Uniting the princely states

At independence there were about 565 princely states, covering roughly two-fifths of the subcontinent's territory and a quarter of its people. Under British rule they were governed by princes under British paramountcy — the Crown's overriding authority. The Indian Independence Act, 1947, ended paramountcy, leaving each ruler legally free to join India, join Pakistan, or remain independent. Had many chosen independence, the new India would have been a patchwork of enclaves. Preventing that was the first great task of the new government.

The task fell to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of States, and his secretary V. P. Menon. Their instrument was the Instrument of Accession, under which a ruler ceded only defence, external affairs and communications to the dominion, keeping internal autonomy for the time being. Most rulers signed before 15 August 1947, persuaded by a mix of diplomacy, popular pressure, the promise of privy purses, and the logic of geography. The process was largely peaceful, and it is one of the least violent large-scale unifications in modern history.

Three cases resisted. Junagadh, a coastal state in Gujarat with a Hindu-majority population and a Muslim Nawab, acceded to Pakistan in September 1947; after protests, a blockade and the Nawab's flight, a plebiscite in February 1948 voted overwhelmingly for India. Hyderabad, the largest princely state, ruled by the Nizam, sought independence; after a standstill agreement and deteriorating order, Indian forces launched Operation Polo in September 1948 and integrated the state within days. Jammu and Kashmir, ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh, sought to stay independent until tribal invaders backed by Pakistan attacked in October 1947; the Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947, and Indian troops were airlifted to Srinagar.

Integration did not end with accession. The states were then merged into larger units, their administrations unified, and their rulers' privy purses and privileges eventually abolished by the 26th Constitutional Amendment in 1971. Kashmir alone retained a special constitutional position, discussed in a later note. The achievement mattered because it gave India a single territory, a single citizenship and a single market — the preconditions for everything the republic then tried to build.