Babariawad was a small principality under suzerainty of the Princely State of Junagadh. During

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, was the easternmost district of Princely State of Junagadh, in south central

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

. It consisted then of some 51 villages and city of

Rajula Rajula is a city and municipality in Amreli district in the Indian state of Gujarat. City was known as Rajgadh at the time of local ruler daha dhakhda. Originally Rajula spread between Dholio Dunger and Piriyo Dungar, but has expanded beyond th ...

. it was named after

Babaria Babaria (alternate spellings of which include Bauria, Babariya, Bawaria and Baraiya) are a nomadic tribe found mainly in the Indian states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Traditions The Babaria are traditionally a nomadic t ...

Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they ...

who were famous for ruled known as Dhang. In 1947, upon

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, the Jagirdars of Babariawad, along with the principality of Mangrol, declared their independence from Junagadh and declared their accession to Union of India. The Nawab of Junagadh did not approve the accessions and prevailed upon

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

of Mangrol to renounce his accession to India and sent his troops to occupy the Babariawad.

Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...

saw this as an aggression upon State of India and called for military response. However,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

wanted to first establish the validity of accession of principality of Babariawad to India. Once this was established with

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

, on 22 September 1947, they sent a telegram to

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

of Junagadh clarifying the legality of accession and to withdraw their troops from Babariawad. Further, Indian Army was ordered to go to Babariawad and get the territories in India's possession.
Jammu and Kashmir war, 1947-1948: political and military perspective By Kuldip Singh Bajwa The Nawab of Junagadh refused to vacate his troops from Babariawad and Mangrol. In October, 1947

Nawab of Junagarh Nawab of Junagarh or Junagadh refers to the now defunct ex-lineage of rulers of the princely Junagarh State in British Raj, nowadays Junagadh district in the state of Gujarat in India. There are still several forts and palaces in India which wer ...

fled with his family to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The Indian Army finally entered and occupied Babariawad in November 1947 and stood on alert along borders of Junagadh and Mangrol for further orders. leading to the integration of Junagadh into Union of India.

References

{{coord missing, Gujarat Junagadh States and territories disestablished in 1947 Princely states of Gujarat History of Gujarat (1947–present) 1947 disestablishments in India