The curious case of Jodhpur’s accession

AIn June 1947, with the transfer of power and the Partition of India looming on the horizon, Maharaja Hanvant Singh ascended the throne of Jodhpur. His predecessor had been very clear about joining India and Jodhpur had taken its place in the Constituent Assembly. But the new king was young, inexperienced, and naive. Seeing things only from Jodhpur’s point of view, and forgetting the larger picture — India — he began to falter in his commitment to the new Union of India being forged by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and VP Menon. Plus, Jodhpur was contiguous with Pakistan. The Maharaja reckoned that Pakistan might give him a better “deal”. This was just the cue Mohammed Ali Jinnah wanted. Having got his Pakistan, he now turned his attention to annexing princely states to the new country. 

Here religion suddenly made no difference. A Karachi–Jodhpur–Bhopal axis was planned— “a dagger thrust into India’s heart”, as described later by Patel. The Nawabs of Bhopal and Junagadh were known partisans of Jinnah and his two-nation theory. Sensing that Jodhpur was looking for certain concessions, the Nawab of Bhopal — Sir Hamidullah Khan — called on Maharaja Hanvant Singh and told him that where even Bhopal and Junagadh had not got any special concessions from the State Department, what hope could Jodhpur have? Lured by the Nawabs, Hanvant Singh met Jinnah a few days later at Delhi. Once there, Jinnah promised him the moon. Free access to the Karachi port was granted, as was jurisdiction over a railway line stretching from Jodhpur to Sindh. Arms manufacturing and importing was permitted, and a large supply of grain would be sent to Jodhpur in case of famine. Jinnah is reported to have given the Maharaja a signed blank sheet of paper to list all his demands. 

The Maharaja was a happy man. He tried to convince Jaisalmer and Udaipur to also join. Udaipur declared that the house had never faltered in its history, and it would not do so now, on the cusp of independence. KM Pannikar, the Dewan of Bikaner, sensed the brewing danger and sounded it out to Sardar Patel. Patel could see the risks in Jodhpur acceding to Pakistan. It was a border state. It was the third-largest princely state, and smaller ones like Jaisalmer and Bikaner might be induced to follow suit if Jinnah succeeded here. Worse, there could be an India-wide ripple effect. Sardar Patel met Hanvant Singh and assured him that importing arms would be allowed. Further, India would take responsibility for supplying grain if needed. Plans for linking Jodhpur to Kathiawar by rail were also discussed. Thus, Jinnah’s blank cheque was quickly negated.

After the carrots, came the more important warnings. The Sardar told the young king that he was, as far as legalities were concerned, free to accede to Pakistan. But, if there was to be any communal trouble in Jodhpur after its accession to Pakistan, or if Pakistan tried to interfere in Jodhpur’s internal affairs, India would be in no position to help. The young Maharaja would be left to fend for himself. Given that there was a very strong possibility of a communal flare-up in the Hindu-majority Jodhpur in the event of its eventual accession to Pakistan, Hanvant Singh faltered. And why talk of only possibilities? Were not the Punjab and Bengal riots already in full swing? To throw Jodhpur into the cauldron was to add ghee to the fire. The insecurity of Jodhpur’s own jagirdars and chieftains at being in a Muslim majority country also weighed in. Hanvant Singh could now see that his best interests lay in joining India. On August 11, merely four days prior to Independence, Jodhpur signed the Instrument of Accession. Even on that fateful day, there was drama — the Maharaja pulled out his revolver and threatened to shoot VP Menon. Fortunately, he calmed down. After this, Maharaja Hanvant Singh became a vocal supporter of Patel and aided in the peaceful merger of many other Rajput States.

Aneesh Gokhale is the author of two books — ‘Sahyadris to Hindukush’ and ‘Brahmaputra — The Story of Lachit Barphukan’. He tweets @authoraneesh