Integration of Princely States into Union of India
In 1947 the future of princely states once the British left become a matter of concern. Many of the larger princely states claim that paramountcy cannot be transferred to the new states of India and Pakistan. There aspirations were fuelled by British PM Clement Atlee's announcement on 20th February 1927 that his majestic government do not intend to handover the powers and obligations under paramountcy to any government of British India. Consequently, the rulers of several states claimed that they would become independent from 15th August 1947 when British rule end. However, Congress wanted the integration of native states into Union of India. This is because the nationalist leadership could hardly accept a situation where the unity of independent India would be endangered by hundreds of large or small independent or autonomous states within the boundary of Indian dominion. Besides the people of native states had participated in the process of nation making and have developed a strong feeling of Indian nationalism. The nationalist leadership in British India and princely states rejected the claim of any state and repeatedly declared that the only option opened for the state is to aced to India or Pakistan on the basis of contiguity and its territory and wishes of the people. The integration of princely states into the newly formed dominion of India was a complex and challenging process. At the time of independence in 1947 India consisted of British ruled territories called British India (under the direct rule) and the princely states (ruled by local monarch). Many rulers of princely states resisted integration because it meant loosing their privileges and autonomy. These rulers have enjoyed absolute authority over their territory for centuries and were reluctant to give up their power to the central government. In some states the local rulers and nobles led resistance movement against integration notable among there were Bhopal, Travancore, Hyderabad, Junagadh and Kashmir. Each princely state had it's own administrative system of laws and governance practices. Integrating these diverse system into a unify national framework required significant adjustment and standardization. Many princely states were geographically fragmented and scattered within British Indian territories which necessitate territorial reorganization to create viable territorial units. State Reorganization Commission was setup in 1953 to address these issues eventually leading to reorganisation of states on linguistic grounds in 1953. The economies of the princely states were often underdeveloped and isolated. Integrating these economics into the national economic framework required the infrastructural development, investment and economic reforms. India is a country of immense ethnic linguistic and cultural diversity and this was particularly pronounced in the princely states. Integrating these states into a unified nation while respecting their unique cultural identities was a significant socio-cultural challenge. In fact some princely states in the north-eastern region such as Manipur, Tripura and parts of Assam had significant tribal population with distinct practices and social structure ensuring that these tribal communities were not marginalized in the integration process required special constitutional provisions such as 6th Schedule which provided for ADC to protect tribal autonomy.