New Delhi : Many of the larger Princely States tinkered with the idea of remaining independent in the run-up to Independence. The dramatis personae who thought of this third Dominion or Princestan idea were principally the Nawab of Bhopal, Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes, egged on by the Nizam of Hyderabad, Maharaja of Kashmir and Maharaja of Travancore.
The feudal princes were clear in their minds — why join either of the new Dominions on offer, stay out of the ambit. So Hari Singh in Kashmir thought of Dogristan, Nizam in Hyderabad thought Osmanistan, Travancore tried to deal directly with the British using Thorium as the bargaining chip, but Nehru, Sardar Patel and Lord Mountbatten the Viceroy wanted no leeway to be given to them. The Nizam was the richest and he had been accorded the title of His Exalted Highness by the ruling British. Ironically, Hari Singh, a Hindu King, presided over a Muslim majority and the Nizam, a Muslim King, presided over a Hindu majority.
A jittery Nizam of Hyderabad who was living in a dream world of his own tried once again on July 9, 1947, to persuade the Viceroy to come in on his side in his fight to retain Hyderabad’s independence from both the Dominions. He dashed off a fervent and emotional missive to Mountbatten and he made a telling point in his letter, for the door appeared ajar and his understanding showed that he could kick it wide open.
The wily Nizam realised that clause 7 of the Indian Independence Bill gave him and the other bigger states leverage. He was disappointed that the British were choosing to shortchange their loyal subjects bound by treaties for years. Of course he didn’t count for a resolute Patel who would simply not allow such a happening.
“My dear Lord Mountbatten,” the Nizam wrote to the Viceroy, “during the last few days, I have seen clause 7 of the Indian Independence Bill as reported in the Press. I regret that as so happened in recent months, the clause, though it was closely discussed with Indian leaders, was never disclosed to, much less discussed with representatives of my State.
“I was distressed to see that the clause not only contains a unilateral repudiation by the British Government of the Treaties which have for so many years bound my State and my Dynasty to the British, but also appears to contemplate that unless I join one or other of the two Dominions, my State will no longer form part of the British Commonwealth.
“The Treaties by which the British Govt many years ago guaranteed the protection of my State and Dynasty against external aggression and internal disorder have constantly been solemnly confirmed in recent years, notably by Sir Stafford Cripps in 1941. I thought I could safely rely on British arms and the British word. Having been persuaded in consequence right up to the last moment to refrain from increasing my Army and adapting my State factories for the manufacture of arms and equipment, nevertheless repudiation of clause 7 of the Bill has been made not only without my consent but without any consultation with me or my government.”
Leonard Mosley writing in ‘Downfall of the Empire – The Last Days of the British Raj’, says, “As a Princely Order, their day was done and they knew it. They had been swallowed into the belly of India in a few short weeks after centuries of arrogant independence from the rest of the sub-continent. The act of gobbling them up had been a remarkable achievement on the part of India’s strategists … for it was almost bloodless … the Congress Party had two people to thank: Mountbatten for his blandishments and persuasiveness and V.P. Menon for his shrewdness in inventing the tactics and recruiting the Viceroy himself to carry them out.”
It was nothing short of the great double-cross for the Nizam who believed that the Crown Representative — Lord Mountbatten — would protect his interests at all costs. In fact, the Nizam’s belief was that he was double-crossed twice, first when the Crown and its Paramountcy didn’t come to his rescue at the time of Independence, and a second time when he tried remaining defiant and independent and his plans were circumvented by Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon using ‘police action’ to take over Hyderabad. — IANS