Kant's Corner: V. P. Menon - Story of Partition and Unification of India

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V. P. Menon and the Story of of Partition and

Unification of India

Recently there is a movement to project Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in bad light and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel as savior of the country.

Specifically it is being propagated that-

-Nehru was responsible for partition of the country and

-Patel was solely responsible for integration of states.

In this, the contribution of Mr. V.P. Menon who worked tirelessly has been completely forgotten.

Where Sardar Patel was a great leader like Nehru and Gandhi, he was not the only person contributing to unification of the princely states. In fact, Mountbatten, Nehru, Patel and Menon had played very active role throughout. The unification of states in the present form continued till 1956 (i.e. well after Patel’s death in 1950).

The present article is to shed light into our history and contributions of all the actors i.e. Mountbatten, Nehru, Patel and specially Menon.

V.P. Menon – Biography in Brief

V.P. Menon (Vappala Pangunni Menon) was born on 30th Sept 1894, in Ottapalam , a small town in Kerala, The Ottapalam is famous because of its association with great Malayali writers like M T Vasudevan Nair and others. He was a son of a school headmaster with 12 siblings. He was not much educated.

Struggle for Survival

One fine morning, as a young boy, Menon overheard his school teacher-father cursing fate for giving him one dozen children and no resources to bring them up decently. The same moment he left home in search of a job so as to lighten the financial burden on his father. He was only a matriculate.

He got a job of a coolie-grade railway stoker. A highly ambitious guy, he left the railways to work in a coalmine as a field supervisor, and after some time as a clerk-typist in a Bangalore tobacco company.

Menon had a robust commonsense and flair for the English language. He was superbly fast in analyzing ground-level situations to solve any human problem.

With aim to get a government job, in 1914, he traveled to Delhi to reach Shimla, the British summer capital.

Help from GOD

At the Delhi railway station, all his belongings got stolen. He did not break down, found a passing-by Sikh gentleman genial and begged for a loan of Rs 25.

The Sardar, without thinking once, dished out the money not even seeking an explanation. Menon wanted his address.

“This is your due. The first person who asks for money on any day is the one I owe the amount to,” the Sardar responded smilingly.

Before he could make sense, the benevolent Sardar had disappeared.

Journey Up from Bottom

Mr. H,G Hodson , Reform Commissioner of the then Government of India has provided details of Menon’s life in his Autobiography.

Menon reached Shimla at the age of 20 years. To survive he cultivated the Madrasi connection which helped him to a post in a government office. He managed to join the British bureaucracy as a lowly clerk, steno typist in home department.

His high-speed, error-free typing made him popular among the British officials and he soon became a unique asset. He was then drafted to the sensitive Reforms Department. (Reforms Office was created for providing service to the Round Table Conferences on Indian constitutional reform).

From here his ability and industry alone took him up the ladder of promotion to become deputy to Sir Hawthorne Lewis, Reforms Commissioner.

For 11 years Menon toiled, and steadily impressed his superiors and rose up the ranks. His greatest abilities as stated by his peers was that he knew how to get things done and had both the knowledge and ability to go with it.

Supporting the British Power

By 1942 (when Quit India started) Menon had risen to become the constitutional secretary to the Viceroy Lord Linlithgow.

Menon worked with 3 successive Viceroys - Lord Linlithgow (till 1943), Lord Wavell (Oct. 1943 - Feb.1947) and Lord Mountbatten (March1947- Aug. 1947)

Photo – V. P. Menon

Both Linlithgow and Wavell found Menon so trusted that all classified information was shared and decisions made in consultation with him. Menon was the only native civil servant to attend the Round table Conference in England to explain situations to the masters

Both Viceroys were stunned by Menon’s encyclopedic knowledge of all Indian situations. So, Menon attended all important meetings to make critical observations.

In the beginning, Mountbatten neglected him completely as he felt that an Indian that too a Hindu may not be trustworthy to provide impartial view in the tense inter-party and inter-communal negotiations for independence.

However, Mountbatten soon realized the worth of Menon as counselor, who brought not only unrivaled knowledge of Indian constitutional matters but also confidential personal contacts with important Indian figures.

