nitionby the acceptingstateor newly-formed "union of states"that
positionin the Republicwas the same as thatof the
its constitutional
PartA states,theformerprovincesof "BritishIndia".
For an understanding of what took place, it is necessaryto bear
in mind thatin Julyand AugustI947 all of theprincelystateswithin
thegeographicalorbitofIndia as distinct fromthatofPakistan(except
Hyderabad, Kashmir and Junagadh) "acceded" to India in accordance
withtheprocedurelaid down in the India Act of I935 as adaptedand
amendedby the Government of thenew Dominionof India. The im-
portantstates"acceded" only withrespectto defence,externalaffairs
and communications as definedin List I of ScheduleVII of the India
Act of I935.2 Lesser states over which the BritishViceroy, as Crown
Representative,had formerly powers"ac-
exercisedwide jurisdictional
ceded" under instruments transferringthosepowersto the new Do-
minion. These instruments of accessionwere the foundationupon
whichthe StatesMinistry worked.In the case of thestatesmergedin
provinces, were supersededby the mergeragreements
the instruments
describedabove.In thecase of thestatesout ofwhichthenew princely
"unions"wereto be formed,thenextstepwas to persuadetherulersto
sign "covenants"surrendering theirauthorityto thesenew adminis-
trativeentities.
2 List I is the "federal"legislativelist of 59 items,of whichonly a few relateto defence,
externalaffairsand communications. Instruments of "accession"with respectto these three
subjectsnormallycovered:armedforcesand establishments, ammunitionand fire-arms, explo-
sives,externalaffairs(includingextradition, immigration and emigration,
aliens,naturalization),
posts,telegraphs, wireless,federalrailways,shipping,navigation,admiraltyjurisdic-
telephones,
tion,aircraft, transitof passengers
air navigation,port controls(e.g., quarantine),lighthouses,
and goods by sea and air. They did not,however,necessarily covermilitaryforcesraisedby the
princeconcerned,if not integrated withthe Indian Army.

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 PacificAflairs
The makingof a princely unionwas accomplished first
in Kathia-
war,whereit was mostneeded.It had longbeenrecognized thatthe
hundreds ofsmallstatesin thisregionwerean anachronism. Evenbe-
foreindependence, theViceroyhad carriedouttwoschemes "attach-
ing" numerous smallstatesto largerones.The princely unionnow
knownas Saurashtra coversin all 222 formerprincelystatesand
"estates"withan area of 2i,062 squaremilesand a population of
3,556,ooo.
Itwasbrought intobeingin twostages. First,
inJanuary i948
the rulersof Nawanagar,Bhavnagar, elevenother"salute"states,3
seventeen"non-salute"statesand numerous "estates"
covenanted with
oneanother tosetup a UnitedStateofKathiawar. Duringthefollow-
ingyear,sixmoremedium-sized statesjoinedthescheme, a newcove-
nantwas negotiated and theresulting unionwasrenamed Saurashtra.
Becauseof thenumerous smallstatesof whichthisunionwas com-
posed,a program of complete administrativeintegrationwas decided
on,to be carriedoutunderthesupervision oftheStatesMinistry.
Underthisscheme,all of therulersexceptthemaharajaof Na-
wanagar, who becamerajpramukh ofthenewunion,lostall oftheir
rulingpowers.Theirpositiondoes notdiffer
fromthatof therulersof
statesmergedin provinces exceptthattherulersofthe"salute"states
forma councilofrulers, and therulersofthe"non-salute" stateselect
one of theirnumberto a "presidium" of fiverulers.The otherfour
rulersin this"presidium" are chosenby thecouncilof rulers.The
councilof rulersand thepresidium are merebodiesof dignity, how-
ever;theyhaveno power.The solefunction ofthecouncilofrulersis
to choosetwoofthepresidium as rajpramukh andup-rajpramukh4 of
the new union.As a new covenant has providedthattherulerof
Nawanagarshallbe rajpramukh ofSaurashtra forlife,eventhisfunc-
tionis of littlemoment. The up-rajpramukh, at presenttherulerof
Bhavnagar, is electedfora five-yeartermbutexercises no powerex-
ceptin caseofthedeathordisability oftherajpramukh. The intentis
thatSaurashtra shallfunction as one administrativeunit,therajpra-

3 Under the Britishregime,a "salute" statewas one whose rulerwas, on official occasions,
entitledto a saluteof guns,the numberof guns beingdetermined by the size and importance
of thestate.
4 The termraipramukh (literally"chiefruler") is used insteadof "governor"to distinguish
a princeas head of a princelystateor union fromthe "governor"as head of a formerBritish
province.The termup-raipramukh is used of the princedesignatedto succeedin the eventof
the deathor disabilityof the rajpramukhof a princely"union".

