Plan of consolidation

Strategies associated with the national Plan of consolidation upon 1947 incorporated:

• Protest movement of institutional and political resources
• Territorial assimilation
• Sustainable growth
• Implementation of policies improve social justice, reducing inequalities, and providing anti – discriminatory practice.

In colonial India, 565 states ruled by princes with varying degrees of autonomy under the British paramount system captured nearly 40% of the territory. So long as they did British bidding, British strength shielded them both out of their own people and from external attacks. As the British withdrew, many of the 565 princely states started to yearn for independence. They claimed that the paramountcy cannot be transferred to a new Indian and Pakistani state.

Role of the government

 The government was proceeding with the consideration of three considerations:

1. The individuals of the concerned states clearly desired to join the Indian Union.
2. The government was willing to make compromises in granting autonomy to certain regions. The idea was to encompass plurality and take a flexible strategy for dealing with regional demands.

iii. In the aftermath of Partition, the assimilation and centralization of the nation’s territorial boundaries had taken on paramount importance. 

Patel’s 1st step would have been to pander to the monarchs whose provinces fell within India to join the Indian Union in three aspects that impacted the country’s mutual interests, which are: foreign relations, defensive performance, and connectivity. An appeal was issued by the states, with the threat of chaos and destruction implied. The following step was to persuade Mountbatten to swing for India. Mountbatten’s speech to the Chamber of Princes on July 25th qualitative changes the princes. This speech was regarded as Mountbatten’s most substantial act in India. After that, almost all of the states, with the exception of three, signified the instrument of ratification. Travancore was ruled by the Maharaja of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal, but its true conqueror was its Diwan, C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyyer. After an attack on C. P. Aiyyar, the Maharaja of Travancore told the government that they would be ready for accession.

Background

Given the proximity to the frontier, the accession of an early age Hindu king was a significant matter. Jinnah also tried to persuade him, but Patel finally convinced him to sign the Instrument of Accession. Bhopal had a predominantly Hindu population, and the head of state was Habibullah Khan, who was represented by Jinnah. There was a rebellion against the king of Bhopal, and he ended up signing the Instrument of Accession under pressure from Patel as well as the communist population. Thus, prior to August 15, 1947, diplomatic negotiations had managed to bring almost all nations whose regions were adjacent to India’s new borders through into Indian Union. The leaders of the majority of the states signed a paper recognized as the “Instrument of Accession,” which indicated that their own state did agree to join the Union of India. The great powers of Junagadh, Hyderabad, Manipur and Kashmir were the most difficult to admit.

1. Junagadh was a tiny state on the shoreline of Saurashtra that was encircled by Indian territory but had no geographical connection to Pakistan. Nonetheless, on August 15, 1947, Nawab Mohabbat Khan declared the annexation of his state to Pakistan, regardless of the fact that the majority of the population, who were overwhelmingly Hindu, preferred to connect India. Residents of the state arranged a popular uprising, and a gathering of Junagarhi inhabitants compelled the Nawab to evacuate, forming Aarze Hukumat (a provisional government in exile) driven by Samal Das Gandhi.
2. Within the Kashmir region, the Hindu leader of the state, Hari Singh, refused to merge with India and attempted to negotiate an autonomous existence for his province with India and Pakistan. Because the large percentage of the electorate was Muslim, Pakistani leaders believed the Kashmir territory ‘belonged’ to them.

The state’s popular movement, spearheaded by Sheikh Abdullah of the National Conference, sought to depose the Maharaja but was opposed to joining Pakistan. He founded the National Conference, a secular organisation that had a long association with the Congress. Abdullah demanded that the Dogra dynasty resign and hand over democracy. Hari Singh proposed a stalemate agreement with both nations on August 15th, allowing unlimited movement of goods and people.

Hari Singh requested military aid again from the Indian government on October 24th. Mountbatten emphasised that even under international law, India can only deploy soldiers after signing an official instrument of accession. V. P. Menon travelled to Kashmir, and on the October 26th, the Maharaja agreed to sign an instrument of ratification, agreeing to Abdullah’s appointment as the Leader of the Government Administration. On the morning of October 27th, nearly 100 jets flew men and armaments to Srinagar. The Pakistani army captured the main creek region but proceeded to populate a huge proportion of the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Sheikh Abdullah was appointed Prime Minister. Mountbatten sailed to Lahore on a peacekeeping mission in November 1947. A meeting with Jinnah was held, but still no agreement was made. According to Jinnah, Kashmir’s accession is based on deception and violence. On January 1, 1948, India agreed to take the Kashmir dispute to the United Nations, allegedly on the recommendation of Pakistan. Both the United States and the United Kingdom backed Pakistan, and even Nehru admitted that they had been attempting to play a dirty game.

Conclusion

Though the clamour for lingual states predates India’s independence, national leaders resisted it in the post – independence era. It was feared that clamour for independent nations along linguistic basis would sever the young nation’s unity. It was thought that linguistic states would encourage separatism and put pressure on the newly formed nation; however, it was certainly not like that.