Responsible Government Demand in Princely States

The demand for responsible government in Indian princely states was a political movement aimed at replacing autocratic monarchical rule with elected, accountable administrations under the overarching sovereignty of native rulers. Princely states comprised two-fifths of India’s land area and one-third of its population across more than 500 territories. While residents of British Indian provinces progressively secured representative institutions through constitutional reforms, subjects of princely states lacked basic democratic mechanisms. People organized local political units called Praja Mandals and Praja Parishads to demand legislative assemblies, independent judiciaries, universal adult suffrage, and an end to feudal cesses.

Catalysts and Drivers of the Movement

Political Disparity with British Provinces

• British Indian provinces received partial representative setups under the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 and the Government of India Act of 1935.
• Princely state rulers maintained absolute executive, legislative, and judicial powers backed by British Paramountcy.
• Native monarchs used colonial military protection to suppress internal political dissent and calls for reform.

Agrarian Distress and Feudal Cesses

• Peasant communities faced heavy land revenue burdens alongside extra-constitutional cesses called Lag-Bag.
• Administrations routinely extracted forced unpaid labor known as Begar, Veth, or Bethi for state works and royal hunts.
• State monopolies on daily commodities like salt, grain, and forest produce restricted traditional rural livelihoods.

Evolution of Congress Stance on Princely States

Non-Intervention Era (1920–1937)

• The Nagpur Session of 1920 permitted princely state residents to register as individual Congress members.
• The Indian National Congress forbade setting up official party committees inside princely states to avoid a dual-front struggle against both British authorities and native rulers.
• Local political activists formed independent organizations like the Rajasthan Seva Sangh (1919) and Kathiawar Political Conference (1921) to address local grievances.

Active Support Era (1938–1947)

• The Haripura Session of 1938, chaired by Subhash Chandra Bose, declared the freedom of princely state subjects integral to national independence.
• The Tripuri Session of 1939 removed operational bans on direct political agitation within native states.
• Jawaharlal Nehru became President of the All India States’ People’s Conference (AISPC) in 1939, bringing complete coordination between the Congress and Praja Mandals.

Major State-Level Struggles for Responsible Government

Key Praja Mandal Organizations and Outcomes

Role in National Integration

The widespread demand for responsible government created strong democratic pressure within princely domains. When British Paramountcy lapsed under Section 7 of the Indian Independence Act of 1947, rulers received theoretical choices to declare independence or accede to either dominion. Popular mobilization led by local Praja Mandals made autocratic ruler rule politically impossible. This popular support provided essential leverage to Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and States Ministry Secretary V.P. Menon during negotiations, securing accessions via Instruments of Accession and merger agreements.

Facts for Quick Revision

• The All India States’ People’s Conference (AISPC) was established in December 1927 at Bombay.
• Balwantrai Mehta, Maniklal Kothari, and G.R. Abhyankar were key founding figures of the AISPC.
• The Jaipur Praja Mandal was established in 1931 by Kapoori Chand Patni as the first Praja Mandal in Rajasthan.
• The police firing on peaceful protesters at Vidurashwatha in Mysore state on April 25, 1938, killed 32 people and is known as the Jallianwala Bagh of the South.
• Sir Maurice Gwyer, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of India, acted as arbitrator in the 1939 Rajkot Satyagraha dispute.
• Twelve-year-old Baji Rout was killed by British troops in Dhenkanal State in October 1938 after refusing to ferry soldiers across the Brahmani River.
• The Swaraj Constitution of Aundh State (1939) was drafted under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi, establishing a decentralized Panchayat democracy.
• Jawaharlal Nehru served as President of the AISPC continuously from 1939 to 1946.
• Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as President of the AISPC in 1946.
• The mass exodus of over 60,000 peasants from Talcher State in 1938 to protest royal cesses was called Hijrat.
• Nilgiri State in Odisha became the first princely state taken over by the Government of India on November 14, 1947.
• The AISPC formally dissolved itself on April 25, 1948, merging its regional Praja Mandals into the Indian National Congress.
• The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference was the sole AISPC constituent unit that chose not to merge into the Indian National Congress in 1948.