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 The Unificationof India
mukh being the equivalentof the governorin a Part A state.Hence,
all oftheotherrulersmerelyenjoytheirtitles,dignitiesand privy-purse
allotments withoutpower.
Provisionwas made in the covenantsfor the settingup of a con-
stituentassemblyof fifty-five membersfor Saurashtra,to be elected
underthesamerulesas thosefortheBombaylegislative assembly(i.e.,
in accordancewith the provincialfranchiseclausesof the India Act
of 1935). Formerrulersof statesor talukdarsof "estates"were not
barredfromstandingforelection.When it becameapparentthatthis
assembly'sadoptionof thenew Indian Constitution would obviatethe
necessityformakinga new constitution forSaurashtra,thisconstituent
assemblywas declaredto be an interimlegislativeassemblyfor the
princelyunion. Government thusfunctionedundera CongressParty
ministry responsible assembly.
to thislegislative
The inclusionof Junagadhamongthesecondgroupof stateswhich
were integratedwith Saurashtrain i949 deservesmention.Junagadh
(area, 3,337sq. miles; population,670,ooo) became the scene of dis-
turbancesin the summerof I947 when its Muslim rulerrefusedto
accede to India. The legalityof this ruler'saccessionto Pakistanre-
mains a subjectof controversy betweenthe Indian and Pakistangov-
ernments. The factswere thathis subjectsrose in revoltagainsthim
and he was forcedto fleeto Pakistan,whereuponIndian armedforces
restored orderin his state.The Government ofIndia held a referendum
in Februaryi948 which went almostunanimouslyin favorof union
withIndia. Aftera yearof administration by the centralgovernment,
"representatives of thepeople"agreedto the inclusionof Junagadhin
Saurashtra, and itwas givensevenmembersin theSaurashtra legislative
assembly. The Pakistangovernment stillregardsthestatusofJunagadh
as not properlysettled,claimsthatit is de jure Pakistanterritory, and
neverceasesto chargeIndia withinconsistency on thegroundthat,as
faras legal and constitutional formsare concerned,the rulerof Juna-
gadh's accessionto Pakistan differsnot a whit from the ruler of
Kashmir'saccessionto India.
The schemefortheprincelyunionof MadhyaBharatdid notdiffer
essentially fromthatevolvedfor Saurashtra.The intentwas to form
a union of Gwalior and Indore with eighteenneighboringstatesof
lesserimportance. The resulting unioncoveredan area of46,7I0 square
miles and a populationof sevenmillions,The rulersof Gwaliorand

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 PacificAffairs
Indorebecamerajpramukh
and up-rajpramukh
forlife,withlarge
privy-purse allotmentsof 2,500,000 Rs. and i,500,000 Rs. respectively.
The up-rajpramukh has a positionofgreaterdignitythanin Saurashtra,
and an extraallowanceof 250,000 Rs. Thereis a councilof rulerscon-
sistingoftherulersofthesalutestatesand Kurwai,plusone rulerelected
by the rulersof the non-salutestates.The rulersof the non-salute
statesalso electtwo "juniorvice-presidents" forfive-year terms.
As in Saurashtra, thisapparatusmeansverylittle.From a de facto
pointof view,the rajpramukhis the equivalentof a governor.He is
advised by a ministryresponsibleto an interimlegislativeassembly
consisting offortymemberselectedbymembersoftheformerGwalior
legislativeassembly, fifteen memberselectedbymembersof theIndore
legislativeassembly,and twentymembers"electedby an electoralcol-
lege to be constituted by the Rajpramukhin consultationwith the
Government of India to representstatesotherthan Gwalior and In-
dore". The union is to be one administrative unit,but integration is
proceedingmuchmoreslowlythanin Saurashtra.The plan to have a
separateconstituent assemblywas givenup when the StatesMinistry
decidedthattheappropriate procedurewas to have theprincelyunions
adopt the new of
Constitution India.
MadhyaBharatis unique in havinga verylargegroupof Bhils (an
extremely backwardtribe)withinitsborders.It is noteworthy thatthe
union covenantprovidesthatall areas with more than fiftyper cent
Bhil populationbecomeScheduledAreasgovernedin thename of the
rajpramukhalone "subjectto any directionsor instructions" givenby
theGovernment of India. The princelyunionofMadhyaBharatbegan
functioning as ofMay 28, I948.
The princelyunionofPatialaand East Punjab StatesUnion,known
colloquiallyas PEPSU, was inauguratedon Julyi5, 1948. It consistsof
Patiala, Kapurthala,Jind,Nabha, Faridkot,Malerkotla,Nalargarh,
and Kalsia (area, io,o09 sq. miles;population, 3,424,000, predominantly
Sikh). The rulersof Patiala and Kapurthalaare respectively rajpra-
mukhand up-rajpramukh forlife.The councilof rulersconsistsof the
rulersof the salutestates,plus one of the rulersof the two non-salute
states(i.e., therajas of Nalargarhand Kalsia,who servealternately for
five-year terms).The councilhas no functionexceptto electthe raj-
pramukhand up-rajpramukh afterthe deathsof the presentmaha-
rajasofPatialaand Kapurthala.The covenantprovidesfora constituent

