THE OTHERSIDE
PRINCES and
PARTITION: PEEP INTO PAST
Q: Concept of Paramountcy and how
Princely India came under British umbrella ?
A:Lord Wellesley
was Governor General of India between 1797 and 1805. In that eight years he
concluded almost 100 treaties with Indian princes. The concept of
paramountcy led to the establishment of
Princely order in India. Wellesley’s policy of subsidiary alliances was an
umbrella thought brought princely states in the defensive alliance and mutual
guarantee. So when India awaited Independence in August 15th of
1947, it had to break its head over 564 princely states.
Q: When British
Prime Minister Atlee announced the policy decision on 20th February
1947 to withdraw from India by June 1948, what was the scenario in India ?
A: Let me quote
The Times London “ Muslim separatism is deriving encouragement from the
language of the white paper.” The Princes started dreaming of Third Dominion.
Winston Churchill named it as Princestan. The Chancellor of the Chamber of
Princes Nawab of Bhopal asked the Princes not to immediately decide joining
Indian Constituent Assembly but to wait and watch. Nawab of Bhopal inducted
pro-Pakistani officials in the Secretariat of the Chamber. He made a Pakistani
Mohammed Zafrullah as his constitutional adviser. Indore was with Bhopal,
Jodhpur too joined the bandwagon. With the blessings of Jinnah and with the
backing of the Secretary of the Political Department Sir Conrad Cornfield it
seems Princely India will be separate entity once India got independence.
Q: Among the
princely states who declared independence first, and who changed his colours
like chameleon and headed a committee to ban political parties that sought
separatism ?
A: Diwan of
Travancore Sir C.P.Ramasamy Iyer declared on May 9th of 1947 that on
the lapse of Paramountcy on August 15th simultaneously with the transfer of power to
India, Travancore would declare herself a free and independent State. The wily
Brahmin was arrogant that in Delhi he even declined the invitation for lunch
extended by Sardar Patel. Sardar Patel directly spoke to the Maharaja over
telephone in commanding tone. The question, who is standing in your way ? made
the Maharaja shiver in fear and he conveyed his decision to accede to India.
Q: How all the
princely states were brought into the Indian umbrella ? To whom the credit
should go ?
A: Definitely
not to Nehru. The credit to make 562 princely states accede to India rests on
the shoulders of Sardar Patel. In June 1946 Patel spelt his policy: “ The time
has arrived when it is necessary for Indian people to deal with the States
problem on the basis of collective approach to the Princes as a whole and not
to fritter away their energies in isolated battles”. Mountbatten too facilitated by declaring
separate negotiations with each and
every princely state is ruled out.
Q:Plundering
natural resources and land scams are not new, even in British India such things
happened, and even in independent India it continues, especially in naxal
infected Bastar. Tell about this ?
A: In September
1946, Bastar had a Raja who was a minor and weakling and a foreigner as its
Prime Minister. Bastar had and has rich mineral resources. Then it was
mortgaged to Hyderabad State for a long lease. Patel took up the issue with the
Political Department of the British. He was told that as the guardian of the
minor prince, foreigner Prime Minister can enter into mortgaging a whole state.
Patel saw the Prince of Bastar and said “ I felt it was a sin to make him sign
such agreement. It was then that I was made fully conscious of the extent to
which our interests were prejudiced in every way by the machinations of the
Political Department and came to the conclusion the sooner we were rid of these
people the better. Their main aim was to further their interests and to cause
much damage to India as possible. I came to the conclusion that the best course
was to drive out foreigners even at the cost of partition of the country.It was
also then that I felt that there was only one way to make the country safe and
strong.. and that was unification of rest of India.
Q: What did
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar suggest when Partition became inevitable ? What happened during
partition ? What did Ambedkar think on Gandhiji’s attitude at that time ?
A: Dr.Ambedkar
proposed partition with complete transfer of the population of the Hindus and
Muslims from their respective zones to avert blood shed. As he feared partition
brought unprecedented blood shed with mass exodus of 7.30 million Hindu and
Sikh refugees to India. Ambedkar felt why did Gandhi never went to fast to
prevent Partition, in spite of saying again and again that India can be
partitioned only over his dead body ?
N.Nandhivarman
General Secretary Dravida Peravai
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