Junagadh

India celebrated independence on 15th august 1947. The colonial rule had come to an end.But the concept of India/ Union of India was not established as many princely states declined to join India and wanted to remain autonomous/join Pakistan.The joining of Junagadh with the Indian union was not an easy task but in the end, Indian leaders decided India’s destiny, by including it and forming the indestructible union of states,of India as of today. 

Eve of independence and the need for political integration

For its first time in centuries, India’s political unification created a unified nation from a variety of princely kingdoms, colonial provinces, and holdings, after the independence in 1947.Despite the partition, a united India brought together individuals from all walks of life, including those from different geographical, economic, linguistic, & religious origins. 

This process started in 1947 when 565 princely kingdoms were unified after a tumultuous succession of political campaigns, delicate diplomacy, and military confrontations. Following independence, India had political turbulence and ethnic unrest, and it continues to grow as a federal union that reflects its diversity. The process is characterised by sensitive religious tensions among Hindus and Muslims, various ethnic groups, geopolitical rivalries, and military wars with Pakistan and China.

So when the Indian independence movement overthrew the British Raj on August 15, 1947, Indian leaders faced the threat of inheriting a country divided between medieval monarchies as well as imperial provinces. As the fresh Minister of Home Affairs, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, as one of India’s greatest revered freedom fighters, arose as the man in charge of using political negotiations backed by the alternative of military power to guarantee the primacy of the Central govt and the Constitution then drafted.

India’s constitution designated the country as a Union of States, indicating that it operates under a federal structure with powerful central authority. During the twenty years following Independence, the Indian government gained the Indian assets of France and Portugal by force. 

However, when popular movements for the acknowledgement of regional languages and attention to regional concerns grew, the tendency shifted. A reaction against centralization erupted, with cultural alienation with violent separatism associated with inadequacy of respect and attention for regional problems. To relieve tensions in the Indian state, the central government strove to strike a balance between the use of force against separatist fanatics and the establishment of new states.

Joining of Junagadh with the Indian Union

Apart from Hyderabad and other states who did not join the Indian union, the state of Junagadh was the only state that did not join the Indian republic by August 15, 1947.The nawab of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III, presided and ruled over a substantial Hindu community in Junagadh. 

When Lord Mountbatten had summoned the princes on July 25, 1947, regarding partition of India and Pakistan, the Dewan of Junagadh already made it clear that he would counsel the Nawab about entering the Indian union.

Nabi Baksh who was then, the Dewan of Junagadh reached out to and asked the Muslim League leader, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, to enter the provincial council of ministers at the beginning of 1947.When the dewan wasn’t there, Bhutto took control of the office and forced the Nawab of Junagadh to join the province of Pakistan.The Indian authorities and leaders were outraged and infuriated when Pakistan approved Junagadh’s request for joining it, since it was in opposition to Jinnah’s idea of two-nation.

The unstable volatile situation in Junagadh caused the economy to fall and crumble, and the Nawab was forced to leave for Karachi. A referendum was asked to be held in Junagadh by Sardar vallabhbhai Patel and he then led soldiers in to gain control over three principalities. Junagadh’s Dewan had to surrender to the Indian government because of a lack of resources and army. A referendum was held in Junagadh on 20 Feb 1948, as decided by the state in which 91 % of the voters in the state made the decision to join India. Hence the process of Joining of Junagadh with the Indian Union became successful. 

Conclusion

Junagadh’s admission to Pakistan was always a pipe dream, not a realistic option. The joining of Junagadh with the Indian union was inevitable. Nonetheless, it became a powerful case for Pakistan in international arenas. Here was a state that India had forcibly annexed, ostensibly to safeguard the Hindu inhabitants, against the desires of its Muslim monarch. The reverse was true in Kashmir. India professed to be honouring its pact with a Hindu ruler while ignoring the feelings of the Muslim populace. Pakistan continued to include Junagadh on its maps until the 1950s. Meanwhile, the Indian side claimed that India did not invade Junagadh, but rather took it over after the Nawab’s administration had fully fallen.