Pradeep Kumar and June L. D Souza

Junagadh, the central theme of this little chronicle, was a Rajput State. In 1472-73 it was invaded by Sultan Muhammad Bedga of Ahmedabad. During the great Emperor Akbar’s reign it became a dependency of the court of Delhi and under immediate authority of the Subah of Ahmedabad. In 1735, there was a soldier serving as officer under the Subah of Ahmedabad, named Sherkhan Babi. He ousted the Moghul Governor and declared himself ruler of Junagadh. Sir Mahabatkhan Rasulkhanji – the last Nawab of Junagadh and a widely proclaimed eccentric, was the descendent of Sherkhan Babi.

He is famous in history for showering more love to his cannies than a family. He had over 300 dogs as pets and is recorded to have used 40 lakh rupees annually from the State treasury for his personal expenses.

Junagadh, with an area of 3,337 square miles and an over 8o per cent Hindu population of 6,70,719, was a State on the coast of Saurashtra, surrounded by Indian territory. It was bounded on three sides by states which had acceded to India, and on the fourth by the Arabian Sea. It, therefore, had no geographical contiguity with Pakistan.

Many States in Kathiawar had portions situated in other States of Kathiawar itself, which were considered islands of territory outside their individual boundaries. Junagadh had enclaves in the bordering states of Gondal, Baroda, Nawabnagar and Bhavnagar, all of which had acceded to India.

Other states in Kathiawar, which had also acceded to India, had enclaves in Junagadh. Nawabnagar, Gondal and Junagadh had nine, eighteen and twenty-four separate areas of territory, respectively.

46 States of Kathiawar claimed an area of two square miles or less. Even these were not indivisible units and therefore were governed by multiple sovereigns; who claimed as shareholders.

Therefore Kathiawar as a whole was divided into 860 jurisdictions. For example, ‘Dahida’, with an area of 2 square miles had six shareholders. Each individual sovereign claimed independence to accede to (join) either Dominion of India or Pakistan on the lapse of Paramountcy i.e. on the British withdrawing from India in 1947, which was, in fact, their right to do so. 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.

Moreover, it was not possible for most of the individual States within Kathiawar to run a sustained administration themselves.

The ‘Junagadh Government Gazette’, on 22nd April, 1947 reproduced the speech of the Dewan – Khan Bahadur Abdul Kadir Mohammed Hussain, wherein he maintained that he would not join Pakistan. Nabi Baksh – the Constitutional Advisor to the Nawab and brother of the Dewan, told Lord Mountbatten that his advice to the Nawab was to accede to India. He expressed the same to Jam Saheb of Nawabnagar and to Sardar Patel.

In 1947, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto (father of future Pakistani Prime Minister – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and grandfather of Benazir Bhutto) decided to come to Junagadh from his lofty post in active politics in the ‘Muslim League’ in Karachi. He joined the State Council of Ministers, allegedly at the invitation of Dewan Khan Bahadur Abdul Kadir Mohammed Hussain. The same year, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto stripped this Dewan of his position and took it for himself. Subsequently Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto withdrew the Dewan’s brother’s position from the man, thereby casting out the Dewan and his family from the Nawab’s Court altogether

It is commonly known that four years before the transfer of power, the British joined some of the smaller units to the neighbouring bigger states. This ‘Attachment Scheme’ of the ‘British Political Department’ covered an area of 7,000 square miles and provoked bitter opposition from the rulers of the smaller states. On the ‘Transfer of Power’ and British withdrawal in 1947, these rulers were no longer bound by the ‘Attachment Scheme’, which had deleterious results in many parts of Kathiawar.

Tomb of Muhabit Khan Pic source wiki
Tomb of Muhabit Khan Pic source wiki
For example, the Sheikh of Mangrol, a very small state adjoining Junagadh, signed a Standstill Agreement and Instrument of Accession with India. Major portion of the State of Mangrol was independent of Junagadh. But according to the ‘Attachment Scheme’, in respect of 21 tiny villages, the civil and criminal jurisdiction was exercised by Junagadh, subject to a guarantee by the British government that this power would not be misused. The Nawab of Junagadh refused to recognise the Accession of Mangrol to India, asserting that according to the ‘Attachment Scheme’, Mangrol contained 21 villages which were under his jurisdiction and even though those villages formed a very tiny part of the State, it resulted in the State becoming his vassal. But soon after announcement of the ‘June 3rd Plan’, the British Political Department retrocede the jurisdiction enjoyed by the Crown Representative in the Civil Administration, meaning that Junagadh had no longer any claim over Mongrol and the Sheikh was free to accede whether Junagadh did or not.

The Sheikh of Mangrol therefore maintained that with paramount lapsing, he was independent. Lord Mountbatten addressed this question to a leading British Constitutional lawyer who was fully conversant with the position and history of Mangrol. The lawyer studied the documents connected with the issue and concluded that as soon as Junagadh became eligible to sign the Instrument of Accession, Mangrol also became independent of Junagadh, because this whole situation has resulted from lapse of Paramountcy of the British.

In such circumstances the ‘Attachment Scheme’ of the ‘British Political Department’ also lapses. Propriety notwithstanding, the Nawab (at the behest of Pakistan) illegally dispatched his troops into Babariawad, an area comprising estates whose rulers challenged the Nawab’s over lordship and had acceded to India. In fact seven companies of the ‘Pakistan Reserve Police’ were assigned to Junagadh.

