Princely states of Pakistan: Difference between revisions
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==The options of the princes== |
==The options of the princes== |
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With the withdrawal of the British from the [[Indian subcontinent]], in August 1947, the [[Indian Independence Act 1947|Indian Independence Act]] provided that the hundreds of princely states which had existed alongside but outside [[British India]] were released from all their [[subsidiary alliance]]s and other treaty obligations to the British. They were left to decide whether to accede to one of the newly independent states of [[Dominion of India|India]] or Pakistan (formed initially from the British possessions) or to remain independent outside both.<ref>[[Ishtiaq Ahmed (political scientist)|Ishtiaq Ahmed]], ''State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia'' (London & New York, 1998), p. 99</ref> Only two rulers acceded to Pakistan in the first month of its independence, August 1947, while the others considered what to do, but most of those states with a Muslim majority population had acceded to Pakistan within a year, prompted in several cases by the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]]. |
With the withdrawal of the British from the [[Indian subcontinent]], in August 1947, the [[Indian Independence Act 1947|Indian Independence Act]] provided that the hundreds of princely states which had existed alongside but outside [[British India]] were released from all their [[subsidiary alliance]]s and other treaty obligations to the British. They were left to decide whether to accede to one of the newly independent states of [[Dominion of India|India]] or Pakistan (formed initially from the British possessions) or to remain independent outside both.<ref>[[Ishtiaq Ahmed (political scientist)|Ishtiaq Ahmed]], ''State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia'' (London & New York, 1998), p. 99</ref> Only two rulers acceded to Pakistan in the first month of its independence, August 1947, while the others considered what to do, but most of those states with a Muslim majority population had acceded to Pakistan within a year, prompted in several cases by the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947]]. That conflict was precipitated by the major exception to the destiny of Muslim-majority states: the ruler of [[Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)|Kashmir and Jammu]], [[Hari Singh]], himself a Hindu and a former member of the [[Imperial War Cabinet]], kept his state outside both new Dominions until events persuaded him to accede not to Pakistan but to India.<ref>Shiv R. Jhawar, ''Building a Noble World'' (2004), p. 42</ref> |
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The [[Instrument of Accession|Instruments of Accession]] made available for the rulers to sign transferred only limited powers to the Dominion of Pakistan, namely external relations, defence, and communications; in most cases signing was believed to leave the states in the position they had had under the [[suzerainty]] of the British Crown. The [[Wali of Swat]] commented that the states' accession "did not change very much".<ref>Martin Axmann, ''Back to the future: the Khanate of Kalat and the genesis of Baluch Nationalism 1915-1955'' (2008), p. 273</ref> However, within a generation all of the princely states had lost their internal autonomy. The last to fall were [[Hunza (princely state)|Hunza]] and [[Nagar (princely state)|Nagar]], in October 1974.<ref>Lindsay Brown, Paul Clammer, Rodney Cocks, ''Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway'' (2008), p. 296</ref> |
The [[Instrument of Accession|Instruments of Accession]] made available for the rulers to sign transferred only limited powers to the Dominion of Pakistan, namely external relations, defence, and communications; in most cases signing was believed to leave the states in the position they had had under the [[suzerainty]] of the British Crown. The [[Wali of Swat]] commented that the states' accession "did not change very much".<ref>Martin Axmann, ''Back to the future: the Khanate of Kalat and the genesis of Baluch Nationalism 1915-1955'' (2008), p. 273</ref> However, within a generation all of the princely states had lost their internal autonomy. The last to fall were [[Hunza (princely state)|Hunza]] and [[Nagar (princely state)|Nagar]], in October 1974.<ref>Lindsay Brown, Paul Clammer, Rodney Cocks, ''Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway'' (2008), p. 296</ref> |
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Revision as of 03:11, 30 September 2013
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The Princely states of Pakistan were former princely states of the British Indian Empire which acceded to the new Dominion of Pakistan between 1947 and 1948, following the partition of British India.
