Facts about Junagadh
19 Jul, 2001 · 526
Maj Gen (Retd) Ashok Krishna gives a brief history of Junagadh's accession to India
Junagadh was a state on the coast of
Saurashtra
surrounded by
Indian territory
, and therefore without any geographical contiguity with
Pakistan
. See map. Bounded on three sides by states’ which had acceded to
India
, and on the fourth by the
Arabian Sea
, it was the largest state in
Kathiawar
. It had enclaves in the bordering states of Gondal,
Baroda
and
Bhavnagar
, all of which had acceded to
India
, while other states, which had also acceded to
India
, had enclaves in Junagadh. All these factors led to one conclusion: the
Kathiawar
states had to accede, as a whole, to one or the other of the two new Dominions: they were too mixed up territorially to do otherwise.
India
or
Pakistan
by 15 August 1947 except the rulers of Junagadh, J & K and
Hyderabad
. The Indian nationalist leaders had for decades stood for soverignty of the people against the claims of the princes. It was therefore not surprising that in Junagadh’s case Nehru and Patel agreed that the final voice, like in any other such case, for example Kashmir or Hyderabad, should be that of the people ascertained through a plebiscite.
17 August 1947 , the Indian Press reported that the Nawab of Junagadh had chosen to join
Pakistan
. On 13 September,
Pakistan
informed
India
that it had accepted the accession and had signed a standstill agreement with the state. Junagadh’s decision infuriated the other
Kathiawar
states and protests poured into
Delhi
. Lord Mountbatten, now Governor General of
India
, dispatched his Chief Staff, Lord Ismay, to
Karachi
for consultations. On his return, Lord Ismay stated that, in his opinion, the Government of Pakistan was trying to provoke
India
into taking a step which would discredit her in the eyes of the world and obtain sympathy for
Pakistan
as an aggrieved party. Junagadh, he stressed, was an economic and administrative unit firmly embedded in
Kathiawar
, and as such could only be a liability to
Pakistan
in every sphere.
India
. The Nawab of Junagadh refused to recognise this accession, asserting that as an “attached state”, Mangrol was his vassal and had no right to conduct negotiations without his authority. The Sheikh maintained that with paramountcy lapsing, he was independent. Apprehensive that other “vassals” might follow Mangrol’s example, the Nawab dispatched his state force troops into Babariawad, an area comprising estates whose rulers challenged the Nawab’s overlordship and had acceded to
India
. The Government of India, thereupon, requested the Nawab of Junagadh to remove his state troops from Babariawad. In order to protect the areas that had acceded to
India
, an infantry brigade of the Indian Army was dispatched to
Kathiawar
. The brigade commander was ordered not to violate Junagadh territory and not even to enter Mangrol and Babariawad, but to deploy his troops only in other territories that had acceded to
India
. Exchange of communications between
India
and
Pakistan
bore no fruit. Eventually, on November 1,
India
dispatched civil administrators, each accompanied by a small token force, to take over the administration of Mangrol and Babariawad.
India
and the food position became precarious. The people organised a popular movement. forced the Nawab to flee to
Karachi
with his family and established a provisional government. Before leaving the Nawab had emptied the state treasury of its cash and securities. The Dewan of Junagadh, Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the father of the more famous Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, now decided to invite the Government of India to intervene. Indian troops thereafter marched into the state.
9 November 1948 , with the unanimous approval of the state council and leaders of public opinion, the administration of the state was handed over to
India
. In the absence of any constructive proposal from
Pakistan
, the Government of India held a referendum on 20 February 1948 , to ascertain the wishes of the people regarding accession. In Junagadh, more than 190,000 votes were cast out of an electorate of 200,000. Those voting for
Pakistan
totalled 91, and the rest voted for
India
. In Mangrol, Manavadar and certain adjoining estates,
Pakistan
’s share of the 31, 434 votes cast was 39. Thus ended a chapter full of incident, but one, which could have been avoided if
Pakistan
had not encouraged the Nawab of Junagadh in his absurdity.
Pakistan
still continues to include Junagadh within its territory in its official maps.
Fearful of the rising tide of the peoples’ movement in their states, all the Maharajas, Princes and Nawabs acceded to
The issue of Junagadh’s accession formally arose when on
The Sheikh of Mangrol, a very small state adjoining Junagadh, who had not announced his choice, now signed a standstill agreement and instrument of accession with
The unsettled conditions in Junagadh had led to a cessation of all trade with
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