Unification of India & Role of Sardar Patel in Indian Unification The political integration of these territories into http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/India was a declared objective of the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Indian_National_Congress, which the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Government_of_India pursued over the next decade. Under the June 3 plan, more than 600 princely states were given the option of joining either India or Pakistan, or choosing independence. Indian nationalists and large segments of the public feared that if these states did not accede, a vast majority of the people and territory would be fragmented. The Congress as well as senior British officials considered Patel the best man for the task of achieving unification of the princely states with the Indian dominion. The rulers of the princely states were not uniformly enthusiastic about integrating their domains into independent India. Some kings, such as the kings of Bikaner and Jawhar, were motivated to join India out of ideological and patriotic considerations. but others insisted that they had the right to join either India or Pakistan, to remain independent, or form a union of their own. A number of factors contributed to the collapse of this initial resistance and to nearly all princely states agreeing to accede to India. An important factor was the lack of unity amongst the princes. The smaller states did not trust the larger states, http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Hindu rulers did not trust http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Muslim princes. Others, believing integration inevitable, sought to build bridges with the Congress, hoping to gain advantage in the final settlement. Many princes were also pressured by popular sentiment favouring integration with India, which meant their plans for independence had little support from their subjects. Finally princes felt abandoned by the british & saw themselves as having little other option. By far the most significant factor that led to the princes' decision to accede to India was the policy of the Congress, http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Sardar_Vallabhbhai_Patel and http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/V.P._Menon. The Congress' stated position was that the princely states were not sovereign entities, and as such could not opt to be independent notwithstanding the end of paramountcy. The princely states, therefore must accede to either India or Pakistan. In July 1946, Nehru pointed that no princely state could prevail militarily against the army of independent India. In January 1947, he said that independent India would not accept the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Divine_Right_of_Kings, and in May 1947, he declared that any princely state which refused to join the Constituent Assembly would be treated as an enemy state. Patel and Menon, took a more conciliatory approach than Nehru. The official policy statement of the Government of India made by Patel on http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/July_5 http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/1947 made no threats. Instead, it emphasised the unity of India and the common interests of the princes and independent India, reassured them about the Congress' intentions, and invited them to join independent India "to make laws sitting together as friends than to make treaties as aliens." He reiterated that the States Department would not attempt to establish a relationship of domination over the princely states. Patel and Menon backed up their diplomatic efforts by producing two types of treaties to be attractive to rulers of princely states. 1. The first was the Standstill Agreement, which confirmed that the agreements and administrative practices that existed as between the princely state in question and the British would be continued by India. 2. The second was the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Instrument_of_Accession, by which the ruler of the princely state in question agreed to the accession of his kingdom to independent India, and to granting India control over specified subject matters. The nature of the subject matters varied depending on the acceding state. The Instruments of Accession implemented a number of other safeguards. Clause 7 provided that the princes would not be bound to the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Constitution_of_India as and when it was drafted. Clause 8 guaranteed their autonomy in all areas in which authority was not expressly ceded to the Government of India. This was supplemented by a number of promises. Rulers who agreed to accede would receive guarantees that their http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Extra-territorial rights, such as http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Immunity_from_prosecution in Indian courts and exemption from http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Customs_duty, would be protected, that they would be allowed to democratise slowly, that none of the eighteen major states would be forced to merge, and that they would remain eligible for http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/British_honours. Lord Mountbatten reinforced the statements of Patel and Menon by emphasising that the documents gave the princes all the "practical independence" they needed. Mountbatten, Patel and Menon also sought to give princes the impression that if they did not accept the terms put to them then, they would subsequently have to accede on substantially less favourable terms. The limited scope of the Instruments of Accession and the promise of a wide-ranging autonomy and the other guarantees they offered, gave sufficient comfort to many rulers, who saw this as the best deal they could strike given the lack of support from the British, and popular internal pressures. Between May 1947 and http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/August_15 http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/1947, the vast majority of states signed Instruments of Accession. And