The options of the princes
With the withdrawal of the British from the Indian subcontinent, in August 1947, the Indian Independence Act provided that the hundreds of princely states which had existed alongside but outside British India were released from all their subsidiary alliances and other treaty obligations to the British. They were left to decide whether to accede to one of the newly independent states of India or Pakistan (formed initially from the British possessions) or to remain independent outside both.[1] Only two rulers acceded to Pakistan in the first month of its independence, August 1947, while the others considered what to do, but most of those states with a Muslim majority population had acceded to Pakistan within a year, prompted in several cases by the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. That conflict was precipitated by the major exception to the destiny of Muslim-majority states: the ruler of Kashmir and Jammu, Hari Singh, himself a Hindu and a former member of the Imperial War Cabinet, kept his state outside both new Dominions until events persuaded him to accede not to Pakistan but to India.[2]
The Instruments of Accession made available for the rulers to sign transferred only limited powers to the Dominion of Pakistan, namely external relations, defence, and communications; in most cases signing was believed to leave the states in the position they had had under the suzerainty of the British Crown. The Wali of Swat commented that the states' accession "did not change very much".[3] However, within a generation all of the princely states had lost their internal autonomy. The last to fall were Hunza and Nagar, in October 1974.[4]
Attempt by Junagadh to accede
The princely state of Junagadh had a mostly Hindu population but a Muslim ruler, Muhammad Mahabat Khan III, and in August 1947 he decided to accede to Pakistan, the first ruler of a state to do so. The Nawab's dewan, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, delivered the Instrument of Accession to Jinnah in person, and on 13 September Jinnah accepted the accession. However, on 9 November the Indian Army invaded and occupied the state.[5] They installed a new governor and arranged a referendum on the status of the state, which took place on 20 February 1948 and voted overwhelmingly for union with India.[6] Despite this outcome, the use of Indian force added to the huge tension which already existed between the two new dominions.
The princely states in Pakistan
Swat
The Wāli of Swat, Miangul Abdul Wadud, became the first ruler successfully to accede his state to Pakistan, in August 1947.[7] The last Wali, Miangul Jahan Zeb (1908–1987), continued to exercise absolute rule until 1969, when Pakistan took control after local unrest.[8]
Bahawalpur
On 5 October 1947 the Nawab (or Ameer) of Bahawalpur, Sadeq Mohammad Khan V, acceded his state to Pakistan, becoming the second ruler to do so successfully. As tens of thousands of Muslim refugees flooded into the state from the new India, the Ameer of Bahawalpur Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Fund was instituted to provide for their relief. In 1953, the Ameer of Bahawalpur represented Pakistan at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who was also the new Queen of Pakistan. In 1955 he signed an agreement with General Ghulam Muhammad Malik under which Bahawalpur became part of the province of West Pakistan, with effect from 14 October 1955, and the Ameer received a yearly stipend of 32 lakhs of rupees, keeping his titles.
Hunza
Hunza was a small princely state to the north of Jammu and Kashmir, technically subordinate to the Maharajah of Kashmir. On 3 November 1947, the Mir of Hunza, Mohammad Jamal Khan (1912-1976), sent a telegram to Jinnah acceding his state to Pakistan.[9] This action came one week after the decision by Hari Singh, Maharajah of Kashmir, to accede to India. On 27 October Indian Army troops had moved into Kashmir.
On 25 September 1974, following local protests, the Mir's rule came to an end when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, abolished his government and annexed the state to the Northern Areas of Pakistan, under the federal government. Two years after his forced abdication the Mir died.
Nagar
Late in 1947 Nagar, another small valley state to the north of Kashmir, and one which shared the language and culture of Hunza, also acceded to Pakistan. In 1968 Syed Yahya Shah, a politician of the valley, demanded civil rights from the Mir of Nagar. When the Pakistan People's Party under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto came to power, the new government forced the Mir of Nagar to abdicate, as with the Mir of Hunza, and like Hunza Nagar was merged into the Northern Areas.
Amb
Also in 1947, Muhammad Farid Khan, Nawab of Amb, acceded to Pakistan. Amb continued to be state within Pakistan until 1969, when following the death of the Nawab it was incorporated into the North West Frontier Province (now known as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa). In 1971 recognition of the royal status of the Nawabs by the Government of Pakistan came to an end.
