The Integration of the Princely States | CBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes

Part of: Challenges of Nation Building (CBSE Class 12 Political Science, Politics in India since Independence, Chapter 1). This page goes deeper into one section of that chapter: how the government brought the princely states in, what the rulers signed, and what became of the rulers.

What did the end of paramountcy mean for the princely states?

Under British rule, the princes ran their states' internal affairs but accepted the Crown as the supreme power. This relationship was called paramountcy.

The Indian Independence Act, 1947, passed on 18 July 1947, created two Dominions from 15 August 1947. Its section 7(1)(b) said that "the suzerainty of His Majesty over the Indian States lapses". Every treaty between the Crown and the rulers lapsed with it.

A proviso softened the break. Agreements on customs, transit, posts and telegraphs would continue until either side ended them or new agreements replaced them.

NCERT counts about 565 states, and Mountbatten told the princes on 25 July 1947 of "something like 565 States". Other counts differ. The Ministry of States' White Paper on Indian States (1950) notes counts of 562 and 600 by earlier British committees. Kathiawar alone held 222 states and estates.

How did the States Department organise the work?

The Interim Government's Cabinet decided on 25 June 1947 to create a States Department. A communique of 27 June 1947 placed it under Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, with V. P. Menon as Secretary. The White Paper records that it came into being on 5 July 1947.

That day Patel invited the rulers to accede on three subjects: defence, foreign affairs and communications. He said the department would not seek to dominate the states, and warned that disunity would ruin great and small alike.

On 25 July 1947 Lord Mountbatten, as Crown Representative, gave a special meeting of princes the same advice. He promised no financial burden and no interference in their internal rule.

By 15 August 1947, the White Paper says, every state within India's limits except Hyderabad, Kashmir and Junagadh had acceded. Kashmir's ruler signed an Instrument of Accession in October 1947. NCERT takes up Kashmir in a later chapter.

What did the Instrument of Accession and the Standstill Agreement each do?

The Instrument of Accession was a standard form. It let the Dominion Legislature make laws for the state on defence, external affairs and communications, with no financial liability for the state. Clause 7 said the ruler was not bound to accept any future constitution of India.

Source: "Nothing in this Instrument affects the continuance of my sovereignty in and over this State" (Instrument of Accession, standard form, clause 8, August 1947)

What it shows: accession settled only three subjects, so a second round of agreements was needed.

The Standstill Agreement kept existing agreements and administrative arrangements on matters of common concern running until new ones were made. Its clause 3 excluded any paramountcy functions.

The White Paper says India accepted standstill agreements only from states that also acceded. Hyderabad's one-year agreement of November 1947 was a separate case.

Why did Junagadh go to a vote?

Junagadh was a coastal state in Kathiawar. Rajmohan Gandhi's biography of Patel records that over 80 per cent of its roughly seven lakh people were Hindu, and that its ruler, Nawab Mahabat Khan, was a Muslim.

On 15 August 1947 Junagadh announced its accession to Pakistan, which accepted it in September 1947; Rajmohan Gandhi dates Pakistan's telegram of acceptance to 13 September. The Nawab later left for Pakistan. On 9 November 1947 India took over the administration at the request of the Nawab's Council.

A referendum followed on 20 February 1948. The White Paper calls the vote for India "virtually unanimous"; Rajmohan Gandhi records 190,870 votes cast, 91 of them for Pakistan. Saurashtra took over Junagadh's administration on 20 January 1949.

In 1959 the Supreme Court held that India's takeover had been an "act of State", carried out towards a state that had not acceded.

How did the routes to India differ from state to state?

The White Paper names Hyderabad and Junagadh as the only states that had not acceded before the Constitution began. The record therefore shows persuasion and signed papers, a takeover of administration, a referendum and military action. The student should match each method to its case and date.

How were the states merged and grouped after accession?

Accession left internal government with the rulers. The White Paper describes a second stage, called integration, in three forms:

1. Merger into a province: 216 states joined a neighbouring province, starting with 23 Orissa states on 1 January 1948.
2. Central administration: 61 states became centrally administered areas. For example, 21 Punjab hill states formed Himachal Pradesh on 15 April 1948.
3. Unions of states: 275 states combined into unions with a common executive, legislature and judiciary.

In all, 552 states were affected. Rulers signed a merger agreement or a covenant, giving up their powers for a guaranteed allowance and privileges.

The first union was the United State of Kathiawar, later called Saurashtra. Its covenant was signed on 23 January 1948, and Patel inaugurated it on 15 February 1948. Madhya Bharat was inaugurated on 28 May 1948 and PEPSU on 15 July 1948. Travancore-Cochin followed on 1 July 1949. Rajasthan grew in stages:

1. 25 March 1948: nine states, including Kota, Bundi and Tonk, formed the first United State of Rajasthan.
2. 18 April 1948: Mewar (Udaipur) joined.
3. 30 March 1949: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer joined.
4. 15 May 1949: the Matsya Union joined.

