Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally t ...

was a

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of the British Raj, located in what is now

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, outside but under the

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

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 ...

. In the independence and

partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the 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: India and Pakistan. T ...

of 1947, the 565

s were given a choice to either join the new

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

or the newly formed state of

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 Nawab of Junagadh,

Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III Sir Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III Rasul Khanji, (Gujarati: મુહમ્મદ ખાન ત્રીજાની, Urdu: 2 August 1898 – 17 November 1959), was the last ruling Nawab of Junagadh of the princely state of Junagadh in India from ...

, a Muslim whose ancestors had ruled Junagadh and small principalities for some two hundred years, decided that Junagadh should become part of Pakistan, much to the displeasure of many of the people of the state, an overwhelming majority of whom were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s, about 80%. The Nawab acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan on 15 August 1947, against the advice of

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 ...

, arguing that Junagadh joined Pakistan by sea. The principality of

Babariawad Babariawad was a small principality under suzerainty of the Junagadh State, Princely State of Junagadh. During British India, was the easternmost district of Princely State of Junagadh, in south central Kathiawar. It consisted then of some 51 vill ...

and

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 reacted by claiming independence from Junagadh and accession to India, although the Sheikh of Mangrol withdrew his accession to India the very next day. Muhammad Ali Jinnah waited for a month to accept the Instrument of Accession. When Pakistan accepted the Nawab's Instrument of Accession on 16 September, the Government of India was outraged that Jinnah could accept the accession of Junagadh despite his argument that Hindus and Muslims could not live as one nation. Home minister

Vallabhbhai 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 ...

believed that if Junagadh was permitted to go to Pakistan, it would exacerbate the communal tension already simmering in Gujarat. The princely state was surrounded on all of its land borders by India, with an outlet onto the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

. The unsettled conditions in Junagadh had led to a cessation of all trade with India and the food position became precarious. With the region in crisis, the Nawab, fearing for his life, felt forced to flee to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

with his family and his followers, and there he established a provisional government. Vallabhbhai Patel offered Pakistan time to reverse its acceptance of the accession and to hold a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in Junagadh. Meanwhile, tensions were simmering in the regional areas and in major cities such as Bombay against Nawab's decision. 25,000 - 30,000 people belonging to Saurashtra and Junagadh gathered in Bombay, proclaiming to "liberate" Junagadh from the Nawab's regime.

Samaldas Gandhi Samaldas Gandhi (1897-1953) was a journalist and Indian independence activist who headed the ''Aarzi Hakumat'' or ''Provisional Government'' of the erstwhile princely state of Junagadh. He was a nephew of Mahatma Gandhi. Early life Samaldas ...

formed a government-in-exile, the ''Aarzi Hukumat'' (in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Scholars have observed that India annexed Junagadh through force with scholars viewing the annexation as part of a wider programme by the Indian state of getting the rulers of princely states to accede into a unified post colonial India.

Background

After the announcement by the last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, on 3 June 1947, of the intention to partition British India, the British parliament passed the

Indian Independence Act 1947 The Indian Independence Act 1947 947 CHAPTER 30 10 and 11 Geo 6is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 J ...

on 18 July 1947. As a result, the native states were left with these choices: to accede to either of the two new

dominions The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, Dominion of New Zealand, New Zealand, Dominion of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Un ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

or to remain an independent state. The constitutional adviser to the Nawab of Junagadh, Nabi Baksh, and Junagadh's ministers gave the impression to Mountbatten that Junagadh intended to accede to India. However,

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

politicians from

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

had joined Junagadh's executive council since May, and the state's diwan was away for health reasons, leaving the charge with

Shah Nawaz Bhutto Shah Nawaz Bhutto ( sd, ; ur, ) (8 March 1888 – 19 November 1957), was a politician and a member of Bhutto family hailing from Larkana in the Sind region of the Bombay Presidency of British India, which is now Sindh, Pakistan. Early li ...

. Bhutto met Jinnah in July, who advised him to hold out till 15 August under any circumstances. Accordingly, the state continued to give the impression till the last moment that it was intending to join India along with other Kathiawar states. Four days before independence, under the influence of the

politicians, the Nawab decided to join Pakistan, and sent a delegation to Karachi to negotiate terms with Pakistan, disregarding Mountbatten's contiguity principle. Mountbatten's contention was that only states bordering Pakistan should accede to it. Evidently, it was not a constitutional requirement, only a political one. The Nawab and Pakistan reasoned that Junagadh was close enough to Pakistan and linked by a sea route (

Veraval Veraval also known as Somnath is a municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also known for the hub of fishing industries in India. Geography Veraval is located at . It has an average elev ...