At the moment of crisis, when Nehru spurned Mountbatten’s first plan for the transfer of power, it was to Menon who worked out alternate plan which was ultimately accepted.

Association with the Iron Man - Sardar Patel

After the independence of India, Menon became the secretary of the Ministry of the States, headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with whom he had developed a bond of trust. Patel respected Menon's political genius and work ethic.

Menon worked closely with Patel over the integration of over 565 princely states into the Union of India, managing the diplomacy between the States Ministry and the various Indian princes, acting as Patel's envoy and striking deals with reluctant princes and rulers.

Exiting the Loop

After Patel's death in 1950, Menon himself retired from the newly formed Indian Administrative Service. He served as Governor of Odisha (Orissa then) for a short period in 1951.

Personal Life

Menon’s personal life is mostly unknown. It appears that he married Shrimati Kanakamma around 1941 at the late age of 46 and fathered three children, two sons and a daughter.

At Sardar Patel's behest, Menon subsequently wrote two books describing his experiences.

-The story of the integration of the Indian states and

-Transfer of Power.

He later joined Swantatra Party. After retirement, V.P. Menon lived with daughter in Bangalore until death on December 31, 1965.

Debt Cleared

One day while completely bedridden, he heard someone at the door begging for a little money to buy footwear to protect his sore feet. He called out to daughter feebly, “Give my friend at the door 25 rupees. I owe the money since long”, remembering the loan from the Sardar donor long time ago at Delhi. That was the last conscious act of the architect of independent India.

Britain decides to Exit India

The world war II ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945 also called VJ (Victory over Japan) Day.

British Economy in Dire Strait

The war had shattered the United Kingdom's economy. By the end of the war, the United Kingdom was in severe privation state in which food and other essentials for well-being are lacking.

In 1941 the American Aid started with the introduction of Lend-Lease Act (The Lend-Lease Act of March 11, 1941, was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II). However for Britain, Lend-lease came just before its reserves were exhausted. Britain had placed 55% of its total labour force into war production.

Change of Government in Britain

In spring (March - June) 1945, the Labour Party. withdrew from the wartime coalition government, in an effort to oust Winston Churchill, forcing a general election. Following a landslide victory, Labour formed a new government on 26 July 1945 under Clement Attlee.

The abrupt withdrawal of American Lend-Lease support to Britain on 2 September 1945 dealt a severe blow to the plans of the new government. In 1946, the UK introduced even bread rationing, which it had not done during the war.

After the war, Attlee’s Labour government in London recognized that Britain’s devastated economy could not cope with the cost of the over-extended empire and decided on orderly withdrawal.

Cabinet Mission to India - a failed attempt

In September 1945, Britain expressed its intention of creating a Constituent Assembly for India that would frame India’s Constitution. A Cabinet Mission was formed and sent to India in March 1946, with a view to discuss the transfer of power and resolve the constitutional deadlock between the Indian political leaders.

This decision was however severely criticized by Winston Churchill.

The Mission observed that two main political parties – the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League – had fundamental differences over India’s future.

While the Muslim League wanted the Muslim majority provinces of India to constitute a separate sovereign state of Pakistan, the Congress wanted a united and secular India.

When Mission’s efforts (Shimla Conference) to bring agreement failed, it came out with its own proposals known as the Cabinet Mission Plan. The mission proposed a complicated system for India with three tiers: the provinces, provincial groupings and the center.

The plan was rejected by both Congress and the Muslim League, which vowed to agitate for “Pakistan” by any means possible.

Photo - M. A. Jinnah

Jinnah became distraught and to achieve Pakistan he resorted to "direct action", which sparked rioting and massacres.

Interim Government Installed - another failure

Concerned by the diminishing British power, Viceroy Wavell was eager to inaugurate an interim federal government. He authorized a cabinet in which Nehru was the interim prime minister. On 2 September 1946, Nehru's cabinet was installed.

Jinnah did not himself join the interim government but sent Liaquat Ali Khan into it to play a secondary role. Congress allowed him the post of finance minister.

Liaquat Ali Khan infuriated Congress by using his role to prevent the functioning of Congress ministries, thus demonstrating (under Jinnah's instructions) the impossibility of a single government for India.

