Fulfillment of Struggle for Independence Class 8 History Notes Maharashtra State Board
India became independent but the struggle for independence was not yet over. There were many princely states in India. These princely states had the right to either merge with India or remain independent. Therefore the Congress dream of undivided India remained incomplete. Due to independent princely states, India was going to be fragmented into many parts. The Portuguese and French powers had not withdrawn their control over some parts of India, but the country solved these problems very firmly. This chapter will deal with the information on it.
Integration of Princely States in India:
There were more than six hundred small and big princely states in India. Due to the influence of the non-cooperation movement, there was a beginning of a political awakening among the princely states. Praja Mandals came to be formed in the princely states. Praja Mandal means a people’s organization that worked for the interest of the people in the princely states and for securing political rights for them. In 1927, such Praja Mandals came together and formed an ‘All India States People’s Conference’.
Due to this, the movement in princely states got an impetus. After the independence of India, the then Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel very diplomatically found out the way of merging the princely states in India. He took the rulers of the princely states into confidence and prepared an ‘Instrument of Accession’, acceptable to all. Sardar Patel convinced the princely rulers of the benefit of merging into India. The rulers gave a good response to his appeal. All the princely states merged into India, except the states of Junagad, Hyderabad, and Kashmir. Sardar Patel took a firm stand and solved the issue of the merger of princely states.
Merging of Junagadh:
Junagadh was a princely state in Saurashtra. The people there wanted to be merged with India. But the Nawab of Junagad was thinking of joining Pakistan. The people strongly opposed his decision and the Nawab left for Pakistan. Later in February 1948, Junagad was merged into India.
Hyderabad Mukti Sangram:
Hyderabad was the largest princely state in India. It included Telegu, Kannada, and Marathi-speaking regions. There was the autocratic rule of the Nizam over these provinces. Civil and political rights were absent. To secure these rights, the people formed organizations such as Andhra Parishad in the Telangana region, Maharashtra Parishad in the Marathwada region, and Karnataka Parishad in the Karnataka region. In 1938, Swami Ramananda Tirth formed the Hyderabad State Congress. The Nizam banned this organization. A struggle began for getting recognition to Hyderabad State Congress and democratic rights. This struggle was led by a militant fighter Swami Ramananda Tirth. He was assisted by Narayan Reddy and Siraj-ul-Hasan Tirmiji. P.V. Narasimha Rao and Govindbhai Shroff were faithful followers of Swamiji.
In July 1947, the Hyderabad State Congress passed a resolution for the merger of Hyderabad State into India. The Nizam however took an anti-India stand. He started making movements for the merging of Hyderabad state with Pakistan. To reject the demand of the people of Hyderabad to be merged with India, Kasim Rizvi, an associate of the Nizam, formed an organization known as ‘Razakar’. Kasim Rizvi and his associates not only the Hindus but also the Muslims who supported the democratic movement. Due to this, there was inflammation of public opinion. The Government of India tried to negotiate patiently with the Nizam but he refused to respond. At last, the Indian government started the police action against the Nizam on 13 September 1948. It was symbolically named ‘Operation Polo’. Finally, the Nizam surrendered on 17 September 1948 and the state of Hyderabad was merged with India. The struggle of people in the princely state became successful. There was a significant contribution of Arya Samaj in this movement.
Contribution of Marathwada in the Struggle for Liberation of Hyderabad:
In this struggle, Swami Ramananda Tirth, Govindbhai Shroff, Anant Bhalerao, Ashatai Waghmare, etc. made a valuable contribution. Through the movement of ‘Vande Mataram’, students participated in the struggle for the liberation of Hyderabad. Similarly, in this struggle, Ved Prakash, Shyamlal, Govind Pansare, Bahirji Shinde, Shridhar Vartak, Janardan Mama, Shoaib Ullah Khan, etc. embraced martyrdom. Their sacrifice proved to be inspirational to the Indians. Thus we can understand that the leaders and the people in Marathwada had a lion’s share in the struggle for liberation of Hyderabad. 17 September is celebrated as ‘Marathwada Mukti Din’ in Marathwada to commemorate the struggle for the liberation of Hyderabad. Marathwada was not included in Free India on 15 August 1947. After the inspiring struggle of the people, this region was included in independent India in 1948.
The problem of Kashmir:
Hari Singh, the ruler of the State of Kashmir, had decided to remain independent. Pakistan had intended to secure the merger of Kashmir with Pakistan. Due to this Pakistan started putting pressure on Hari Singh. At the instigation of Pakistan, armed intruders attacked Kashmir in October 1947. At that time Hari Singh signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ with India. In this manner, after merging into India, the Indian army was sent for the defense of Kashmir. The army won back a major portion of Kashmir from the possession of intruders. But some part of it remained in the possession of Pakistan.
Merger of French Colonies:
Even after the independence of India, the regions of Chandranagar, Puduchcheri, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam were in the possession of the French. The Indian natives there were eager to merge with India. The Indian Government demanded that these territories being a part of India should be handed over to it. In 1949 France held a plebiscite in Chandranagar. The people voted for India. Chandranagar was handed over to India. Thereafter France handed over the rest of the territories to the Government of India.
Struggle for Liberation of Goa:
Portugal refused to hand over the territories under its possession to India. Indians had to struggle to secure these territories. In this struggle, Dr. T.B. Kunha was in the forefront. He worked to bring about an awakening of the people against the Portuguese Government. To build a struggle against the Portuguese, he established the Goa Congress Committee. Later in 1945, Dr. Kunha founded the organization ‘Goa Youth League’ in Mumbai. In 1946, he went to Goa and violated the ban on public speech. For this, he was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment. In 1946, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya started a Satyagraha for the liberation of Goa. Violating the ban, he delivered a public speech at Madgaon in Goa. For this the Portuguese Government deported him.
During the same period, the ‘Azad Gomantak Dal’ was founded to liberate the Portuguese colonies of Dadra and Nagar Haveli in Gujarat. On 2 August 1954, youths of Azad Gomantak Dal by making an armed attack liberated the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule. Vishwanath Lavande, Rajabhau Wakankar, Sudhir Phadke, Nanasaheb Kajrekar, and others took part in this attack. In 1954, Goa Mukti Samiti was formed. The Samiti sent many batches of satyagrahis from Maharashtra to Goa. N.G.Gore, Senapati Bapat, Peter Alvares, Mahadevshastri Joshi his wife Sudhatai, and many others participated in the satyagraha. Mohan Ranade was an aggressive leader in this struggle for the liberation of Goa. The Portuguese rulers committed unlimited tyranny and atrocities on the satyagraha. Due to this, the public opinion became more infuriated.
The struggle for the liberation of Goa took up a fierce form. The Indian Government was patiently holding negotiations with the Portuguese Government but they did not respond. In the end, the Indian Government unwillingly decided to use military force. In December 1961, the Indian Army entered Goa. In a short period, the Portuguese army surrendered. On 19 December 1961, Goa was liberated from Portuguese dominion. Imperialism was completely rooted in the Indian soil. India’s freedom struggle was truly fulfilled.
Well-maintained Maharashtra State Board Class 8 History Notes Fulfillment of Struggle for Independence can serve as a reference for lifelong learning.