Patiala and East Punjab States Union

The Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was a former state of India. It was created by amalgamating eight Punjabi princely states: Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Kalsia, Malerkotla and Nalagarh. The state was inaugurated on July 15, 1948 and formally became a state of India in 1950. The capital and principal city was Patiala. The state covered an area of 26,208 km².

History

After the formation of the state, Sardar Gian Singh Rarewala became its first chief minister and the last Maharaja of Patiala, Yadavindra Singh, became the Rajpramukh (equivalent to the Governor) of the state, who remained in office during its short existence from 1948-56. Sardar Gian Singh Rarewala sworn in on 13 January, 1949. Sardar Raghbir Singh became the next Chief Minister on 23 May, 1951, and Brish Bhan became the Deputy Chief Minister. The residents of the state elected a 60-member state legislative assembly on January 6, 1952. The Congress Party won 26 seats and Akali Dal 19 seats. On April 22, 1952 Sardar Gian Singh Rarewala became the Chief Minister, leading a United Front (formed by the Akali Dal and the independents) government. On March 5, 1953 his government was dismissed and the President's rule was imposed.^[1] In the mid-term poll, Congress secured the majority and Sardar Raghbir Singh became Chief Minister on 8 March, 1954. On his death, Brish Bhan became the Chief Minister on 12 January, 1955 and remained in office till 31 October, 1956.

On 1 November 1956, PEPSU was merged into Punjab State. Part of the former state of PEPSU, including the southeastern portion of the state around Jind and the Narnaul enclave, presently lie within the state of Haryana, which was separated from Punjab on 1 November 1966.

Subdivisions

The state comprised the following eight districts:

1. Patiala district
2. Barnala district
3. Bhatinda district
4. Fatehgarh district
5. Sangrur district
6. Kapurthala district
7. Mohindergarh district
8. Kohistan district

There were four Lok Sabha constituencies in this state. Three of them were single-seat constituency: Mohindergarh, Sangrur and Patiala. Kapurthala Bhatinda Lok Sabha constituency was a double-seat constituency.

Demography

The state had a population of 3,493,685 (1951 census), of which 19% was urban. The population density was 133/km².

Notes

Further reading

1. Singh, Gursharan (1991). History of PEPSU: Patiala and East Punjab States Union, 1948-1956, Delhi: Konark Publishers, ISBN 8122002447.

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