CBSE Class 9 Answered

One of the features of the Indian Independence Act was to give autonomy to princely states in India in deciding if they wanted to join India or Pakistan or to remain independent. Most of the Indian princely states decided to join India except three: Junagarh, Hyderabad and Kashmir.

Junagarh: The Nawab of Junagarh, a princely state located on the south-western end of Gujrat chose to accede to Pakistan. The Indian government pointed out that the 80% of the people in Junagarh were Hindus, and called for a plebiscite to decide the question of accession. Simultaneously, they cut off supplies of fuel and coal to Junagadh, severed air and postal links, sent troops to the frontier. A plebiscite was conducted in February 1948, in which people of Junagarh voted to join India.

Hyderabad: One major exception was that of Hyderabad, where the Nizam,Osman Ali Khan, a Muslim ruler who presided over a largely Hindu population, chose independence. Sardar patel decided to annex Hyderabad in what was termed a “police action”. Saradar Patel initiated the police action September 1948, with direct control of Home ministry and the operation took five days, in which the Razakars were defeated easily.

Kashmir: At the time of the transfer of power, Kashmir was ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh, a Hindu, although the state itself had a Muslim majority. The Maharaja wanted to remain independent. However, after an attack of Pakistan’s irregular army, the Maharaja sought help from India. The Indian troops reached Kashmir but cease fire was declared and later the Kashmir issue was taken to the UN. The northern and western portions of Kashmir came under Pakistan’s control in 1947.