States People’s Movement

Before 1947, the Indian subcontinent comprised British Indian Provinces under direct colonial administration and 565 semi-autonomous Princely States. These states covered 40% of India’s land area and housed nearly one-third of its population. Under the system of British Paramountcy, native rulers (Maharajas, Nawabs, and Princes) surrendered their external sovereignty, defense, and communications to the British Crown via individual treaties. In return, the colonial administration guaranteed the rulers protection against internal rebellion. This arrangement insulated the rulers from accountability, enabling absolute autocratic regimes devoid of rule of law, independent judiciaries, or representative legislative bodies.

Socio-Economic Grievances of the State Subjects

While residents of British India gradually secured limited constitutional concessions and civil liberties through the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935, the subjects of Princely States faced systemic subjugation.

• Agrarian Exploitation: Rulers extracted exorbitant land revenues, arbitrary cesses (Lag-Bag), and retained feudal landownership systems like Jagirdari and Zamindari.
• Institutionalized Forced Labor: Practices such as Bethi or Begar compelled peasants and tribal communities to provide unpaid labor to the state and feudal lords.
• Absence of Fundamental Rights: State administrations routinely banned freedom of speech, public assembly, press operations, and the formation of political associations.
• Fiscal Mismanagement: A disproportionate share of state revenues was directed toward the extravagant lifestyles of the native rulers, leaving public healthcare, education, and social infrastructure severely underfunded.

Emergence of Local Praja Mandals

The political mobilization generated in British India during the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements (1920–1922) breached the borders of the princely territories. Local intelligentsia, peasants, and regional leaders organized nationalist committees to protest local grievances. These grassroots associations were named Praja Mandals (People’s Associations) or Lok Parishads. Their primary goals included the demand for responsible governance under the aegis of the rulers, the protection of basic civil liberties, the abolition of agrarian abuses, and alignment with the broader anti-colonial struggle in British India.

All India States People’s Conference (AISPC)

Institutional Foundation and Objectives

To coordinate the fragmented struggles of independent Praja Mandals across different princely territories, the All India States People’s Conference (AISPC) was established on December 17, 1927, in Bombay (Mumbai). The inaugural session brought together more than 1,500 delegates representing over 70 princely states. The conference aimed to advocate for constitutional reforms within the states, bridge the political divide between British India and native states, and pressure the British government to treat state subjects on par with British Indian citizens.

Key Organizational Facts of AISPC

• First President: Dewan Bahadur M. Ramachandra Rao.
• Key Architects and Founders: Balwantrai Mehta, Maniklal Kothari, and G.R. Abhayankar.
• Headquarters: Established in Bombay to handle pan-India coordination.
• Official Constitution: Formally drafted and adopted in June 1939 during the Ludhiana session to streamline regional branches.
• Dissolution and Merger: On April 25, 1948, the AISPC formally dissolved, merging its constituent regional units directly into the Indian National Congress (INC).

Shift in the Indian National Congress (INC) Policy

Phase of Non-Intervention (1920–1935)

During the initial phases of the nationalist movement, the INC maintained a policy of strict non-interference in the internal administration of the Princely States.

• Nagpur Session (1920): The INC passed a resolution calling upon princely rulers to grant responsible government but explicitly barred political agitations within the states under the Congress banner.
• Strategic Rationale: Mahatma Gandhi and senior leadership argued that state subjects must develop their own internal strength to fight autocracy. They also aimed to avoid a simultaneous, two-front confrontation with both the British Empire and native rulers, hoping to convert the princes via moral persuasion.

Transition and Radicalization (1936–1939)

The rise of left-wing socialist factions within the Congress, led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, forced a radical re-evaluation of this non-interventionist stance.

• Lucknow Session (1936): The INC declared that the people of the Princely States possessed the identical right to self-determination and sovereignty as those in British India.
• Haripura Session (1938): Presided over by Subhas Chandra Bose, the Congress explicitly incorporated the Princely States within its ultimate goal of Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence). While it still directed that agitations be carried out independently by Praja Mandals without direct INC material deployment, it offered full moral backing.
• Tripuri Session (1939): The INC completely abandoned its old non-intervention policy. It authorized direct political intervention and joint agitations, fully integrating the States People’s Movement with the pan-India nationalist movement.

Institutional Integration

Jawaharlal Nehru assumed the Presidency of the AISPC at its Ludhiana Session in 1939 and retained the post until 1946, creating a direct personal and institutional link between the INC and the states’ movements. During the Quit India Movement (1942), the operational slogan “Do or Die” was officially extended to state subjects, urging them to declare themselves citizens of a free Indian nation and refuse allegiance to autocratic rulers.