In the context of the worsening situation, Wavell drew up a breakdown plan that provided for a gradual British exit, but his plan was considered fatalistic by the British Cabinet. When he insisted on his plan, he was replaced with Lord Mountbatten.

Lord Mountbatten – Biography in Brief

Since Mountbatten played very important role both in partition and later unification, few sentence about his background will not be out of place.

Mountbatten was a semi-royal, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. His father, although a German aristocrat by birth, had joined the British Navy and risen to become first Sea Lord. Mountbatten followed his father into the Navy and ultimately became the Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command (SEAC).

Photo – Lord Mountbatten

Mountbatten’s stock was high and considering his relation with British royalty, Prime Minister Clement Attlee appointed him as Viceroy of India on 20 February 1947 and charged with overseeing the transition of British India to independence no later than 30 June 1948.

Attlee’s instructions to Mountbatten were to avoid partition and preserve a united India as a result of the transference of power but he was authorized to adapt to a changing situation in order to get Britain out promptly with minimal reputational damage.

Mountbatten was reluctant to accept the position, because he had no political experience, and he knew it would be a thankless task. But he felt it was his duty and therefore accepted the responsibility.

Mountbatten arrived in India on 22 March 1947 and took over as the Viceroy two days later.

Following interesting anecdote depicts the post war British experience and enforced mentality that prompted Clement Attlee to take decision to transfer power to India.

On arrival to Viceroy house (Now President House) , Lady Edwina Mountbatten had asked for some chicken slices for their dogs. Soon, roasted chicken breast was served on a silver plate.

Having experienced the frugality of post-war Britain, with food and clothing rationing (to which even the rich were subjected), the Mountbattens were awed by the lavishness of the vice-regal lifestyle. Edwina took the silver plate, rushed to the bathroom, locked and ate the chicken herself.

Photo – Edwina Mountbatten

However Edwina became very popular as hard-working Vicereine. Almost perpetually on tour, she inspected refugee camps before and after Partition. She also fearlessly confronted hostile Pathans on the north-west frontier against all advice.

When she left India, many refugees pooled their money to bring her small farewell gifts.

Mountbatten’s hopes of overseeing a peaceful transition to an independent, united India were dashed as communal violence intensified between Muslim and Hindu communities. Mountbatten concluded that the situation was too volatile to wait even a year before granting independence to India.

In his view, any longer would mean civil war.

Failure of proposal- Plan Balkan.

Considering that the Cabinet Mission Plan had become untenable he prepared an alternative plan (known as - Dickie Bird Plan) for India’s independence. This plan was prepared by a committee of General Sir Hastings Ismay, Sir George A Abell and Lord Mountbatten himself. This plan was also called Ismay Plan.

The main proposal of this plan was to that provinces should become first independent successor states rather than an Indian Union or the two dominions of India & Pakistan.

As per this plan all the provinces viz. Madras, Bombay, United Provinces of Bengal, Punjab & North West Frontier etc. were proposed to be declared Independent. The states later would decide whether to join constituent assembly or not.

This plan was informally discussed with Nehru in Shimla when he joined Mountbatten as a guest. Here the details of the plan were put by Mountbatten before Nehru.

Nehru rejected the plan right away and told him that this plan would invite Balkanization of India and would provoke conflict and violence. Consequently, Mountbatten cabled to England that this plan was cancelled. So it was also called as Plan Balkan.

Sardar Patel agrees to partition India

Confronted by Nehru’s incandescent rage at the prospect of “fragmentation, conflict and disorder”, Mountbatten had no choice but to call in his constitutional advisor V.P. Menon for advise regarding alternate plan which may be acceptable to all.

Photo – Nehru and Mountbatten

Menon on his part had observed all the players (Patel, Nehru, Jinnah and Mountbatten) and their reactions. He had worked out in his mind the basics and outline of an alternate plan. In fact late December 1946, Menon had discussed with Patel a scheme for transfer of power on the basis of partition and Dominion status, and had obtained his oral approval.

In a matter of hours Menon devised, and secretly negotiated with Patel, the plan for an early transfer of power to two Dominions under the existing constitution, altered to eliminate British control, which proved the key to the whole problem.