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 The Unificationof India
assembly,but it has neverbeen convened.The union has been func-
tioningundera smallcouncilof ministers
who are in effectthenomi-
neesof theGovernment of India.

THE princelyunion now known as The United Stateof Rajasthan

(area, 128,424 sq. miles; population,13,Ioo,ooo) was not completely
formeduntilMay i5, 1949. Comprisingseveralgreatstates,all with
centuriesof historybehindthem,it was thefruitof long and involved
negotiations. The firststepwas a covenantin March I948 amongnine
lesserstatesin the southeastof Rajputana: Banswara,Bundi,Dungar-
pur, Jhalawar,Kishingarh,Kotah, Partabgarh,Shahpura,and Tonk.
Withina month,thisbroughtin themajorstateof Udaipur(Mewar).
It required,however,a yearofnegotiation to persuadetherulersofthe
otherthreegreatRajputana states-Jaipur, Jodhpurand Bikaner-to
join. These, togetherwiththe smallerstateof Jaisalmer, came in on
March30, 1949.
Discussionsthen ensued about adding the four statesof Alwar,
Bharatpur,Dholpur,and Karauli, whichhad been functioning since
March I948 as a unionnamed Matsya.The StatesMinistrytook steps
to soundout local opinionon thesubject.The officials
sentfromNew
Delhi came to the conclusionthat the people of Alwar and Karauli
overwhelmingly favored union with Rajasthan,but that those of
Bharatpurand Dholpurweredoubtful.Hence, the StatesMinistry ap-
pointeda specialcommitteeof threeto send questionnaires and hold
publicmeetingsin thesetwo states.This committee reporteda majority
opinionin favorof union withRajasthan.The Government' of India
acceptedthisview,and Bharatpurand DholpurjoinedRajasthan.The
Government, however,promisedthat at an earlydate suitablesteps
would be takento ascertainwhetherpublicopinionin thesetwo states
remainsin favorof Rajasthan.The onlyalternative forthemwould be
mergerwithUttarPradesh(the formerUnitedProvinces).
In this processof integration,
covenanthas succeededcovenant.
Therehave beenno lessthanthreecovenantsamongRajputrulersand
a finalone wherebythe MatsyaUnion disappearedand was absorbed
by Rajasthan.The resultingstructure has some peculiarfeatures.By
long historictradition,
themaharanasof Udaipurwereacknowledged
the premierRajput dynasty. They alone borethe titleof maharana.It
was therefore unthinkablethat the presentmaharanashould have a