all but three of the states (http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Jammu_and_Kashmir, http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Junagadh, and http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Hyderabad_state) willingly merged into the Indian union Junagadh - The Nawab under pressure from Sir http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Shah_Nawaz_Bhutto acceded to Pakistan. It was however, quite far from Pakistan and 80% of its population was Hindu. Patel combined diplomacy with force, demanding that Pakistan annul the accession, and that the Nawab accede to India. He sent the Army to occupy three principalities of Junagadh to show his resolve. Following widespread protests and the formation of a civil government, or Aarzi Hukumat, both Bhutto and the Nawab fled to http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Karachi, and under Patel's orders, Indian Army and police units marched into the state. A plebiscite later organised produced a 99.5% vote for merger with India. Hyderabad - Its ruler, the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Nizam http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Osman_Ali_Khan,_Asif_Jah_VII was a Muslim, although over 80% of its people were Hindu. The Nizam sought independence or accession with Pakistan. Muslim forces loyal to Nizam, called the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Razakars, under http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Qasim_Razvi pressed the Nizam to hold out against India. In September 1948, Patel emphasised in Cabinet meetings that India should take no more, and reconciled Nehru and the Governor-General, http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Chakravarti_Rajgopalachari to military action. Following preparations, Patel ordered the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Indian_Army to integrate Hyderabad (in his capacity as Acting Prime Minister) when Nehru was touring Europe. The action was termed http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Operation_Polo, in which thousands of Razakar forces had been killed, but Hyderabad was comfortably secured into the Indian Union. After defeating Nizam, Patel retained him as the ceremonial chief of state. Kashmir - Kashmir was ruled by http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Maharaja http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Hari_Singh, a Hindu, although the state itself had a Muslim majority. Hari Singh was equally hesitant about acceding to either India or Pakistan, as either would have provoked adverse reactions in parts of his kingdom. He signed a Standstill Agreement with Pakistan and proposed one with India as well, but announced that Kashmir intended to remain independent. However, Pakistan, attempting to force the issue of Kashmir's accession, cut off supplies and transport links. Rumours about atrocities against the Muslim population of http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Poonch by the Maharajah's forces caused the outbreak of civil unrest. Shortly thereafter, http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Pathan tribesmen from the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/North-West_Frontier_Province of Pakistan crossed the border and entered Kashmir. The invaders made rapid progress towards http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Srinagar. The Maharaja of Kashmir wrote to India, asking for military assistance, offering an http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Instrument_of_Accession_(Jammu_and_Kashmir), and setting up an http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Interim_government headed by Sheikh Abdullah. The accession was accepted. Indian troops secured http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Jammu, Srinagar and the valley itself during the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1947, but the intense fighting flagged with the onset of winter, which made much of the state impassable. Prime Minister Nehru, declared a ceasefire and sought http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/U.N. http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Arbitration, arguing that India would otherwise have to invade Pakistan itself, in view of its failure to stop the tribal incursions. On http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/January_26 http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/1957, the http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Constitution_of_India came into force in Kashmir, but with special provisions made for it in the Constitution's http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Article_370. India did not, however, secure administrative control over all of Kashmir. The northern and western portions of Kashmir came under Pakistan's control in 1947, and are today http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Pakistan_occupied_Kashmir. In 1962 war with India, http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/China occupied http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Aksai_Chin, the north-eastern region bordering http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Ladakh, which it continues to control and administer. Simultaneously, the Government of India through a combination of http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Diplomatic and http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Military means acquired http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/De_facto and http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/De_jure control over the remaining colonial enclaves, which too were integrated into India. Although this process successfully integrated the vast majority of princely states into India, it was not as successful in relation to a few states, notably the former princely states of http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Kashmir, http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Tripura and http://wiki.answers.com/wiki/Manipur, where active secessionist movements exist.

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