It was a masterly effort, drawing upon the deep thought that Menon had given over many years to India’s constitutional progress, which could be best suited to the historical pattern already set in the British Commonwealth.

Photo – Sardar Patel

Thus it is Patel (not Nehru as it is projected) who agreed for partition of India in the first place.

Menon typed up his alternative plan in the room of his modest guesthouse, in six hours flat, smoking his way through endless packets of cigarettes. He explained this plan with Mountbatten and took his tacit approval. He then discussed the proposal with Patel and obtained his approval. Patel later talked to Nehru and explained that it is only way out.

Thus it shouldn’t come as surprise that Patel was the first person to accept the Partition of British India as the only solution of the ongoing communal problem.

Gandhiji was completely against division of the country and even offered to make Jinnah the Prime Minister of Free India to avoid the Partition. However considering the communal violence that was going on at that time, he agreed.

Photo- Gandhi and Jinnah in argument

Why Menon chose Patel and not Nehru to discuss the plan is not known. Perhaps, he felt more at ease with Patel and saw his future boss in him. Nehru on his part, agreed to what was approved by Patel giving example of team work as well as his belief on Patel’s judgement.

Partitioning of India

The Menon Plan had given birth to an independent India and an independent Pakistan, changing the map of the subcontinent – and the world – forever. Officially, it was called Mountbatten Plan (also known as the 3rd June Plan since British government announced it on 3rd June 1947).

Basic Principles of Plan

The plan was based on following principles:

Successor governments would be given dominion status
Immediate transfer of power
autonomy and sovereignty to both countries
can make their own constitution after partition

Basic Outline

* Punjab and Bengal would meet in two, groups Hindus and Muslims, to vote for partition. If a simple majority of either group voted for partition, then these provinces would be partitioned.

* In case of partition, two dominions and two constituent assemblies would be created.

* Sindh would take its own decision.

* Referendum: in NWFP and Sylhet district of Bengal would decide the fate of these areas.

* Independence for princely states ruled out, they would either join India or Pakistan.

* Independence for Bengal ruled out.

* Accession of Hyderabad to Pakistan ruled out.

* Freedom would come on August 15, 1947.

* A boundary commission would be set up if partition was to be effected.

Menon’s formula was to divide India but retain maximum unity.

Thus,

the League’s demand was conceded to the ‘extent that Pakistan would be created and the Congress’ position on unity was taken into account to make Pakistan as small as possible.

- Two boundary commissions, one in respect of each province, were constituted to demarcate the boundaries of the new provinces.

- The referendum in NWFP decided in favour of Pakistan, the Provincial Congress refraining from the referendum.

- Balochistan and Sindh threw in their lot with Pakistan.

Nehru and Patel accepted Partition on the understanding that by conceding Pakistan to Jinnah, they will hear no more of him and eliminate his nuisance value.

It was envisioned that the plan would ensure a peaceful and very quick transfer of power which will help in controlling the explosive situation. The plan would also allow much needed continuity in bureaucracy and army.

The 1947 Indian Independence Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent Dominions of India and Pakistan received the royal assent on 18 July 1947.

Thus India and Pakistan, comprising West (modern day Pakistan) and East (modern day Bangladesh) regions, came into being on 15 August 1947. The boundaries between the two dominion states were determined by a Boundary Commission under Sir Cyril Radcliff.

Lord Mountbatten was asked by the Indian leaders to continue as the Governor General of India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister of India and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of States.

Thus Lord Mountbatten became India's first Governor General, and he served in that post for 10 months. On 21 June 1948 he resigned and returned to Britain to resume his naval career.

Thus Mountbatten served as the last Viceroy of India from February 12, 1947 to August 15, 1947 and then as the first Governor General of free India from August 15, 1947 to June 21, 1948.

On 4 July 1947, Liaquat Ali asked Mountbatten on Jinnah's behalf to recommend to the British king, George VI, that Jinnah be appointed Pakistan's first governor-general.

Mountbatten was irked by this request as he had hoped to have that position in both countries. Muhammad Ali Jinnah became Governor General of Pakistan and Liaquat Ali Khan became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Jinnah died on 11 September 1948 at his home in Karachi at the age of 71, just over a year after Pakistan's creation.

