| Conventional Long Name: | Patiala and East Punjab States Union |
| Common Name: | PEPSU |
| Subdivision: | State |
| Nation: | India |
| Government Type: | Democracy |
| Title Leader: | Governor |
| Title Deputy: | Chief Minister |
| Legislature: | Patiala and East Punjab States Union Legislative Assembly |
| Type House1: | Unicameral |
| Capital: | Patiala |
| Today: | India |
| Year Start: | 1948 |
| Year End: | 1956 |
| Event Start: | State Established |
| Date Start: | 15 July |
| Event End: | State Disestablished |
| Date End: | 1 November |
| Flag: | India |
| Symbol: | Emblem of Punjab, India |
| Image Map Caption: | 1951 map of India. The Patiala and East Punjab States Union is shown forming enclaves in East Punjab. |
| P1: | Punjab States Agency |
| S1: | Punjab, India |
| Stat Area1: | 26208 |
| Stat Year1: | 1951 |
| Stat Pop1: | 3493685 |
| S2: | Haryana, India |
| S3: | Himachal Pradesh, India |
| S4: | Chandigarh |
The Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was a state of India, uniting eight princely states between 1948 and 1956. The capital and principal city was Patiala. The state covered an area of 26,208 km2. Shimla, Kasauli, Kandaghat and Chail also became part of PEPSU.
It was created by combining eight princely states, which maintained their native rulers :
The state was inaugurated on 15 July 1948 and formally became a state of India in 1950.
On 1 November 1956, PEPSU was merged mostly into Punjab State following the States Reorganisation Act.[1]
A part of the former state of PEPSU, including the present day Jind district and the Narnaul tehsil in north Haryana as well as the Loharu tehsil, Charkhi Dadri district and Mahendragarh district in southwest Haryana, presently lie within the state of Haryana, which was separated from Punjab on 1 November 1966. Some other areas that belonged to PEPSU, notably Solan and Nalagarh, now lie in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
| No | Portrait | Name | Term of office | Time in office | Party | Assembly (Election) | Appointed by | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | ||||||||||||||
| Premier (1948–1952) | |||||||||||||||
| bgcolor=wheat | - | bgcolor=wheat | bgcolor=wheat | Gian Singh Rarewala | bgcolor=wheat | 15 July 1948 | bgcolor=wheat | 13 January 1949 | bgcolor=wheat | IND | Not Yet Created | Yadavindra Singh | |||
| 1 | Gian Singh Rarewala | 13 January 1949 | 23 May 1951 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | bgcolor= | Raghbir Singh | 23 May 1951 | 21 April 1952 | Indian National Congress | ||||||||||
| Chief Minister (1952–1956) | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | bgcolor= | Raghbir Singh | 21 April 1952 | 22 April 1952 | Indian National Congress | 1st (1952) | Yadavindra Singh | ||||||||
| 2 | Gian Singh Rarewala | 22 April 1952 | 5 March 1953 | IND | |||||||||||
| (i) | Vacant (President's rule) | 5 March 1953 | 8 March 1954 | - | Rajendra Prasad | ||||||||||
| (1) | Raghbir Singh | 8 March 1954 | 12 January 1955 | Indian National Congress | 2nd (1954) | Yadavindra Singh | |||||||||
| 3 | Brish Bhan | 12 January 1955 | 1 November 1956 | ||||||||||||
| Sr. No. | Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political Party | Chief Minister | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brish Bhan | 23 May 1951 | 21 April 1952 | Indian National Congress | Raghbir Singh | ||
| 8 March 1954 | 12 January 1955 | ||||||
When the state was formed, the then-Maharaja of Patiala, Yadavindra Singh, was appointed its Rajpramukh (equivalent to Governor). He remained in office during the entire length of the state's short existence. The then Maharaja of Kapurthala, Jagatjit Singh, served as Uparajpramukh (lieutenant-governor).
Gian Singh Rarewala was sworn in on 13 January 1949 as the first Chief Minister of PEPSU. Col. Raghbir Singh became the next Chief Minister on 23 May 1951, and Brish Bhan the Deputy Chief Minister.[2]
The state elected a 60-member state legislative assembly on 6 January 1952. The Congress Party won 26 seats and the Akali Dal won 19 seats.
On 22 April 1952, Gian Singh Rarewala again became Chief Minister, this time an elected one. He led a coalition government, called the "United Front", formed by the Akali Dal and various independents. On 5 March 1953 his government was dismissed and President's rule was imposed on the state.[3] In the mid-term poll that followed, the Congress party secured a majority and Raghbir Singh became Chief Minister on 8 March 1954. Upon his death, Brish Bhan became the Chief Minister on 12 January 1955 and remained in office as last incumbent.
Initially, in 1948, the state was divided into the following eight districts:
In 1953, the number of districts was reduced from eight to five. Barnala district became part of Sangrur district and Kohistan and Fatehgarh districts became part of Patiala district.[4]
There were four Lok Sabha constituencies in this state. Three of them were single-seat constituency: Mohindergarh, Sangrur and Patiala. The Kapurthala-Bhatinda Lok Sabha constituency was a double-seat constituency.
The state had a population of 3,493,685 (1951 census), of which 19% was urban. The population density was 133/km2.[5]