Jaipur (Rajasthan): Rajasthan day is celebrated every year on March 30 to commemorate the day on which the state of Rajasthan came into existence. Rajasthan earlier known as Rajputana came into existence on March 30, 1949.
On this day, many big princely states like Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer merged with 'Rajasthan Union' to form 'Greater Rajasthan'. The integration, formation and reorganization of the state of Rajasthan finally completed following the implementation of the State Re-organization Act of 1956.
The foundation day pays homage to the valour, strong willpower and sacrifice of the people of Rajasthan.
However, the story of the merger of Jodhpur holds a special place in history. The ruler of the princely state, Hanwant Singh, did not want to join India instead wanted to merge with Pakistan. Due to the effective persuasion at the time by the efforts of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Jodhpur was included in the Indian Republic.
Jodhpur historians believe that Hanwant Singh was a Maharaja as well as a politician. He wanted a special status for Jodhpur and to press for the demand, he tried to pressurise the government as earlier his father, Maharaja Umaid Singh who died in 1947, had decided that Jodhpur will merge with India.
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After the death of Maharaja Umaid Singh, the command of the princely state was handed over to Hanwant Singh. At that time, the princely states of Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur were in contact with the Nawab of Bhopal. Nawab's advisor Sir Zafarullah Khan met Hanwant Singh and said that Bhopal would join Pakistan.
And if Jodhpur will also merge with Pakistan, Jinnah will sign a blank paper to agree to all the conditions put forward by him. Maharaja met Jinnah in a hotel and on the same day, Sardar Patel's trusted VP Menon also met Maharaja Hanwant Singh.
According to page numbers 171 and 172 of the Hindi translation of the book 'Freedom at Midnight', written by the then journalists Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, Menon persuaded Lord Mountbatten (first Governor-general of Independent India) to meet Hanwant Singh.
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Mountbatten spoke to Maharaja Hanwant Singh. He told them about the relationship between his father and Sardar Patel. After the meeting, Maharaja Hanwant Singh agreed to merge with India.
The former head of the department of History Jodhpur University Prof. Jaya Narayan Vyas and Prof. Zahoor Mohammad said that Maharaja Hanwant Singh wanted special status for Jodhpur. In order to get maximum benefits for Jodhpur, he made a showy attempt to join Pakistan as it was already decided by the royal family to join India.
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Prof. Zahoor Mohammad further said that the point of joining Pakistan is only in the books written by the people of that time. There is no other evidence to prove the point.
Prof. SP Vyas also said that whether it is in VP Menon's book 'Integration of the Indian State' or Lapierre's book 'Freedom at Midnight', it seems that the effort was made to persuade the Maharaja to join India, however, it was only to maintain supremacy over Jodhpur