Could the partition of India be avoided?

On the hindsight, it was destiny that that country be divided. The following will illustrate this

→[1] Despite its best efforts, Congress had failed to draw Muslim masses into the national movement.

While the Congress succeeded in building up sufficient national consciousness to exert pressure on the British to quit India, it failed in completing the task of welding the nation, especially in integrating the Muslims into the nation.

→[2] The seeds of Hindu Muslim divide were sown quite early by the establishment of outfits - All India Muslim League (in 1906 by Nawab Salimullah Khan) and Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (in 1915 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya) to look after the interest of Muslims and Hindus respectively.

Where Muslim league had support of leaders like Muhammad Ali Jinnah; Lala Lajpat Rai and Madan Mohan Malviya were supporting Hindu Mahasabha. In the late 1920s, the Mahasabha leaders like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar openly opposed the secularism of the Congress.

→[3] In July 1946, Jinnah threatened to launch direct action on 16 August 1946 to show the strength of Muslim feelings towards its demand for an autonomous and sovereign Pakistan.

Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), was a day of widespread communal rioting between Muslims and Hindus in the city of Kolkata. The day also marked the start of what is known as The Week of the Long Knives.

More than 4,000 people lost their lives and 100,000 residents were left homeless in Kolkata within 72 hours. This violence sparked off further religious riots in many regions of the country. Both the British and Congress blamed Jinnah for calling the Direct Action Day and resulting violence.

These events sealed the destiny of division of India. Thus Congress was only accepting the inevitable as only an immediate transfer of power could forestall the spread of direct action and communal violence.

But ultimate hand of destiny is illustrated by the following -

→[4] All along these times, Jinnah was terminally ill with tuberculosis. Those days it was incurable disease. Tuberculosis was just about to take his life in a year or two as his trusted Parsi physician had informed him.

It turned out to be the best-kept secret in India during that year. Come what may, Jinnah was now determined to get Pakistan, as soon as practicable, and guide its destiny until fate would allow him to do so.

Apart from Jinnah only two persons knew about it - Dr Jal Ratanji Patel (highly knowledgeable and decorated Indian physician) who attended Jinnah’s tuberculosis and other health problems and Dr Jal Daeboo.

Both kept the medical files and X-ray films of Jinnah so confidential that neither the intelligence agencies nor the political parties had any knowledge of the illness.

If Nehru and Patel had any inkling of this, they would have delayed their fight for freedom by one year to avoid partition of India.

On September 11, 1948, just a little over a year after he became governor-general, Jinnah died of tuberculosis near Karachi, Pakistan—the place where he was born.

It was much later in early 1970s when Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre were researching for their book Freedom at Midnight that Dr Patel shared the confidential file with them.

When the authors discussed their meeting with Indian doctors with Mountbatten, he became pale from shock. He blurted-

‘I can’t believe it! If I had only known all this at the time, the course of history would have been different. I would have delayed the granting of independence for several months. There would have been no Pakistan. India would have remained united. Three wars would have been avoided.’

Integration of States to India

Before independence, India was divided into two sets of territories, one under direct British rule, and the other under the suzerainty of the British Crown, with control over their internal affairs remaining in the hands of their hereditary rulers.

The latter included 552 princely states, having different types of revenue sharing arrangements with the British, often depending on their size, population and local conditions. In addition, there were several colonial enclaves controlled by France and Portugal.

The political integration of these territories into India was a declared objective of the Indian National Congress, and the Government of India pursued this over the next decade. Through a combination of factors, Nehru, Mountbatten and Patel + Menon convinced the rulers of the various princely states to accede to India.

Having secured their accession, they then proceeded, in a step-by-step process, to secure and extend the central government's authority over these states and transform their administrations.

By 1956, there was little difference between the territories that had been part of British India and those that had been princely states. Simultaneously, the remaining colonial enclaves were acquired and integrated into India through a combination of diplomatic and military means,

The Stick, Deflector and Carrot strategy was executed for non chaotic and organized unification of princely states to India. Nehru acted as Stick, Patel - Menon combine played the role of Carrot. whereas Mountbatten played very important role of Soother and Deflector.

