Discuss Sardar Patel as the Chief architect of the Indian Union

Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947 provided that after the approval of the concerned Legislative Assemblies, partition of the country was to take effect on the eye of independence. As a result of approval of the decisions of the Legislature Assemblies of Bengal and Punjab, the partition formula was accepted. The referendum in North West Frontier Province and the District of Sylhet was in favour of Pakistan.

As a consequence, Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament, providing for two dominions of India and Pakistan w.e.f. August 15, 1947. The princely States were supposed to join either India or Pakistan after signing a treaty of accession in favour of any country they liked to be part of.

Theoretically, as per the provision of Indian Independence Act, 1947 the princely states were either to join India or Pakistan. It was also interpreted by some States that the Act empowered them to decide to be independent States, without joining India and Pakistan.

Hence, there was a need to convince and coerce the Princes/Nawabs of Junagarh, Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir to join Indian Union, particularly when all these State were strategically located. In addition, there were hundreds of smaller states which required convincing to join the Indian Union. This task was left to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the then Home minister of India.

In accomplishing this task, he secured active support of maharaja of Patricia and Mr. V. P. Menno, a Secretary in the Ministry of Home affairs. Sardar Patel is considered to be the leader responsible for the present geographical shape of the Indian Union. He worked extremely hard to secure the instruments of accession from most of the Princes in favour of the Indian Union.

Main problem was faced in Junagarh and Hyderabed in which state majority of the population was Hindu and wanted merger with India, while the rulers were Muslims and wanted accession of Pakistan, or wanted to remain independent, hence, they did not sign the instrument of accession to the Indian Union.

In Junagarh, the ruler fled to Pakistan and the matter was decided by a plebiscite which was heavily in favor of India and Junagarh State was amalgamated with Indian Union. Hyderabad, the modern Andhra Pradesh, had the same problem, Nizam of Hyderabad wanted it to be an independent state while the subjects wanted merger with India. This resulted in large-scale communal riots in the State.

India was forced to take action and the Indian Army entered the State of Hyderabad on September 13, 1948 and restored normally within’5 days and Nizam also agreed to join Indian Union.

In the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the position was different. Maharaja of the State wanted to remain independent and was pressurized by Pakistan to join that country. In October 1949 Pakistani armed force, in the guise of frontier tribal’s, invaded the State. The ruler of Jammu and Kashmir signed the accession in favor of Indian Union forces were sent to stop the Pakistani invasion. In achieving all this, Sardar Patel played a vital role.

Smaller Princely States were merged in the adjoining state of the Union. Most of the rulers were sanctioned Privy Purses by the Indian Government at the time of amalgamation of these State in the Indian Union. Sardar Patel, along with his team of officers, was responsible to convince and coerce the rulers to join the Indian Union by using a balanced blend of persuasion and power. Whenever the power was used by him, it not only resulted in amalgamation of the concerned territory, but also persuaded other smaller rulers of follow suit. He is thus, rightly described as the architect of Indian Union.