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 PacificAffairs
positionof less dignitythanhis fellowrulers,but it was likewiseim-
possibleforhim,as an invalid,to functionas rajpramukhof the new
union. This difficulty was obviatedby inventingforhim the titleof
maharajpramukh. He presides,therefore,overthecouncilofrulers,but
all politicalpowerrestsin the maharajaof Jaipur,as rajpramukh.
The arrangement of the councilof rulersis somewhatmoreelab-
oratethanin the otherprincelyunions,but it is an equallypowerless
bodywithno functions otherthanthoseof electingforfive-year terms
a president(the rajpramukh),two seniorvice-presidents and three
junior vice-presidents.These functionsmean littlesincethe covenant
providesthatthemaharajaof Jaipurshallbe rajpramukhforlife,and
theGovernment of India designateswhichof theseniorvice-presidents
shall act in case of the rajpramukh'sincapacityor absence.Likewise
underthe covenant,for a termof fiveyears,the rulersof Jodhpur
and Kotah are appointedseniorvice-presidents, the rulersof Bundi
and Dungarpur,junior vice-presidents, and the third junior vice-
presidentis appointedby the rajpramukhin consultationwith the
StatesMinistryfromthe rulersof the statesin the formerMatsya
union.There is thusnothingforthe councilof rulersto do untilfive
yearshave elapsed.
The integration of administrationforthe whole of Rajputanais a
formidabletaskwhich is stillfarfromcompletion.Though the cove-
nantprovidesforthesettingup of a constituent assembly, nonehas yet
been convened.Assemblies,electedon a verylimitedfranchiseand
includingmanyappointedmembers, formerly existedin a fewofthese
states(e.g., Jaipur,and Bikaner).These havenow disappeared, and no
new representative bodieshave replacedthem.Rajasthanis governed
by a councilof ministers appointedby therajpramukhin consultation
withtheStatesMinistry in New Delhi.
The fifthprincelyunion,thatof Travancoreand Cochin,differs
fromthe othersin thatit is a mergerof one largestateand one small
statewhose territories are interlaced.The mergerdid not take place
untilmid-I949.It was thefruitof discussionsbetweenthe StatesMin-
istryand CongressPartyleadersin both states.Both stateshad had
legislativeassembliesforsomeyears.Afterthewar,adultfranchise was
introduced, new electionswereheld,and responsible partygovernment
was setup. The framingof a covenantwas therefore a relatively
simple
matter.Under it,the maharajaof Travancorebecamerajpramukhfor
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 The Unificationof India
life; the Governmentof India was to determinehis successorin the
eventof deathor incapacity. Thereis thusno guaranteethatthemaha-
rajas of Travancoreand of Cochin will exercisethe officeof rajpra-
mukh alternately. The legislaturesof the two stateswere mergedto
formthe legislatureof the new joint state.Clauses were includedto
providefor close supervisionof the new government by the States
Ministry pendingtheframingof a new constitution.
For all of thesefiveprincelyunions,thenextsteptowardtheirfull
integration withIndia was theexecutionof new "instruments of acces-
sion" wherebythe delegationto the Governmentof India of power
withrespectto defence,foreignaffairs and communications was broad-
ened to includeall mattersmentionedin the federaland concurrent
listsin ScheduleVII of theIndia Act of I935 exceptmattersrelatingto
taxation.5 It will be recalledthateachindividualrulerhad delegatedall
of his authority to theunionofwhichhis statebecamea part.Hence it
was held thattherajpramukhs of thenew unionshad fullauthority to
make thisfar more ample delegationof power and to cancel instru-
mentsof accessionsignedby the individualrulers.Accordingly, new
instruments of accession,conferring the additionalpowers,were pre-
pared,all similarin form.They were signedby the rajpramukhsof
Saurashtra,Madhya Bharat, and PEPSU in Septemberi948, by
Rajasthanin April i949,6 and by Travancore-Cochin in August i949.
A similarnew instrument of accessionwas signedby themaharaja
of Mysoreon JuneI, I949. This statehad formanyyearshad a legis-
latureelectedon a fairlywide franchise. Its politicallifewenton rela-
tivelyundisturbed, and therewas no occasionformergingit withany
otherstate.
The case of Hyderabadwas markedlydifferent, thoughit likewise
was a verylargeand populousstatewhichshouldobviouslystandby
itself.Conflicting viewsof the legalityof the "policeaction"whereby
theGovernment of India tookoverHyderabadin Septemberi948 will
not be discussedhere.When militaryrule was succeededby civilgov-
5 In the federallist,besidesmattersconcerningdefence,externalaffairs and communications,
are such subjectsas currency,publicdebt,census,archaeological
sites,fishing, opium,petroleum,
insurance,banking,copyright, laborin mines.In theconcurrentlist (i.e., matterswithrespectto
whichboththe centrallegislatureand theprovinciallegislatures maylegislate)are suchsubjects
as criminaland civil procedure,marriageand divorce,wills and intestacy, trusts,contracts,
bankruptcy, lunacy,drugs,professions, newspapersand publishing.
6 For Rajasthan,therewere reallythreeinstruments superseding one another,as the union
expanded.