- In July 1946, Nehru (the Stick) pointedly observed that no princely state could prevail militarily against the army of independent India.

- In January 1947, he said that independent India would not accept the divine right of kings.

- In May 1947, he declared that any princely state which refused to join the Constituent Assembly would be treated as an enemy state.

The princes were therefore scared of Nehru, and in a lot of cases disliked him as well. Naturally nobody likes the stick.

Mountbatten (the Soother and Deflector) used his influence with the princes to push them towards accession. He declared that the British Crown would sever all connections with the states unless they joined either India or Pakistan.

He pointed out that the Indian subcontinent was one economic entity, and that the states would suffer most if the link were broken. He also pointed to the difficulties that princes would face maintaining order in the face of threats such as the rise of communal violence and communist movement.

Thus Princes were nowhere to go except Patel and Menon combine.

Patel and Menon (the Carrot), were charged with the actual job of negotiating with the princes. They showed a conciliatory approach. The official policy statement of the Government of India made by Patel on 5 July 1947 made no threats.

It emphasized the unity of India and the common interests of the princes and independent India, reassuring them about the Congress' intentions. It invited them to join independent India "to make laws sitting together as friends than to make treaties as aliens.

All the three (Nehru, Mountbatten and Patel + Menon) played the important role in achieving the integration of princely states to India. No body’s role was more important than others. Suppose Nehru or Mountbatten played the role of Carrot or Patel + Menon became Deflector/Stick, then it would have resulted in chaos.

Nehru was the first national leader to recognize that the destiny of the princely states was linked to Provincial India. Nehru had traveled to Nabha in 1923, marched with the Akalis for protection of Gurudwaras, arrested, chain-ganged and sentenced (with two more freedom fighters) in Nabha jail in pathetic conditions.

By 1939, Nehru became the permanent President of All India States Peoples Conference (ASPC) which was an umbrella organization for freedom struggles against the rulers of the princely states who were allies of British.

As a relative of the British King, Mountbatten was trusted by most of the princes who believed Mountbatten would act as the trustee of the princes' commitment since he was going to become the first Governor General of the Dominion of India. It was a clever move by Nehru and Patel.

Mountbatten also engaged in a personal dialogue with reluctant princes. In fact Mountbatten played a crucial role in ensuring that the princely states agreed to accede to India.

As minister of states, Patel had the overall charge of integration.

Patel recognized that that handling the princes and their varying egos would be beyond the limits of his patience. He therefore assigned the task of negotiating with the princes to Menon.

Menon was given carte blanche to achieve the goal of their accession to India.

Between them, they had produced a draft instrument of accession which would be signed by the princes as an agreement to transfer control of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Communications to the Congress government.

Through the spring of 1947, Patel threw a series of lunch parties, where he urged his princely guests to help the Congress in framing a new constitution of India. He often invoked the patriotism of the princes in his attempt to convince them to join India.

Patel and Menon backed up their diplomatic efforts by producing treaties that were designed to be attractive to rulers of princely states. They also introduced the concept of ‘privy purses’ as a payment to be made to the families of the princes.

Two key documents were produced.

The first was the Standstill Agreement, which confirmed the continuance of the pre-existing agreements and administrative practices.

The second was the Instrument of Accession, by which the ruler of the princely state in question agreed to the accession of his kingdom to independent India, granting the latter control over specified subject matters.

The nature of the subject matters varied depending on the acceding state. The final touch in the process of persuading the states was applied by the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten.

Patel, Nehru and Gandhi had approached the Viceroy, pleading him to aid them in the process of integrating the princely states, which was necessary so that India is not left in a state of Balkanization and disruption.

In June 1947, Mountbatten held series of meetings with rulers of princely states and gave them the deadline of August 15 to complete the accession.

Until that moment, every one of the 560 monarchs wanted to be independent of both dominions of India and Pakistan, and with the equal status under British Crown.

Mountbatten asserted that

- the crown recognizes just those two dominions and hence they will have to choose and merge with one of them.

- the accession should be subject to geographic contiguity, which sealed the fate of most princely states like Hyderabad since they had no geographic contiguity with Pakistan. But states like Kashmir which bordered both India and Pakistan had options and decisions to make.