). Junagadh, under the amendments done to the Government of India Act 1935, had political bonds with the neighboring states of Mangrol and Babariawad. In 1943, The latter states were tied to Junagadh through an attachment scheme, but when the act was adopted in 1947, the amendments had not carried over, and this lapse was the base on which VP Menon argued that Junagadh did not have a say in the affairs of Mangrol and Babariawad states. Nehru strategised that if Junagadh didn't recognize the accession of Mangrol and Babariawad and withdraw its forces from the latter, then he would send in forces, information of which he sent to Pakistan and Britain. Meanwhile, a study case of India regarding Junagadh was made in the international opinion through press communiques that provided information on Junagadh's geographical contiguity to Indian landscape and its demographics.

Instrument of accession

Mountbatten and Ayyangar both agreed that the issue of geographical contiguity had no legal standing and that Junagadh's accession to Pakistan was strictly and legally correct. But Sardar Patel demanded that the matter of the state's accession should be decided by its people instead of the ruler. Nehru laid out India's position which was that India did not accept Junagadh's accession to Pakistan. Later at the United Nations Security Council, India's argument revolved around the wishes of the people which it accused the Nawab of ignoring. India's representative at the UNSC was also advised to avoid legalistic arguments about the Instrument of Accession because of the effect it could have on Kashmir.: Ayyangar reminded to Vellodi on 24 February the need 'as far as possible to avoid being drawn into legalistic arguments as regards validity of Junagadh's accession to Pakistan' for its impact on Kashmir.

Provisional government (''Aarzee Hukumat'')

Upon Menon's advice Mahatma Gandhi's nephew, Samaldas Gandhi, created a provisional government in Bombay with the provincial government's backing. This government received support from the 'Gujarat States Organisation' and also received sponsorship from the Kathiawar States' Political Conference.

U. N. Dhebar Uchharangrai Navalshankar Dhebar (21 September 1905 – 11 March 1977) was an Indian Independence activist who served as the Chief Minister of Saurashtra State from 1948 to 1954 and the President of the Indian National Congress from 1955 to ...

and members of Junagadh People's Conference met at the office of Gujarati daily ''Vande Mataram'' in Bombay on 19 August 1947. He was specially invited to attend Kathiawar Political Conference on 25 August 1947. A five-member committee called Junagadh Committee was formed on 15 September 1947. Gandhi met V. P. Menon and proposed to formed the a government-in-exile the ''Aarzi Hakumat'' or ''Provisional Government'' of Junagadh State. On 25 September 1947, the ''Aarzi Hukumat'' headed by Samaldas Gandhi was declared in a public meeting at Madhavbagh in Bombay. The five member ministry of ''Aarzi Hakumat'' went to

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

. Gandhi became the Prime Minister and also held ministry of foreign affairs. ''Aarzi Hakumat'' captured 160 villages in forty days, from 30 September to 8 November 1947. India allowed the provisional government to take control over outlying areas of Junagadh. India later at the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

denied ever having supported the provisional government.: "It continued to claim that New Delhi had given 'no support at all to the so-called provisional government' and even denied stopping supplies to Junagadh." Pakistan objected to India's indifference to the actions of Junagadh's provisional government.: In response, Karachi protested against New Delhi's 'indifference' to the provisional government of Junagadh and its activities. Nehru wrote to Pakistan that the provisional government was "a spontaneous expression of popular resentment" to the state's accession to Pakistan by Junagadh's local population.

Blockade and Indian annexation

To force the Nawab of Junagadh to change his decision, the Provisional Government (Aarzee Hukumat) and the volunteer forces in the surrounding regions of Kathiawar implemented a blockade. India later denied ever having blocked Junagadh's supplies. The blockade compelled the state's ruler to leave for Pakistan, who left the state's administration to Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto. Menon claimed that the Nawab had delegated the state's destiny to Bhutto, which is not implausible since it was primarily Shah Nawaz Bhutto who had taken the decision to accede to Pakistan, under the close influence and mentorship of Jinnah. Bhutto requested the regional commissioner for administrative assistance "pending an honourable settlement of the several issues involved in Junagadh's accession." Diwan Bhutto waited till November for Pakistan to send help, but none came. The provisional government, nationalistic volunteers from the Indian side, and the Hindu residents had started to agitate and tensions were simmering. Meanwhile, the state of Junagadh had raised a force of 670 Muslim men, who had been stationed at various places to ensure retaliation, if any. Fearing an outbreak of communal violence, on 9 November 1947, the Indian Government assumed the state's administration to re-establish peace. Nawab's soldiers were disarmed, with Diwan Bhutto leaving for Pakistan a day before. Nehru telegrammed Liaquat Ali Khan: Liaquat Ali Khan replied: Reports arrived of widespread murder, rape and looting of Muslims in Junagarh following the arrival of Indian troops. Many Muslims from Junagarh began migrating to Pakistan. After India assumed administration in Junagadh, India's Ministry of Law stated that the accession of Junagadh to Pakistan had not been invalidated by plebiscite and that Junagadh had not yet acceded to India. But India went ahead with the referendum because it believed the result would be in its favour.