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 PacificAffairs
ernment, no legislature was constituted. The stateis governed, in the
nizam'sname,bya councilofministers actingundertheclosesuper-
visionof theGovernment of India.Since,fromthebeginning of the
disturbances,theGovernment ofIndiahas declaredthatthepeopleof
thestateshoulddetermine itspolitical future,theplanstillis to have
theacceptance of theIndianConstitution subjected to ratification by
an assembly elected onthebasisofadultfranchise. Meanwhile a farman
has beenissued(November 23,i949),signedbythenizam,accepting
thenew Constitution of Indiaas theconstitution of Hyderabad, sub-
jectto suchratification. The position ofthenizamhas beenrespected
throughout and theGovernment of India has enteredintoa privy-
purseagreement withhim guaranteeing him5,ooo,oooRs. annually,
butreserving to "suchindependent" personas it maynominate the
determination ofanydispute overwhatconstitutes hisprivate property.
Bysimpleexecutive action,Hyderabad wasthusintegrated withthe
UnionofIndia.The process whereby thefivenewprincely unionsand
MysoreadoptedthenewConstitution ofIndiawasmorecomplicated.
It will havebeennotedthatthenew "instruments of accession" re-
ferred to in thepreceding paragraphs gavetheirbroaddelegation of
powersto theGovernment of India "exceptin matters of taxation".
Theyall also contained theclause:"nothing in thisinstrument shall
be deemedtocommit thestatein anywayto acceptance ofanyfuture
constitutionof India".Well awarethattheseparatefinancial system
in theformer princelystateswasthegreatest obstacletoa trueunifica-
tionofIndia,theStatesMinistry bentall itsenergies in i949 tosolving
thisproblem beforeJanuary 26, i950, thedateon whichthenewre-
publicofIndiawas to comeintobeing.This was themorenecessary,
as it was understood by all lawyers that,withthecomingintoforce
ofthenewConstitution, all ofthearrangements madeundertheIndia
Actof 1935 wouldceasetohavelegalvalidity.
A distinguished groupunderthechairmanship ofV. T. Krishnama-
chari,a former primeminister of Jaipur, was appointed as an Indian
StatesFinancesEnquiryCommittee. Aftera year'swork,it was able
to present a schemeproviding forfinancial integration overa transi-
tionalperiodoftenyears.The subjectis so vastas topreclude detailed
discussion of it here.In brief,theproblem was to setoffagainsteach
othertherespective gainsand losseswhichthestatesconcerned would
incurif: (i) thecentralgovernment shouldperform thesamefunc-
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 The Unification ofIndia
tionsin thestatesas in theformer "British" provinces; (2) it should
function withits own personnel in statesas in provinces; (3) there
shouldbe contributions to centralresources fromstateson thesame
basisas fromprovinces; and (4) thereshouldbe equality oftreatment
as betweenprovinces and statesforall centralservices rendered and
centralgrantsshared.Whenthesegainsand losseshad beencalcu-
lated,theCommittee concluded thatPEPSU,MadhyaBharat, andRa-
jasthanwouldgainwhileMysore, Travancore-Cochin, Saurashtra,and
Hyderabad wouldlose.Consequently a planhadtobe evolved whereby
losseswouldbe offset bysubsidies fromthecentral government which
wouldtaperoffduringthetransitional period.
This veryelaborate schemewentintoeffect in Aprili950. Under
it,nearlyall of thevisiblerelicsof former princelyautonomy (e.g.,
statepostalsystems,currency andrailways)willquicklybe takenover
bythenationalgovernment, butinternal customs dutieswillprobably
continue forseveralyearsinMadhyaBharat, Rajasthan,Saurashtra,and
Hyderabad. Also,underthescheme, theamounts fortheprinces' privy
pursesreallybecomea chargeon thecentral budget, thoughtheremay
be somereimbursement of thecentraltreasury underthisheadfrom
certainstates.
As thisschemeevolvedduringi949, thecommittees atworkon the
finaldraftof thenew Constitution wereaddingarticles to effect
this
financialintegrationandredrafting otherarticles tofacilitate
theStates
Ministry'splan to havetherajpramukhs signproclamations whereby
theConstitution ofIndiashouldbecometheconstitution oftheirstates.
These proclamations,includingthe Hyderabad farmanmentioned
above,wereissuedin November
I949. All are similar
in form.They
of India Act of I935, "whichnow governs
statethatthe Government
theconstitutional between
relationship thisstateand theDominionof
India",will standrepealedon theinauguration ofthenewRepublic,
and that"theConstitution ofIndiashortly to be adopted. . . shallbe
theConstitution forthisstateas fortheotherpartsofIndiaand shall
be enforced as suchin accordance withthetenorof itsprovisions".
Thus, the processof the constitutional integration of Saurashtra,
MadhyaBharat,PEPSU, Rajasthan, Travancore-Cochin,Mysore, and
Hyderabad withtheUnionofIndiawascompleted, andtheirconstitu-
tionalstatusbecamethesameas thatof theformer provinces.
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 PacificAflairs
FINALLY we mustnotetheprocesswhereby certainotherprincely
stateshavebecome"centrally administered areas"witha constitutional
statusanalogousto thatof the former"ChiefCommissioners' Pro-
vinces".This was done by havingthe rulersexecutemergeragree-
mentsin almostprecisely thesametermsas thoseexecuted byrulers
whosestates weremerged in provinces.
The difference is thattheGov-
ernment ofIndia,havingthusreceived a fulldelegation ofpower,did
nothandthesestatesoverto theprovinces, butkepttheiradministra-
tiondirectly in itsownhands,grouping somestates andleavingothers
separate entities.
In all cases,therulerslosttheirrulingpowers, and theirposition
becamesimilarto thatofrulerswhosestateshad beenmergedin pro-
vinces. Theseareaswerehenceforth administered bylieutenant-govern-
orsorchiefcommissioners, advisedby"councils ofadvisers" appointed
fromNew Delhi.Theirconstitutional position wasthustheequivalent
of other"centrally administered areas"(e.g., Delhi,Coorg,Ajmer-
Merwara),knownas "ChiefCommissioners' Provinces" undertheold
regime. UnderthenewConstitution, theybecomePartC states. Legis-
laturesand councilsofministers areto be setup in mostofthemin
I952 undertheterms ofa billpassedbytheConstituent Assembly in
September i95i.7 Whenthishas beendone,theirconstitutional posi-
tionwilldiffer essentially
fromthatofPartA andPartB states onlyin
thatthenationalparliament willexercisefull"concurrent" legislative
jurisdiction withrespect to them.Anydegreeofstates'rights(in the
American senseofthatterm)thattheyexercise willbe constantlysub-
jectto theoverriding authorityoftheUnionparliament.
The princely states
whichhavethusbecome"centrally administered
areas"at thedatesbelowspecified are: (i) thirty smallSimlaand
PunjabhillstatesgroupedunderthenameHimachalPradesh, March
1949; (2) Bilaspur,August i948; (3) Kutch,May i948; (4) Bhopal,
April 1949; (5) Tripura,Septemberi949; (6) Manipur,September
1949; (7) thirty-five Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand statesin central
India,groupedunderthenameVindhyaPradesh, Decemberi949. Of
these,onlyBhopaland VindhyaPradeshcall forextended comment.
HimachalPradesh, Kutch,Tripura, andManipurareall on theinter-
7 Legislatureswill not be establishedin Bilaspur,Kutch,Manipur,and Tripura.Delhi will
have a legislativeassembly,but its powerswill be specifically
definedbecauseof Delhi's special
positionas the seat of the nationalcapital.