Princes had not forgotten the Nehru’s declaration in his 1946 Presidential Address at the All India States People’s Conference (ASPC) that those princely states that refuse to merge with India and join the Constituent Assembly will be considered hostile states.

Ultimately on July 25, Mountbatten addressed the Chamber of princes. He said -

Look forward ten years, consider what the situation in India and the world will be then, and have the foresight to to act accordingly.,

Once he ended his speech and welcomed questions from the princes.

Mountbatten was reportedly quite taken aback by the absurdity of prime concerns of the princes or their representatives.

As recorded by writers Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins in their celebrated work Freedom at midnight,

- The prime concern of one member of that distinguished gathering was whether he could retain the exclusive right to hunt tigers in his state if he acceded to India.

- The diwan of another prince, whose employer at this critical juncture had found nothing better to do than to go on a tour of Europe’s gambling casinos and cabarets, pleaded that as his ruler was on the high seas, he did not know what course of action to adopt.

The Viceroy is believed to have then dramatically played around with a round glass paperweight, referring to it as a crystal ball that had answers to their queries and suggested with all ferocity, “sign the Act of Accession.”

The issue of the princely states was not an easy affair to resolve. The task of cajoling and convincing the princes was to be accomplished with much caution and dexterity.

Negotiation with Maharajas and Princes

Where Patel laid out the initial framework for persuading the princes to join, it was Menon, who did the actual groundwork of coaxing them. Menon was the first to urge the British government not to support fanciful claims of princes to independence.

Stories of Menon’s travels across India, and his dealings with petulant, rebellious, sometimes gun-toting maharajahs are legendary.

Menon would often travel to the court of the princes and negotiate with them on a one to one basis. He used the mix of subtlety, gruff charm and ruthlessness. He has described his experiences and ordeals involved in negotiating with the rulers in the book - The story of the integration of the Indian states.

Photo -Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon with Maharaja of Kochin

- The princes would often invoke descent from Hindu Gods and Goddesses to lay claim to independent statehood.

- There were some who proudly proclaimed a history of having resisted Muslim invaders in the past.

-There were quite a few princes who only cared for privy purse, retaining palace and titles (like Maharaja of Chhota Hazari), special provision for the maintenance of the royal fleet of cars, royal privileges for the princesses (Maharaja of Cochin).

- Nawab of Bhopal, who was personal friend of Mountbatten signed the Instrument of Accession making Bhopal part of India, and asked Mountbatten to keep it locked up in his safe. It was to be handed over to Patel/Menon on 15 August only if the Nawab did not change his mind. Mountbatten dutifully did that.

Jodhpur Maharaja points Pistol to Menon

The Maharaja of Jodhpur had made up his mind to join Pakistan instead of India. Menon, on realizing the problems it could lead to, met with him at the Viceroy’s house.

Mountbatten is believed to have coaxed the young ruler, by reminding him of the disappointment his deceased father would have experienced on hearing his decision.

He finally left the two together to negotiate further. Once left with Menon, the ruler signed the instrument of accession, and soon after took out a pistol and pointed to Menon stating loudly,

“I am not giving in to your threats.”

However, the pistol was soon confiscated by Mountbatten.

In the following days, most of the princes could be convinced to join the Indian union. Bikaner, Baroda and a few other states from Rajasthan were the first to join. There were few quite dramatic and tragic cases of accession as well.

- One Raja of Central India is known to have died of a heart attack, seconds after signing.

- The Gaekwad of Baroda is believed to have wept like a child on the shoulders of Menon after acceding.

As the day of independence drew closer, it was decided to use force where necessary, for instance in the case of the Maharaja of Orissa.

Finally, as a the tricolour rose proudly to announce its independence on August 15, 1947, more than 550 states had been brought under the governance of the Indian union.

Overcoming the Hostile States

The three states Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, and Junagarh were hostile to joining the India. Menon also worked with Patel over the military action against the hostile states of Junagadh and Hyderabad, as well as advising Nehru and Patel on relations with Pakistan and the Kashmir conflict.

The Cabinet had dispatched Menon to obtain the accession of Kashmir into India in 1947.