Major Regional Movements and Agitations

Rajputana States (Rajasthan)

The region witnessed widespread mobilization due to the deeply entrenched Jagirdari system and heavy agrarian taxation.

• Jaipur Praja Mandal: Founded in 1931 by Kapurchand Patni and reorganized in 1936 under Jamnalal Bajaj and Hiralal Shastri. It launched civil disobedience movements demanding the registration of citizen groups and civil rights.
• Mewar Praja Mandal: Established in 1938 by Manikya Lal Verma. It actively supported the prolonged Bijolia and Begun peasant movements against unlawful cesses (Lag-Bag).
• Marwar Praja Mandal: Set up in Jodhpur in 1934 by Jai Narayan Vyas and Bhanwar Lal Saraf to protest administrative corruption, the export of essential food grains, and the suppression of local newspapers.

Punjab Hill and Plains States

• Punjab Riyasti Praja Mandal: Founded in 1928 by Sewa Singh Thikriwala, who became a prominent martyr after dying in Patiala jail during a hunger strike in 1935. The movement targeted the tyrannical rule of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, demanding land revenue cuts and the abolition of royal monopolies.
• Dhami Satyagraha (1939): Located in the Himalayan Hill States (modern Himachal Pradesh), a peaceful march organized by the Dhami Prem Pracharini Sabha and led by Bhagmal Sautha was fired upon by state authorities at the Dhami border, resulting in multiple casualties.
• Pajhota Movement (1942): An offshoot of the Quit India Movement in Sirmaur state, led by Vaid Surat Singh. Peasants formed a parallel governance structure and launched the non-cooperation slogan “Bhai Do Na Pai Do” (Provide no soldier to the British war effort, pay no cash revenue to the ruler).

Orissa Garjat States

• Garjat Praja Mandal: Active across the internal tributary states of Orissa (e.g., Dhenkanal, Talcher, Nilgiri) under the leadership of Sarangadhar Das, Radhanath Rath, and Harekrushna Mahatab.
• Martyrdom of Baji Rout (1938): During a brutal police crackdown against Praja Mandal agitators in Dhenkanal state, a 12-year-old boatboy named Baji Rout refused to ferry state police troops across the Brahmani River. He was shot dead, becoming the youngest recorded martyr of the Indian freedom struggle.

Southern States (Hyderabad, Mysore, and Travancore)

• Hyderabad State Congress: Formed in 1938, it was immediately declared illegal by the Nizam. Led by Swami Ramanand Tirth, it launched a powerful satyagraha for democratic rights. This movement later intertwined with the radical anti-feudal Telangana Peasant Armed Rebellion (1946).
• Travancore State Congress: Formed in 1938 under Pattom Thanu Pillai to challenge the authoritarian Dewan, Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer. Accamma Cherian organized a massive march of thousands to demand the release of jailed leaders. Post-1945, it resisted the Dewan’s “Independent Travancore” proposal, culminating in the armed Punnapra-Vayalar uprising.
• Mysore Chalo Movement (1947): Launched immediately after India’s independence under K. Chengalaraya Reddy. When the Maharaja of Mysore hesitated to join the Indian Union, Praja Mandal volunteers organized a massive march toward Bangalore, forcing the ruler to sign the Instrument of Accession and set up a responsible democratic ministry.

Comprehensive Reference Guide of Key Praja Mandals

Historical Impact and Role in Integration

Popularization of Democratic Ideals

The States People’s Movement dismantled the socio-political isolation of the Princely States. By introducing modern political ideas such as constitutionalism, representative governance, fundamental rights, and the rule of law into highly conservative feudal pockets, the Praja Mandals transformed local agitations into a democratic movement.

Institutional Weakening of Royal Hegemony

Persistent agitations throughout the 1930s and 1940s forced many rulers to sign statutory concessions, lower land revenue structures, establish legislative assemblies (Dhira Sabhas), and pass laws abolishing forced labor. This diluted the traditional absolute authority of the native durbars.

Smooth Territorial Integration of India

The network of the Praja Mandals proved vital during the post-independence integration of India handled by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and V.P. Menon. The presence of well-organized pro-India democratic associations within the states neutralized the attempts of several rulers (such as those of Hyderabad, Travancore, and Junagadh) to declare independence or join Pakistan. The Praja Mandals mobilized local public opinion in favor of integration, providing the necessary political leverage to incorporate the princely territories into the dominion of free India.