Phulra
Phulra was a tiny princely state near Amb, with a population of about 7,000. In 1947, its last ruler acceded to Pakistan, and in 1949 the state came to an end when it was merged into the North West Frontier Province.[10]
Chitral
The ruler of Chitral, Muzaffar ul-Mulk, died soon after acceding. In 1948 his son, Saif ur-Rahman, was exiled by the Government of Pakistan for six years, and it appointed a board of administration to govern the state in his absence. Saif ur-Rahman died in a plane crash while returning to take charge of Chitral in 1954, leaving an infant ruler, Mehtar. In 1969 Yahya Khan decided to fully integrate the state into the Republic of Pakistan, and Mehtar agreed to take up a diplomatic career.
Dir
In 1947, the Nawab of Dir, Jahan Khan, sent troops to support Pakistan in the First Kashmir War, and in 1948 he acceded his state to Pakistan. In 1961 Yahya exiled Jahan Khan and made his son Mohammad Shah Khosru Khan, a Major General in the Pakistan Army, the Nawab, but the real control passed to the state's Political Agent. On 28 July 1969, the state of Dir was incorporated into Pakistan.
Khanate of Kalat
The Khanate of Kalat, which covered a substantial area, remained independent from 15 August 1947 to 27 March 1948, when its ruler acceded to Pakistan. The Baluchistan States Union was formed on 3 October 1952 with three neighbouring states, Kharan, Las Bela, and Makran, and with the Khan of Kalat at its head, with the title of Khan-e-Azam. The Khanate came to an end on 14 October 1955 when it was incorporated into West Pakistan.
Emirate of Khayrpur
The state of Khayrpur, ruled by Amir Ali Murad II, acceded to Pakistan. In 1950 the Amir introduced a form of democracy, with universal adult franchise. The royal privileges of the Amir were abolished in 1972, in violation of the merger agreement.
Kharan
On 21 March 1948, the ruler of Kharan, together with those of Makran and Lasbela, all announced that they were acceding to Pakistan.[11] On 3 October 1952 Kharan joined the Baluchistan States Union, and on 14 October 1955 it came to an end and was incorporated into the new province of West Pakistan. After that was dissolved in 1970, the area of the former state was organised as the Kharan District of the province of Balochistan.
Las Bela
After Las Bela's ruler Ghulam Qadir Khan acceded to Pakistan in March 1948,[11] the state was a member of the Baluchistan States Union from 3 October 1952 to 14 October 1955, but it retained its internal autonomy. That came to an end in 1955, when Las Bela was incorporated into the new West Pakistan province and became part of the Kalat division. In 1962, Las Bela was detached from West Pakistan and merged with the Federal Capital Territory to form Karachi-Bela. In 1970, it became the Lasbela District of the new province of Balochistan.
Makran
On 21 March 1948, Makran acceded to Pakistan[11] and on 3 October 1952 it formed the Baluchistan States Union with Kalat, Kharan and Las Bela. Makran was dissolved on 14 October 1955 when it was merged into the province of West Pakistan. In 1970, the area of the former state was organized as the Makran District (later the Makran Division) of the province of Baluchistan.
See also
Notes
- ^ Ishtiaq Ahmed, State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia (London & New York, 1998), p. 99
- ^ Shiv R. Jhawar, Building a Noble World (2004), p. 42
- ^ Martin Axmann, Back to the future: the Khanate of Kalat and the genesis of Baluch Nationalism 1915-1955 (2008), p. 273
- ^ Lindsay Brown, Paul Clammer, Rodney Cocks, Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway (2008), p. 296
- ^ Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto at bhutto.org, accessed 28 September 2013
- ^ Srinath Raghavan, War and Peace in Modern India (2010), p. 63
- ^ Office of the Census Commissioner, Pakistan, Population Census of Pakistan, 1961: Census Report of Tribal Agencies (1961), p. 1/34
- ^ Brown, Clammer, & Cocks (2008), p. 209
- ^ Z. H. Zaidi, ed., Jinnah Papers: The states: Historical and Policy Perspectives and Accession to Pakistan, vol. VIII (Quaid-i-Azam Papers Project, Government of Pakistan, 2003), p. 113
- ^ Sir Terence Creagh Coen, The Indian Political Service: A Study in Indirect Rule (1971), p. 144
- ^ a b c Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir Ethnic Movements (Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series, 2012), p. 60: "The rulers of the states of Kharan, Makran and Lasbela announced their decision to join the Pakistan dominion on 21 March 1948 and their respective rulers signed the official documents."