The significance of Sadar Patel's contribution to the Indian independence movement

cannot be overstated. He will be renowned for uniting India's over 550 princely

states into a single state. The British ruled India through two administrative systems:

British Provinces, which were managed directly by the British India colonial

government, and Princely States, which were ruled by native kings but were linked to

the British Crown by a system of subsidiary alliances. During the British control of

India, there were 565 princely states. Around 60% of India's area was under British

India, while 40% was under the Princely States. 1 The midnight of August 15, 1947 is

likely to go down in Indian history as the most crucial. But, while freedom is a hard-

won ambition for India's leaders and common people, sewing together the hundreds

of territorial parts into a distinct whole was a much more difficult goal to achieve.

The conundrum of how to bring together the 500-odd rulers and states that the

British had left behind accompanied the British departure from Indian territory. The

princely realms, which were both spoilt and exploited by the British, maintained

semi-autonomy during the colonial era, posed the most difficult task to free India. He

tried all he could to persuade the princes to join India, from appealing their

patriotism to warning them about the prospect of anarchy if they refused. He also

1
Wiki. n.d. “British Raj Geographical Extent, History, British India and the Princely
States, Legal System, the Free Encyclopedia.” Accessed March 23, 2022.
https://en.epapernews.org/en/British_Raj-2088488620.

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proposed the concept of "private purses," which would be a payment 2made to royal

families in exchange for their support for India's unification.

2
“The Making of a Nation: How Sardar Patel Integrated 562 Princely States.” 2017.
The Better India. December 16, 2017.
https://www.thebetterindia.com/124500/sardar-patel-vp-menon-integration-
princely-states-india-independence/?msclkid=d29fcc85aa9e11ec9f9124dd60019b1c.