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 The Unification
of India
nationalbordersof India. For Tripuraand Manipur,directadministra-
tion fromNew Delhi was desirablefor strategicreasons;in Kutch,
therewas the additionalfactorof greatneed fora subsidyfromthe
nationaltreasury;in Himachal Pradesh,a large populationof hill
tribesmade supervisionby centralofficials necessary.Bilaspurwas a
specialcase; it is a tinyPunjab hill statewhichwill be nearlywholly
floodedwhen the BhakraDam projectis completed.
Undertheold regime,Bhopal (area,6,921 squaremiles;population,
785,ooo)was one of themostimportant princelystatesundera Muslim
dynastyin the whole of India. It held a keypositionin the road and
railcommunications ofwest-central India.Itsnawabhad beena promi-
nentfigurein princelyIndia formanyyearsand had becomeperhaps
the mostinfluential memberof the Chamberof Princes.Surrounded
by statesof Marathaorigin,he was in no positionto hold out against
accessioneven had he so desired.When theprincelyunionsdescribed
above began to be adumbrated, his chieffearwas thatthe administra-
tion of whichhe was so proudwould lose its identityin some larger
unit.He therefore held out formonthsagainstgivinga broaderdele-
gationof authority thanthatin his original"instrument of accession".
He was finallypersuadedto do so only by a promisethathis state
would not be groupedin anyunionand would be administered bythe
centralgovernment forat least fiveyears,afterwhichits whole posi-
tion would be reviewed.The phraseologyof the mergeragreement
whichhe signedhencediffers somewhatfromthe others.He secured
a privypurseforhimselfof i,iooooo Rs.,and an absoluteguaranteeof
goo,oooRs. annuallyforhis successors, withno timelimit.In addition,
he was promised555,oooRs. annuallyfromhisinvestment in theBhopal
staterailway.Moreover,he negotiatedthe finaldivisionof his private
fromhis publicassetsand did not leave the last word on thatsubject
to a judicialofficer appointedbytheGovernment of India.
In thegroupofstatesknownas VindhyaPradesh,whichlie between
Uttar Pradesh (formerlyUnited Provinces) and Madhya Pradesh
(formerlyCentralProvinces),a union of a typeanalogousto thatin
MadhyaBharatwas triedfirst.These states(area, 24,600 squaremiles;
population,3,569,ooo) were among the mostbackwardin India. The
mostimportant of themwas Rewa; and therehad been a longhistory
of frictionbetweenRewa withitsneighboring Baghelkhandstatesand
thosein Bundelkhand.
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 PacificAflairs
theStatesMinistry
Although succeeded
in getting of
thesignatures
rajas to a union covenantin April I948, no composite
all thirty-five
cabinetcould be set up until the summer.For the next ten months
thesestateswerethesceneof continualdissensionamongtheCongress
Partyleadersin the region.Afterthe ministry resignedon April i4,
i949, the StatesMinistry insistedthatthemaharajaof Rewa,as rajpra-
mukh, should appointas ministerscentral-government officialssent
fromNew Delhi. A new conference was held among the thirty-five
rajas, the Congresspoliticians,and the officials fromthe StatesMin-
istry.The upshotwas the signingby the rulersof a "mergeragree-
ment".This abrogatedthe former"covenant"and ceded full powers
to the Governmentof India. In orderto make everything watertight
fromthe legal standpoint, the maharajaof Rewa was obligedto sign
both as rajpramukhof the union therebydissolvedand as rulerof
Rewa. The Governmentof India thereuponannouncedthat these
thirty-fivestateswould becomea ''centrallyadministered unit" under
a lieutenant-governor as fromJanuaryi, I950.
This completesa briefdescription ofthenew politicalmap ofIndia.8
No detailedtreatment is possiblehereof thequestionsinvolvingKash-
mir, Nepal, Sikkim,Bhutan and possessionsin India still ruled by
France and Portugal.
At the end of I95i, the princelystateof Jammuand Kashmirstill
remained,froma de factostandpoint, partitioned betweenIndia and
Pakistan.The Indian view of its legal and constitutional positionmay
be summarizedas follows: the whole stateis de jure Indian terri-
tory;its maharajaaccededto India on October27, I947, withrespect
to foreignaffairs,defenceand communications. Althoughthis dele-
gationof authority to theGovernment of India has beengreatlybroad-
ened,it has not been broadenedto an extentwhichplacesKashmirin
the same constitutional the centralgovernment)as
position(vis-a'-vis
otherPart B states.Kashmirreceivesgrantsfromthe Government of
India (including6oo,oooRs. of themaharaja'sprivypurseof i,500,000
Rs.), but the financialintegrationschemedescribedabove does not
apply to it, and internalcustomsdutiesare still levied.A Kashmir
8 It should also be noted that nearlyall of the numerousenclavesof one formerprincely
statewithinanotheror withina former"British"provincehave disappeared.Executiveorders
in 1949 and I950 placed such areas administratively where they belonged geographically.
Thus, withone or two exceptions(e.g., in Bombayand Saurashtra),thereare no longerenclaves
of one new statein the Republicwithinanother.