The Government of India repeatedly requested the Nawab of Junagadh to remove his troops from Babariawad. Sir Bhutto replied his refusal to withdraw the Junagadh troops. This amounted to an act of aggressive invasion. 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 the other territories that had acceded to India.

On 1st October a telegram was received that Junagadh troops had entered Mangrol as well. Eventually, on November 1, 1947 India dispatched civil administrators, each accompanied by a small token force, to take over the administration of Mangrol and Babariawad

When the Nawab was asked to hold a plebiscite, he replied that, “The Indian Independence Act,(of 1935)did not and does not require a ruler to consult his people before deciding on Accession.” Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah insisted that ‘Accession is only the ruler’s prerogative and he alone has to decide which Dominion he will join’.

Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru suggested that a referendum be conducted in all states where the ruler and the majority of the subjects belonged to different communities, which was especially important in the case of Hyderabad and J&K whose respective areas were as big as British mainland (although J&K was bigger than Hyderabad and more Strategic). Liaqat Ali Khan argued that, ‘the ruler had the absolute right to accede without reference to the moral or ethnic aspects of accession”. Subsequently Mr. Liyakat Ali Khan became the first Prime minister and first Defence Minister of Pakistan.

In the meanwhile, the situation of Junagadh worsened. More than 1 lakh people had already fled the State. Mass protests and morchas had already broken out. The people were not to be silenced except by a referendum (plebiscite). India repeatedly asked the Nawab to stop the brutalities and harassment of the people of Junagadh, Mangrol and Babariawad and to hold a plebiscite as a method of determining their will of accession to either Dominion. Jinnah insisted, as he did regarding J&K, that there would be no plebiscite since it was a matter of principle for him that in all States the decision of Accession lay with the ruler alone. Jinnah was vehemently against plebiscite in any of the Princely States.

On 13th August 1947, on behalf of the Nawab of Junagadh, Sir Bhutto called a Conference of leading citizens to consider the decision of Accession to either Dominion. The citizens handed him a Memorandum for submission to the Nawab, urging that Junagadh be ceded to India. On 9 November 1948, with the unanimous approval of the State Council and leaders of public opinion, the administration of the State of Junagadh was also peacefully handed over to India without incident.

However, on 16th October, 1947, Liaqat Ali Khan told Lord Mountbatten that he was agreeable to a plebiscite in Junagadh, which he recanted on 21st October, when Pandit Nehru wired him regarding the arrangements.

The unsettled conditions in Junagadh had led to the depletion in its resources due to the fact that it derived most of its revenue from railways and customs, being a Port State. Now, at the behest of Pakistan, it was preventing dealings with the States surrounding it, which had acceded to India. This immensely decreased the railway and customs traffic which could have brought it income. Traders refused to risk doing business with Junagadh, and Pakistan favoured that the Nawab refuse to continue trade with India. The food position became precarious. Even if the people starved, the Nawab seemed unperturbed. He was promised adequate supplies from Karachi via Veraval, which never came. Realising that Junagadh was forsaken by Pakistan, despite promises of loyalty, towards the end of October the Nawab of Junagadh abandoned his people unceremoniously, leaving behind Sir Bhutto to manage the State. The Nawab left for Karachi with all the cash, shares and securities of the State treasury, and some of his wives, children, canines, and all the family jewellery.

overview of Junagadh City Pic Source wiki
overview of Junagadh City Pic Source wiki
Sir Bhutto complained to Jinnah about the disastrous fate that Junagadh had brought upon itself by trusting in the promises of Pakistan. He said, “….today our brethren are indifferent and cold. Muslims of Kathiawar seem to have lost all enthusiasm for Pakistan”. On 5th November, 1947 the Junagadh State Council held a meeting at which it was decided to have a complete re-orientation of the state policy and readjustment of relations with the two Dominions.

Sir Bhutto voluntarily offered to hand over the State to the Government of India, since the administration was no longer tenable in this condition; the Nawab had deserted and Pakistan showed no interest in rendering any aid. India sent a telegram to Pakistan stressing that the Indian Government was acceding to the request of the Dewan-Sir Bhutto, but that India still wished to conduct a plebiscite to ascertain the people’s wishes.

In an 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.

Later the world discovered the truth at the heart of the matter, that Junagadh was not an asset but a liability (from the administrative and revenue point of view), nudging Pakistan to lose interest in the State. Nonetheless, Pakistan helped the Nawab to flee from his responsibility and leave the poor and hungry citizens in starvation and at the mercy of fate, while ensuring that he denude the State of all assets and empty the entire contents of the treasury, which was in fact public property, obtained by taxes imposed upon the hardworking people, which should have been rightfully utilized for the welfare of the subjects. In consideration of stealing the huge bounty from the State treasury of Junagadh, in order to fund Pakistan, the Nawab’s son – Mohammed Dilawar Khan was made Governor of Sindh, an elevation dearly purchased by a ransom of blood and sweat of the poor Junagadh people.

Pradeep Kumar is a research scholar on Constitutional Law and writes on Human Rights. He also teaches Law at Mewar University. June L. D Souza LL.B., LL.M is a freelance Journalist based in New Delhi. They can be reached at [email protected].