Jammu and Kashmir - Story of delayed decision

Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state during the British Raj in India from 1846 to 1947. At the time of the political integration of India, Hari Singh the ruler of the state, delayed making a decision about the future of his state.

An uprising in the western districts of the State followed by an attack by raiders from the neighbouring Northwest Frontier Province, supported by Pakistan, forced his hand. On 26 October 1947, Hari Singh acceded to India in return for the Indian military being airlifted to Kashmir, to salvage the situation.

The western and northern districts presently known as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan passed to the control of Pakistan, while the remaining territory stayed under Indian control, later becoming the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Hyderabad- Annexed forcibly

Hyderabad (present day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana combined) was a landlocked state in southeastern India. While 87% of its population was Hindu, its ruler Nizam Osman Ali Khan was a Muslim. The Nizam in June 1947 issued a firman proclaiming independence on the transfer of power.

The firman was rejected by the Government of India. At the same time Telangana Rebellion, led by communists was going on. The Hyderabad State Congress Party, affiliated to the Indian National Congress also launched a political agitation. The situation had become precarious in 1948.

Ultimately, under Operation Polo, the Indian Army entered the state on 13 September 1948 and took complete control. The Nizam was retained as the head of state in the same manner as the other princes who acceded to India.

It was unsuccessfully opposed by Pakistan in U.N.

Junagadh - Nawab flees to Pakistan

Junagadh was a princely state (now in Gujrat), under the suzerainty of British India. It was surrounded on all of its land borders by India, with an outlet onto the Arabian Sea.

Even though majority of population was Hindu, the Nawab of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III, acceded to the Pakistan on 15 September 1947, against the advice of Lord Mountbatten, arguing that Junagadh joined Pakistan by sea.

This 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, fled to Karachi on 24 October 1947.

It is reported that he took his dogs but one of his begums and her child were left behind in the chaotic escape.

Eventually, the forcible annexation of Junagadh's three principalities was ordered. Junagadh's state government, finally invited the Government of India to take control. A plebiscite was conducted in December, in which approximately 99.95% of the people chose India over Pakistan.

The Final Chapter

The terms of Instrument of Accession gave India only limited control over the princely states: Defence, External Affairs and Communications/Railways.

A series of events took place until the implementation of States Reorganizations Commission (SRC) recommendations in 1956 which gave India increased grip over these states and eventual integration. Patel, of course, was involved with these events until his death in 1950.

As the people of princely states grew restless for full-fledged democracy , the rulers were quickly retired with Privy Purses and formally separated from power. Smaller states were grouped into confederations and then merged into neighboring provinces.

While Patel (being minister in charge) provided leadership, actual work was done by Menon, local leadership, neighboring Provincial Governments and other cabinet/party colleagues of Patel/Nehru. For example, the Privy Purse negotiation with the Deccan States was delegated to B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya and Rajendra Prasad.

After the death of Patel, the “unification and integration of India” was continued by Gopalaswami Ayyangar who succeeded Patel as the Minister for States.

Successful integration of all princely states into India is viewed as a triumph for the Government of India and Lord Mountbatten, and as a tribute to the sagacity of the majority of princes, who jointly achieved in a few months what the British Empire had attempted, unsuccessfully, to do for over a century—unite all of India under one rule.

As we recall the story of Partition and Integration of India and remember the contributions of Nehru and Patel, let us not forget the contribution of this Humble Son of India - V.P. Menon.

References -

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._P._Menon

2.https://www.dailypioneer.com/2017/state-editions/the-forgotten-bureaucrat-who-shaped-modern-india.html

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath_of_World_War_II

4. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/lend-lease-act-1

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Cabinet_Mission_to_India https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/ncert-notes-cabinet-mission/

6. https://www.constitutionofindia.net/historical_constitutions/cabinet_mission_plan__cabinet_mission__1946__16th%20May%201946

7. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/viceroys-house/lord-mountbatten-india-partition/

8.https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/mountbattens-family-affair-107072301069_1.html,

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Mountbatten,_1st_Earl_Mountbatten_of_Burma

10. https://www.gktoday.in/gk/dickie-bird-plan-1947/

11.https://www.asian-voice.com/Opinion/Columnists/Sardar-Patel-opts-for-Partition-of-India