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 The Unificationof India
assembly",chosenin Septemberi95I,
"constituent iS to redefineKash-
mir's constitutionalposition.
Nepal is de jure an independent stateand notpartof theRepublic
of India. Nevertheless, changesin its formof government took place
in the earlymonthsof i95i undertheclosesupervision of theGovern-
mentof India. There was a constantinterchange of viewsand visits
betweenKatmandhuand New Delhi both by Nepal CongressParty
politiciansand by the King of Nepal and membersof his entourage.
The resultwas the establishment of a formof government in Nepal
somewhatanalogousto thatset up in India in i919 underwhichpart
ofthecabinetwas responsible assemblyand partwas not.9
to a legislative
Sikkimand Bhutanmay be describedas states"protected"by the
RepublicofIndia,whichcontrolstheirforeignaffairs. New agreements
have been negotiatedwitheach of them.The difference fromthepre-
I947 positionis that,whereasunder the Britishregimeonly Bhutan
was consideredas outsidethe international of India, theyare
frontier
now bothoutsidethatfrontier.
The Portuguesepossessionsin India remainunchanged.Of the
French possessions,Chandernagorehas been transferred de facto to
Indian administration, for de
and thetreaty its jure cession awaitsrati-
ficationby the FrenchNationalAssembly.

IT now remainsto comparebrieflythe new regimewiththeold and

to make some observations on the workingof the new. In a sense,
thereis no comparison.The whole apparatusof treaties, paramountcy,
princelyautonomyand autocracy, and theprinces'specialstatusin in-
ternationallaw and Britishconstitutional law has been sweptaway."
The formerIndian India and theformerBritishIndia are one,operat-
ing underthe new republicanconstitution. This is of coursean over-
The one cannotbe transmuted
simplification. intotheotherovernight.
What is reallyhappeningeverywhere, exceptin Mysoreduringa
necessary period,is theexercisethroughtheStatesMinistry
transitional
at New Delhi of paramountcy in a new and morepervasiveform.This

9 A recent political upheaval in Nepal will apparently result in governmentby a cabinet fully
responsible to an interimlegislative assembly.
t" This view is contested by an ex-political secretaryof the maharaja of Baroda's government
who claims that nearly all of the measures described in this article are illegal and ultra vires
under internationallaw. See R. K. Ranadive, The Legal Rights of the Indian States and of Their
Subjects, Baroda, i950.

