Congress and Princely States Movements

The relationship between the Indian National Congress (INC) and the popular political movements in the princely states evolved from a policy of strict non-intervention to complete strategic integration. While the INC initially focused its organizational energies on directly ruled British Indian provinces, the rise of local Praja Mandals (States People’s Conferences) across native monarchies eventually compelled the national leadership to embrace these struggles. Covering nearly two-fifths of the subcontinent’s land area across more than 500 princely domains, the popular agitations against feudal autocracy and British Paramountcy became vital to achieving full national independence and geographic integration.

Evolution of Congress Policy Toward Princely States

Phase of Non-Intervention (1920–1937)

• Nagpur Session (1920): The INC permitted residents of princely states to enroll as individual members of the Congress party. However, it explicitly banned the creation of official Congress committees within princely territories to avoid direct political conflicts with native rulers.
• Rationales for Early Distance: Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi argued that state subjects needed to develop self-reliance rather than depend on external intervention. The party also aimed to prevent a dual-front conflict involving both the British Raj and indigenous princes.
• 1927 All India States’ People’s Conference (AISPC): Local activists formed the AISPC in Bombay to coordinate independent Praja Mandal campaigns across states, filling the organizational void left by the INC’s non-intervention stance.

Phase of Active Engagement (1938–1947)

• Haripura Session (1938): Presided over by Subhash Chandra Bose, the INC declared that the political freedom of princely state subjects was inseparable from the independence of British India. It granted full moral support to Praja Mandal struggles while still restricting official Congress units from conducting satyagraha in native states.
• Tripuri Session (1939): The INC formally removed restrictions on direct intervention, allowing active involvement in state agitations.
• Ludhiana AISPC Session (1939): Jawaharlal Nehru assumed the presidency of the AISPC, effectively merging the political objectives of the Congress with the Praja Mandal network.

Key Stages of Policy Transformation

Major Regional Movements and Mass Agitations

Key Local Agitations

• Mysore State (1938): Activists organized the Shivapura Flag Satyagraha. Police firing at Vidurashwatha killed 32 protesters, leading to the 1939 Mirza-Patel Pact between Dewan Mirza Ismail and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• Rajkot State (1938–1939): Sardar Patel and Kasturba Gandhi led protests against the ruler’s breach of constitutional reform promises, prompting Mahatma Gandhi to observe a four-day fast in March 1939.
• Hyderabad State (1938–1948): The Nizam banned the Hyderabad State Congress upon its inception in 1938. Under Swami Ramanand Tirth, the organization resisted Razakar violence and led the 1947 “Join India” campaign.
• Travancore State (1938–1947): The Travancore State Congress combated Dewan C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar’s autocracy and his 1947 plan to declare an independent sovereign state.
• Jammu and Kashmir (1946): Sheikh Abdullah’s National Conference launched the “Quit Kashmir” movement against Maharaja Hari Singh, demanding the abrogation of the 1846 Treaty of Amritsar.

Strategic Role in National Integration

The popular mobilization built by local Praja Mandals provided the political base required for integration after 1947. When British Paramountcy lapsed under Section 7 of the Indian Independence Act, rulers held theoretical options to claim independence. Widespread democratic agitation organized by AISPC affiliates made independent monarchical rule unviable, providing Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and States Ministry Secretary V.P. Menon the popular leverage necessary to secure accession agreements.

Facts for Revision

• The All India States’ People’s Conference (AISPC) was established in December 1927 in Bombay by Balwantrai Mehta, Maniklal Kothari, and G.R. Abhyankar.
• Jawaharlal Nehru served as the President of the AISPC continuously from 1939 to 1946.
• Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as the President of the AISPC in 1946.
• The Jaipur Praja Mandal, established in 1931 by Kapoori Chand Patni, was the first Praja Mandal formed in Rajasthan.
• The 1938 police firing on protesters at Vidurashwatha in Mysore State is historically remembered as the “Jallianwala Bagh of the South.”
• Sir Maurice Gwyer, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of India, served as the arbitrator in the 1939 Rajkot Satyagraha dispute.
• The AISPC formally dissolved itself on April 25, 1948, merging its regional units into the Indian National Congress.
• The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference was the only constituent unit of the AISPC that chose not to merge into the Indian National Congress in 1948.