Owing to its vast expanse, the proposals for three-state division of UP were floated initially; addition of the fourth in 2011 further layered the...

Nizam’s Firmans represented just one aspect; a whole lot of diverse factors including language, religion, ideology and quest for power were shaping...

Eventually, the possibility of accession to Pakistan was ruled out, and what rolled out was an ineffective Standstill Agreement that paved the way...

In the first of the two-part series, we discuss how despite having a stronghold over the Muslim faction, the Nizam’s proposal of joining Pakistan was...

Indore and Gwalior conceded, rather reluctantly, to merge into a single union despite having a hostile history towards each other

Geographically fragmented regions of Kathiawar opted to be merged into a united state which would be called Saurashtra

Maharaja Pratap Singh failed utterly to provide leadership towards integration of smaller Gujarat states into the Union — a gap that necessitated...

Following thew previous article, this week we discuss the formation of Part-C states of Tripura, Manipur, Vindhya Pradesh, Coorg and Delhi

Integration of princely states was clubbed in Part-A, Part-B and Part-C states — the last of which saw the popular movement for merger with...

Last week, we discussed the integration of the princely states with the Republic of India – a Herculean task indeed for it was like putting cheese and...

Princely states in British India were accorded hierarchical significance through cannon salutes, depending upon their fealty to the crown

Building on the first part wherein dissatisfaction with ‘United Provinces’ was highlighted, this part shows how a new name came out of the blue,...