In the chaotic days after India’s partition in 1947, the new nations of India and Pakistan faced huge hurdles, especially integrating over 500 princely states. These states could join either country or stay independent, but most picked based on location and their people’s religion. A few sparked major fights, and Junagadh in western India became one of the first big flashpoints, foreshadowing the bigger clash over Jammu and Kashmir.
Junagadh had a twist: More than 80% of its people were Hindu, but a Muslim ruler, Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III, ran the show. Advised by his dewan, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the nawab chose to join Pakistan on August 15, 1947. Pakistan accepted on September 12. But the state sat deep inside Indian territory, surrounded by areas that had joined India. This move ignored the Hindu majority’s wishes and risked splitting the Kathiawar region’s economy.
India pushed back hard. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru saw it as a threat to India’s borders and unity. On September 12, Nehru wired Pakistan’s leader, Liaquat Ali Khan, saying India would never accept this “encroachment on our sovereignty.” Pakistan fired back, defending the ruler’s right to choose.
Tensions boiled over in mid-September. India’s cabinet decided to fight the accession with economic steps and troops near the borders. Pakistan claimed on September 19 that armed groups from India were gearing up to invade and stir trouble.
That’s when India sent a key message: Telegram 34-GG on September 21, 1947. From India’s External Affairs Ministry to Pakistan’s, it laid out India’s firm stance. First, it shot down Pakistan’s invasion claims as “entirely baseless,” positioning India as the defender of peace. Second, it stressed the people’s will, citing “overwhelming evidence” that Junagadh’s residents wanted to stay with India. This highlighted India’s push for popular choice here, even if it contrasted with its support for a ruler’s decision in Kashmir.
The telegram also backed a new group called the Arzi Hukumat—a provisional government set up by locals in Bombay, led by Samaldas Gandhi. India called it a genuine uprising against the nawab’s call, giving the movement real weight to challenge his rule.
Finally, it warned Pakistan: India couldn’t tolerate forcing a state with a non-Muslim majority into Pakistan against the people’s desires. The message urged Pakistan to reverse course to avoid trouble, blending diplomacy with a subtle threat.
Pakistan didn’t budge. The next day, September 22, it called the accession “final and irrevocable” and said any meddling would mean war. India ramped up pressure with an economic blockade, cutting off food and supplies to Junagadh. Troops moved in to “restore order,” while the Arzi Hukumat took control of outlying areas.
By late October, the nawab fled to Pakistan as the economy crumbled. On November 8, his dewan asked India to step in. Indian forces entered on November 9. In February 1948, a plebiscite showed most people voted to join India.
The Junagadh crisis, captured in that September 21 telegram, exposed the raw nerves in early India-Pakistan ties. India focused on geography, the people’s voice, and economic sense. Pakistan stuck to the legal right of Muslim rulers to join them, eyeing ways to expand on religious lines. This clash of views—ruler’s power versus democracy—mirrored the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Looking back, Junagadh set the tone for decades of suspicion and standoffs between the two neighbors. It showed how partition’s wounds ran deep, turning simple choices into battles that shaped South Asia’s history.
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