Each union was headed by a Rajpramukh. The covenants generally had a Council of Rulers elect him, but some named a ruler for life, such as Gwalior's in Madhya Bharat and Patiala's in PEPSU. In Saurashtra a supplementary covenant gave the ruler of Nawanagar the post for life.

How did the Constitution of 1950 fit the former states in?

The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950. Article 1 and the First Schedule made every unit part of India's territory, sorted into three lists.

Article 238 applied the rules for state governments to Part B States, with "Rajpramukh" in place of "Governor". Article 291 charged privy purses on the Consolidated Fund of India, free of income tax.

Article 362 required "due regard" for the rulers' personal rights, privileges and dignities. The Seventh Amendment Act, 1956 omitted Article 238 from 1 November 1956.

What happened to the privy purses?

A privy purse was a fixed, tax-free yearly sum guaranteed to a former ruler. The White Paper quotes Patel's formula: 15 per cent of the first lakh of average annual revenue, 10 per cent of the next four lakhs and 7.5 per cent beyond, up to ten lakh rupees.

Some major states got more for the ruler's lifetime; Gwalior got Rs 25 lakh. Patel put the total at about Rs 4.5 crore a year in October 1949; the White Paper adds that later agreements, including those with Hyderabad and Mysore, raised it to about Rs 5.8 crore.

On 12 October 1949 Patel told the Constituent Assembly that privy purses were the minimum offered "as quid pro quo for parting with their ruling powers".

In 1970 the Twenty-fourth Amendment Bill passed the Lok Sabha on 2 September but failed to win two-thirds in the Rajya Sabha on 5 September. Presidential orders of 6 September 1970 then withdrew recognition from all rulers.

On 15 December 1970, in Madhav Rao Scindia v. Union of India, eleven judges held the orders illegal by nine votes to two.

Source: "writs will issue declaring that the orders made by the President on September 6, 1970 challenged here, were illegal and on that account inoperative" (Madhav Rao Scindia v. Union of India, Supreme Court, 15 December 1970)

What it shows: the ruling turned on executive orders, so abolition needed a constitutional amendment.

Parliament then passed the Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971, dated 28 December 1971. It omitted Articles 291 and 362 and inserted Article 363A, ending the rulers' recognition and abolishing privy purses.

The bill's Statement of Objects and Reasons, dated 31 July 1971, called rulership with privy purses "incompatible with an egalitarian social order". In 1993, in Raghunathrao Ganpatrao v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that the amendment left the basic structure intact.

Timeline: how did integration unfold, 1947 to 1993?

Sources: where do these facts come from?

• Indian Independence Act, 1947, passed 18 July 1947: sections 1(1) and 7(1)(b) (Wikisource; section 7 matches the text reprinted in the White Paper on Indian States, 1950, Appendix IV).
• Ministry of States, White Paper on Indian States, 1950 (Wikisource): paragraphs 24, 72 to 82, 116, 126 to 147, 221 to 226 and 238; the communique of 27 June 1947; Patel's statement of 5 July 1947; the Instrument of Accession, August 1947; merger dates, 1948 and 1949.
• Constitution of India, 1950, original text (constitutionofindia.net): Articles 238, 291, 362 and 363A; the Seventh Amendment Act, 1956.
• The Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971, 28 December 1971, and its Statement of Objects and Reasons, 31 July 1971 (constitution.org; the assent date and the Statement's wording also appear in Raghunathrao Ganpatrao v. Union of India, 1993, indiankanoon.org).
• Supreme Court, Madhav Rao Scindia v. Union of India, 15 December 1970 (indiankanoon.org): the Lok Sabha vote of 2 September 1970 and the Rajya Sabha vote of 5 September 1970, the orders of 6 September 1970, Mountbatten's advice of 25 July 1947, the standstill clause and Patel's speech of 12 October 1949.
• Supreme Court, State of Saurashtra v. Memon Haji Ismail Haji, 4 August 1959 (indiankanoon.org).
• Supreme Court, Raghunathrao Ganpatrao v. Union of India, 1993 (indiankanoon.org).
• Rajasthan High Court, State of Rajasthan v. Associated Stone Industries, 11 August 1970 (indiankanoon.org): Rajasthan's stages in 1948 and 1949.
• Rajmohan Gandhi, Patel: A Life (1991), excerpt on Scroll.in, 27 June 2018: Junagadh in 1947 and 1948.
• NCERT, Politics in India since Independence (Class 12), Chapter 1, reprint 2026-27: Hyderabad (1947, 1948), Manipur (1947, 1949) and the count of 565.