Plebiscite

On 24 September, legal adviser

Walter Monckton Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, (17 January 1891 – 9 January 1965) was a British lawyer and politician. Early years Monckton was born in the village of Plaxtol in north Kent. He was the eldest child of paper m ...

told Mountbatten that Pakistan's consent would be needed for any plebiscite India wished to conduct in Junagadh because of the Nawab's accession to Pakistan. Nehru had shifted from his earlier position of allowing a plebiscite under the UN and now said that it was unnecessary for a plebiscite to be held under the UN though it could send one or two observers if it wished to do so. However, India also made it clear that it would not under any circumstances postpone the plebiscite so as to allow the UN or Pakistan to send observers. A plebiscite was held on 20 February 1948, in which all but 91 out of 190,870 who voted (from an electorate of 201,457) voted to join India, i.e. 99.95% of the population voted to join India. Douglas Brown of the ''Daily Telegraph'' as well as Pakistani newspaper ''Dawn'' expressed concerns about the propriety of the plebiscite's arrangement. On 26 February, Pakistan termed India's proceeding with the plebiscite a 'discourtesy to Pakistan and the Security Council'. In the plebiscite India polled 222,184 votes and Pakistan 130 out of a total population of 720,000 of Junagadh and its feudatories. Only 15 percent (21,606) of Junagadh's Muslim population voted while 30 percent (179,851) of the non-Muslim population voted. The total number of voters on electoral rolls was 200, 569 and less than 10,000 Muslims voted for India. In Manvadar, 276 out of 520 Muslims voted for India, in Bantwa 19 out of 39 and 79 out of 231 in Sardargarh. In Bantwa and Babariawad the number of voters who cast their votes in India's favour was less than the number of non-Muslim voters there, which meant that even some non-Muslims did not vote for India. According to scholar Rakesh Ankit, India took liberties with facts and laws as it acted as the "judge, jury and executioner" of the entire situation.

Later arrangements

After six months administration by Government of India, three civilian members (Samaldas Gandhi, Dayashankar Dave and Pushpaben Mehta) were inducted for the administration of Junagadh on 1 June 1948. The election of the seven constituencies of the Junagadh region for the Constitution Assembly of Saurashtra was declared in December 1948. All seven members of Indian National Congress were elected unopposed and they all voted to merge Junagadh State with

Saurashtra State Saurashtra, also known as United State of Kathiawar, was a State of India that existed between 1948 and 1956, on Saurashtra alias Kathiawar peninsula, with Rajkot as its capital, History Formation as United State of Kathiawar Saurashtra ...

. The merger was completed in January 1949. On 1 November 1956, Saurashtra State was merged with

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

. Bombay State was split into the linguistic states of

and

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

in 1960, and

Junagadh district Junagadh district is a district of the Indian state of Gujarat. Its administrative headquarters is the city of Junagadh. Geography The district is located on the Kathiawar peninsula in western Gujarat. It is surrounded by Rajkot District (North) ...

is now one of the districts of Gujarat. Pakistan brought the case of Junagadh to the United Nations in January 1948. The UN Security Council commanded its commission on Kashmir to examine the conflict over Junagadh. The Kashmir conflict eclipsed the matter of Junagadh at the United Nations Security Council, where Junagadh's case is still unresolved. Pakistan's official maps show Junagadh,

Manavadar Manavadar is a city and a municipality in Junagadh district of India. History Bantva Manavadar was a princely state of British India. Founded in 1733, it became a British protectorate in 1818. On 25 September 1947, it acceded to the newly for ...

and

Sir Creek Sir Creek ( ), originally Ban Ganga, is a 96-km (60-mi) tidal estuary in the uninhabited marshlands of the Indus River Delta on the border between India and Pakistan. The creek flows into the Arabian Sea and separates Gujarat state in India fro ...

Background

Instrument of accession

Provisional government (''Aarzee Hukumat'')

Blockade and Indian annexation

Plebiscite

Later arrangements

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading