Junagadh State Explained

Conventional Long Name:State of Junagadh
Nation:British India
Subdivision:Princely State
Year Start:1730
Event Start:founded
Status:State Within the Maratha Confederacy (1731–1807)
Protectorate of the East India Company (1807–1857)
Princely State of the British Raj (1857–1947)
State of the Dominion of India (1947–1948)
Year End:1948
Event End:Annexation of Junagarh
P1:Maratha Empire
Image Map Caption:Location of Junagarh,
among all districts shown in green
Title Leader:Nawab
Year Leader1:1730– 1758 (first)
Leader1:Mohammad Bahadur Khanji I
Year Leader2:1911–1948 (last)
Leader2:Muhammad Mahabat Khan III
Stat Area1:8643
Stat Year1:1921
Stat Pop1:465,493
Today:Gujarat, India
S1:State of Saurashtra
Flag S1:Flag of India.svg

Junagarh or Junagadh was a princely state in Gujarat[1] ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty in India, which acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan after the Partition of British India. Subsequently, the Union of India annexed Junagadh in 1948, legitimized through a plebiscite held the same year.[2] [3]

Pakistan claims sovereignty over the erstwhile princely state to this day. Pakistan lost claims in 1948.

Junagarh State Council with S Parmar have been entrusted with the erstwhile princely state of Junagarh.

History

Maharaja of Parmar Rajputs had established the State of Junagarh. Muhammad Sher Khan Babai was the founder of the Babi Pashtun dynasty of Junagarh in 1654. His descendants, the Babi Nawabs of Junagarh, conquered large territories in southern Saurashtra.

However, during the collapse of the Mughal Empire, the Babis became involved in a struggle with the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Empire over control of Gujarat during the reign of the local Mohammad Mahabat Khanji I. Mohammad Khan Bahadur Khanji I declared independence from the Mughal governor of Gujarat subah, and founded the state of Junagarh in 1730. This allowed the Babi to retain sovereignty of Junagarh and other princely states. During the reign of his heir Junagarh was a tributary to the Maratha Empire, until it came under British suzerainty in 1807 under Mohammad Hamid Khanji I,[1] following the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

In 1807, Junagarh became a British protectorate and the East India Company took control of the state. By 1818, the Saurashtra area, along with other princely states of Kathiawar, were separately administered under the Kathiawar Agency by British India.

In 1947, during the partition of India, the last Babi dynasty ruler of the state, Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III, decided to accede to the Dominion of Pakistan but Junagarh was annexed by India which was followed by a plebiscite in which the locals voted to stay with India.

Rulers

See main article: Nawab of Junagarh. The Nawabs of Junagarh belonged to Pathan Babi or Babai (Pashtun tribe). They were granted a 13 gun salute by the British authorities:[4]

Koli Rebellion

There was a Koli rebellion in Junagarh by Mansa Khant during the reign of Nawab Sher Khan the first ruler of Junagarh. He was against Mughal Rule. Uparkot Fort was his centre. He made a series of raids into the surrounding villages and cities. Nawab Sher Khan was unsuccessful in suppressing the rebellion. Mansa Khant occupied Uparkot for 13 months and continued to carry out numerous raids mostly in the countryside. Nawab was assisted by the King of Gondal State Thakur Sahib Haloji Jadeja and Arab Jamadar Sheikh Abdullah Zubeidi in his campaign against the rebellion. The combined forces defeated the Khant and captured Uparkot and burnt down the rebellion.[6] [7]

Annexation by India

See main article: Annexation of Junagarh.

In 1947, Shah Nawaz Bhutto joined the council of ministers of Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khan III, and in May became his dewan or prime minister.

With the partition of India in 1947, the princely states were left by the British to decide whether to accede to one of the newly independent Union of India or Dominion of Pakistan, or become a separate country.[8]

The Constitutional Advisor to the Nawab, Nabi Baksh, indicated to Lord Mountbatten that he was recommending that Junagarh should join India. However, upon the advice of Dewan Bhutto, on 15 August 1947, the Nawab announced that Junagarh had acceded to Pakistan. On 16 September, the Government of Pakistan accepted the accession.[9]

India sent its military into Junagarh while the Nawab of Junagarh was in Pakistan and captured the State of Junagarh. The Annexation of Junagarh by India led the[10] Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khan III of Junagarh (of the erstwhile Babi Nawab dynasty of Junagarh) to continue to live in Sindh, Pakistan.[11]

Pakistan's claim

Pakistan's government has maintained its territorial claim on Junagadh, along with Manavadar and Sir Creek in Gujarat, on its official political maps.[12] [13] [14]

List of rulers

Rulers

The rulers were titled 'Maharaja'. They had the right to an 13 gun salute.

Junagarh State Council with S Parmar have been entrusted with the erstwhile princely state of Junagarh.

See also

External links

21.52°N 70.47°W

Notes and References

  1. Junagarh . 15 . 554–555.
  2. Book: Collins, Larry . Freedom at Midnight . Vikas Publishing House . 2011 . 978-8125931867 . Seventh . 556–557 . English.
  3. Web site: 2020-08-05 . Explained: When Junagadh voted to join India, and Pakistan got just 91 votes . 2023-07-17 . The Indian Express . en.
  4. Web site: JUNAGADH. Henry. Soszynski. 27 June 2014. 20 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170520212059/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/j/junagadh.html. dead.
  5. http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=019PHO0000002S6U00070000 Nawabs of Junagarh
  6. Book: Swaminarayan Hinduism: Tradition, Adaptation, and Identity. Williams. Raymond Brady. Trivedi. Yogi. 12 May 2016. Oxford University Press. 9780199089598. en.
  7. Web site: KOLIS: A FRINGE CATEGORY. shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in. 1 January 2019.
  8. Copland . Ian . 1991 . The Princely States, the Muslim League, and the Partition of India in 1947 . The International History Review . 13 . 1 . 38–69 . 10.1080/07075332.1991.9640572 . 40106322 . 0707-5332. subscription .
  9. Book: Menon, V. P. . The Story of Integration of the Indian States . Orient Longman . 1956 . 85–87.
  10. Gandhi, Rajmohan (1991). Patel: A Life. India: Navajivan. p. 292.
  11. Web site: Welcome to Junagadh Municipal Corporation . 5 July 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130225220311/http://www.junagadhmunicipal.org/history.php . 25 February 2013 . dead .
  12. Devirupa Mitra, Pakistan Objects to India's Map Bill But its Own 2014 Law Regulates Geospatial Data Too, The Wire, 18 May 2016.
  13. Philip Jagessar, Pakistan, India and mapping the contested accession of South Asia’s princely states, University of Nottingham, 3 October 2019.
  14. News: After Nepal, Pakistan unveils new political map; Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh claimed, India retorts . The Himalayan Times . 4 August 2020 . 4 August 2020.