Glossary

• Paramountcy: the British Crown's supreme authority over the princely states, which lapsed under the Indian Independence Act, 1947.
• States Department: the department under Sardar Patel, with V. P. Menon as Secretary, that began work on 5 July 1947.
• Instrument of Accession: the standard document by which a ruler let the Dominion Legislature make laws on defence, external affairs and communications.
• Standstill Agreement: an agreement that kept existing arrangements on matters of common concern, such as customs and posts, running until replaced.
• Covenant: an agreement among several rulers to join their states into one union with a common executive, legislature and judiciary.
• Rajpramukh: the head of a union of states, chosen from among its rulers, who took the place of a Governor in a Part B State.
• Privy purse: a fixed, tax-free yearly sum guaranteed to a former ruler, protected by Article 291 until the 26th Amendment of 1971.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Signing the Instrument of Accession made a princely state an ordinary part of India. Correct: Accession covered only three subjects; merger agreements, covenants and the Constitution completed integration.
• Misconception: The Instrument of Accession and the Standstill Agreement were one document. Correct: The Instrument transferred three subjects; the Standstill Agreement only kept existing arrangements running.
• Misconception: There were exactly 565 princely states. Correct: NCERT counts about 565, but other official counts, such as 562 and 600, differ on which estates count as states.
• Misconception: Junagadh's ruler signed an Instrument of Accession with India. Correct: The ruler chose Pakistan; India took over the administration in November 1947, and a referendum followed in February 1948.
• Misconception: The Supreme Court abolished privy purses in 1970. Correct: The Court held the presidential orders illegal in 1970; Parliament abolished privy purses through the 26th Amendment in 1971.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. By signing the Instrument of Accession in 1947, a ruler gave the Dominion of India law-making power on: (a) finance and police (b) defence, external affairs and communications (c) education and health (d) defence and justice [1 mark]

(b) Defence, external affairs and communications. These were the only subjects on which the Dominion Legislature could legislate for the state.

Q2. Distinguish between the Instrument of Accession and the Standstill Agreement. [2 marks]

1. The Instrument of Accession gave the Dominion Legislature power to make laws for the state on defence, external affairs and communications.
2. The Standstill Agreement only kept existing agreements and administrative arrangements on matters of common concern running until replaced.

Q3. Explain any four ways in which princely states were integrated after they had acceded to India. [4 marks]

1. Merger into a province: 216 states joined neighbouring provinces, starting with 23 Orissa states on 1 January 1948.
2. Central administration: 61 states became centrally administered areas, such as Himachal Pradesh, later Part C States.
3. Unions of states: 275 states joined unions such as Saurashtra, PEPSU and Rajasthan, each headed by a Rajpramukh.
4. Constitutional status: the Constitution of 1950 listed the unions and a few large states as Part B States, with a Rajpramukh in place of a Governor.

Q4. Trace the history of privy purses from the merger agreements to their abolition. [6 marks]

1. Merger agreements and covenants guaranteed each ruler a fixed, tax-free privy purse, about Rs 4.5 crore a year in total in 1949, later about Rs 5.8 crore.
2. The amount followed a formula based on a state's average annual revenue, capped at ten lakh rupees except for some major states.
3. Article 291 charged these sums on the Consolidated Fund of India, and Article 362 protected the rulers' personal privileges.
4. In September 1970 the Twenty-fourth Amendment Bill failed in the Rajya Sabha, and presidential orders withdrew recognition from all rulers.
5. On 15 December 1970 the Supreme Court, by nine votes to two in Madhav Rao Scindia v. Union of India, held those orders illegal.
6. The 26th Amendment of 28 December 1971 omitted Articles 291 and 362 and inserted Article 363A, abolishing privy purses; the Supreme Court upheld it in 1993.

Key takeaways

• Section 7(1)(b) of the Indian Independence Act, 1947 ended paramountcy, leaving about 565 states, as NCERT counts them, to decide their future.
• The States Department began work on 5 July 1947 under Patel, with V. P. Menon as Secretary, and asked rulers to accede on three subjects.
• The Instrument of Accession transferred only defence, external affairs and communications; the Standstill Agreement kept existing arrangements running.
• Junagadh's ruler chose Pakistan; India took over the administration in November 1947, and a referendum in February 1948 went heavily for India.
• Between 1948 and 1950, mergers, central administration and unions under Rajpramukhs turned acceded states into Part A, B and C States.
• Privy purses, guaranteed by Article 291, outlasted the presidential orders of 1970 in court but were abolished by the 26th Amendment in 1971.

Test yourself

Which provision of the Indian Independence Act, 1947 ended paramountcy?

Section 7(1)(b), under which the Crown's suzerainty over the Indian States lapsed.

Who was Secretary of the States Department in 1947?

V. P. Menon, who served under Sardar Patel, the minister in charge.

What did clause 7 of the Instrument of Accession promise the rulers?

That signing did not commit them to accept any future constitution of India.

When was the Junagadh referendum held?

On 20 February 1948; the White Paper describes the vote for India as virtually unanimous.

What was a Rajpramukh?

The head of a union of states, chosen from among its rulers, who took the Governor's place in a Part B State.

Which article did the 26th Amendment insert?

Article 363A, which ended the recognition of rulers and abolished privy purses from 28 December 1971.