| Freedom Fighters |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
SARDAR PATEL |
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| The Architect of
Integrity There were more than 600 states in India at that time. Except a few they were small states.Some of the Maharajas and Nawabs who ruled over these were sensible and patriotic. But most of them were drunk with wealth and power. They were dreaming of becoming independent rulers once the British quit India. They argued that the government of free India should treat them as equals. Some of them went to the extent of planning to send their representatives to the United Nations Organization. If these states had not become a part of free India there would have been many problems. India would have had to take their permission for trains to pass through their states. If inter-state rivers flowed through these states, India would have had to seek their permission to use the waters. Their permission would have been needed to build dams. And, in the event of a war between India and any other country, how would these 600 states behave? Whom would they support? It was impossible to tell. These 600 states would have been 600 sores in the body of India. The question of one of them, Kashmir, was not settled immediately; even now Pakistan occupies a part of that state. This is still a headache to India. If the problem of the states had not been solved quickly, there would have been several problems like that of Kashmir. "if we unite, we can soon make this country prosperous. Come and join us. Cooperate with us," so Sardar invited the rulers even before Independence Day. He also warned them: "If you do not join us before the 15th of August, thereafter the position will be different. You may not then get the consideration and the concessions you now get." Patel also met a number of rulers and held discussions with them. As a result, a number of patriotic rulers joined the Indian Union. |
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