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 PacificAffairs
findsitsbasisin Article37I of theConstitution, whichreads:"Not-
withstanding anythingin thisConstitution, duringa periodof ten
years,or duringsuchlongeror shorter periodas Parliament mayby
lawprovide inrespect
ofanyState, theGovernment ofevery Statespeci-
fiedin PartB oftheFirstScheduleshallbe underthegeneralcontrol
of,and complywithsuchparticular directions,if any,as mayfrom
timetotimebe givenby,thePresident." Thisputstheformer princely
statescompletelyat themercyoftheStatesMinistry, and is farmore
flexible
in practicethan"paramountcy" everwas.The testofthissys-
tem,will comeafterthenew elections in thewinterof i95I-52 have
installedcabinets
responsibleto legislatures
in all PartB states.It will
thenbe seenwhether PartB stateswill reallyfunction on thesame
basisas PartA states.
As has beenindicatedabove,in thistransitional periodadministra-
tivereform has madefarmoreprogress thanhas theintroduction of
democratic procedures.
The princes havebeendeprived ofpower,and
theirprivypursesare cut to 58,oooooo Rs., one-quarter
of the former
total.Princely
powerhas,however, forthemostpartnotyetpassedto
thepeopleofthestatesthemselves. In all ofthenewprincely unions,
seniorofficers
oftheIndianAdministrative Service(theformer Indian
CivilService)areattached as "advisers" to theimportant government
departments.Moreover, theGovernment of Indiaappoints"regional
commissioners" as "advisers" to therajpramukhs. In practice, there
fore,cabinets
composed ofeitherCongress Partypoliticiansor officials
of the centralgovernment, or sometimes of both,actingunderthe
supervisionof theseregionalcommissioners and advisers, havebeen
carryingouta vastprogram of administrative reform.It is theywho
havebeenengagedin theworkofputting through financialintegra-
up a newjudicialsystem,
tion,setting demobilizing some"state"forces
andbringing theremainder underthecontrol oftheIndianArmy, and
tacklinga multitude ofvarying administrative problems.
In viewofthemagnitude ofthesetasks,especially in central India
andRajputana, itis notat all extraordinary thatintroduction ofdemo-
craticgovernment has beenslow.Onlyin Mysorehas thepolitical
beenat all normal.
situation Nearlyeverywhere else,thepoliticalscene
hasbeenstormy, whether ornotan assembly wasactuallyfunctioning.
In Travancore-Cochin,ministerial crisishassucceeded ministerialcrisis,
primarilybecausemanyof theCochinCongress Partyleadersresent
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 The Unification
ofIndia
theunionwithTravancore.Feelingon thesubjectbecameso heatedin
March i95i thatfourteen of themembersfromCochinwalked out of
the legislativeassemblyin Trivandrum.In Rajasthan and PEPSU
thereare no legislatures,but a seriesof continualquarrelsamongthe
local CongressPartyleadershas preventedthe establishment of stable
ministries. More than once in I950-5I the StatesMinistryhas had to
stepin and provideforgovernment by Indian Administrative Service
officialsappointedby the rajpramukhunderordersfromNew Delhi.
In Madhya Bharatand Saurashtrathe politicalscenehas been calmer
butbothstateshavebeenunderclosesupervision bytheStatesMinistry.
It is a characteristic
of thissortof politicallifethatthereis a con-
stantrunningto and froof Congressleadersin the Part B statesto
New Delhi and an almostequallyconstanttouringthroughthe Part
B statesby high officialsof the StatesMinistry.With electionsall over
India on a basisof adultsuffrage so imminent, it is ratherpointlessto
examinethe confusedpoliticsof thePart B statesin detail.The future
dependsentirely on whattheseelectionsbringforth.
When all of the factorsare considered, thisunification of India is
an extraordinary achievement and a tribute
to theabilitiesoftheofficials
who accomplishedit under VallabhbhaiPatel's leadership.It is also
a tributeto the sagacityand good senseof the majorityof theprinces,
manyof whomwill continueto playimportant rolesin thenew India,
whetherthey happen to be rajpramukhsor not. The maharaja of
Bhavnagar,whosestatebecamepartof Saurashtra, is thepresentGov-
ernorof Madras.During the past fouryears,a sound foundationhas
beenlaid forthecarrying outofthesocialand politicalreforms needed
to bringprincelyIndia fullyintoharmonyand unitywiththe restof
the country.
Philadelphia,NovemberI951

37'

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