Muhammad Mahabat Khan III - The Accession Conflict

The Accession Conflict

At the time of Indian independence in 1947, all of the princely states were ordered to accede to either of the two dominions of India or Pakistan. Although by August 15, 1947, most of these states had chosen to accede to India, Junagadh's nawab, Mahabat Khan decided to merge his state with Pakistan.

Junagadh's population was predominantly Hindu, with the Muslim population accounting for only about a fifth of the its total population. The Nawab decided to accede to Pakistan on 15 August 1947, although the state was surrounded by India on three sides. There was no land border with Pakistan. With Pakistan's acceptance of Junagadh's accession on 13 September, the Indian government took drastic action, inducing two of the Nawab's vassals to accede to India for recognition as independent states. Mahabat Khanji, his family (including his dogs), and his prime minister, Shah Nawaz Bhutto, fled by plane to Pakistan on 24 October, never to return. Bhutto wrote to Samaldas Gandhi, leader of the Arzi Hukumat (or government in exile) to take over Junagadh.

The Indian Army then took Junagadh on 9 November, installed a new state governor, and called for a public referendum on the status of the state. The referendum, arranged by the Indian government, was held on 20 February 1948; of over 200,000 people who voted, 99 percent chose India and the rest chose Pakistan. The following year, on 20 January 1949, Junagadh was merged into the new Indian state of Saurashtra.