Patiala and East Punjab States Union

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Patiala and East Punjab States Union
State of India
1948–1956
PEPSU in India (1951).svg
1951 map of India. The Patiala and East Punjab States Union is shown forming enclaves in East Punjab.
CapitalPatiala
Area 
• 1951
26,208 km2 (10,119 sq mi)
Population 
• 1951
3493685
 • TypeDemocracy
LegislaturePatiala and East Punjab States Union Legislative Assembly
History 
• State Established
15 July 1948
• State Disestablished
1 November 1956
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Punjab States Agency
East Punjab

The Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was a state of India, uniting eight princely states between 1948 and 1956. The capital and principal city was Patiala. The state covered an area of 26,208 km². Shimla, Kasauli, Kandaghat and Chail also became part of the PEPSU.

History[]

Princely states union[]

It was created by combining eight princely states, which maintained their native rulers :

Six Salute states
  • Patiala, title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 17-guns (19-guns local)
  • Jind, title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 13-guns (15-guns personal and local)
  • Kapurthala, title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 13-guns (15-guns personal and local)
  • Nabha, title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 13-guns (15-guns local):
  • Faridkot, title Raja, Hereditary salutes of 11-guns
  • Malerkotla, title Nawab, Hereditary salute of 11-guns
and two Non-salute states
  • Kalsia, title Raja (till 1916 Sardar)
  • Nalagarh, title Raja.

The state was inaugurated on 15 July 1948 and formally became a state of India in 1950.

Successor states[]

PEPSU state in East Punjab

On 1 November 1956, PEPSU was merged mostly into Punjab State following the States Reorganisation Act.[1]

A part of the former state of PEPSU, including the present day Jind district and the Narnaul tehsil in north Haryana as well as the Loharu tehsil, Charkhi Dadri district and Mahendragarh district in southwest Haryana, presently lie within the state of Haryana, which was separated from Punjab on 1 November 1966. Some other areas that belonged to PEPSU, notably Solan and Nalagarh, now lie in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Rajpramukh and Uparajpramukh[]

S. no. Rajpramukh Portrait Tenure Uparajpramukh Portrait Appointed by
1 Yadavindra Singh Yadvinder Singh Mahendra Bahadur (1971).jpg 15 July 1948 1 November 1956 8 years, 109 days Jagatjit Singh Maharaja de kapurthala jagatjit singh.jpg C. Rajagopalachari

Chief Ministers[]

No Name Portrait Party
(coalition with)
Term of office[2] Election (Assembly) Appointed by
List of Premier of PEPSU (1948-1952)
1 Gian Singh Rarewala Gian Singh Rarewala ex CM.png IND
(SAD)
15 July 1948 13 January 1949 2 years, 312 days Caretaker Government Yadavindra Singh
13 January 1949 23 May 1951
[RES]
Not yet created

2

Raghbir Singh Raghbir Singh.jpg Indian National Congress 23 May 1951 21 April 1952
[RES]
334 days
Chief Minister of PEPSU (1952-1956)
1 Gian Singh Rarewala Gian Singh Rarewala ex CM.png IND
(UDF)
22 April 1952
[§]
5 March 1953
[RES]
317 days 1952 (1) Yadavindra Singh
(i) Vacant[a]
(President's rule)
- 5 March 1953 8 March 1954 1 year, 3 days - Rajendra Prasad
2 Raghbir Singh Raghbir Singh.jpg Indian National Congress 8 March 1954
[§]
7 January 1955
[d]
305 days 1954 (2) Yadavindra Singh
3 Brish Bhan Brish Bhan.png 12 January 1955 1 November 1956
[pd]
1 year, 294 days

Deputy Chief Minister[]

Sr. No. Name Portrait Term of office Political Party Chief Minister
1 Brish Bhan Brish Bhan.png 23 May 1951 21 April 1952 Indian National Congress Raghbir Singh
8 March 1954 12 January 1955

Institutions[]

Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) coat of arms in the inauguration stone of Government Medical College, Patiala

Heads of state and government[]

When the state was formed, the then-Maharaja of Patiala, Yadavindra Singh, was appointed its Rajpramukh (equivalent to Governor). He remained in office during the entire length of the state's short existence. The then Maharaja of Kapurthala, Jagatjit Singh, served as Uparajpramukh (lieutenant-governor).[citation needed]

Gian Singh Rarewala was sworn in on 13 January 1949 as the first Chief Minister of PEPSU. Col. Raghbir Singh became the next Chief Minister on 23 May 1951, and Brish Bhan the Deputy Chief Minister.[citation needed]

The state elected a 60-member state legislative assembly on 6 January 1952. The Congress Party won 26 seats and the Akali Dal won 19 seats.[citation needed]

On 22 April 1952, Gian Singh Rarewala again became Chief Minister, this time an elected one. He led a coalition government, called the "United Front", formed by the Akali Dal and various independents. On 5 March 1953 his government was dismissed and President's rule was imposed on the state.[4] In the mid-term poll that followed, the Congress party secured a majority and Raghbir Singh became Chief Minister on 8 March 1954. Upon his death, Brish Bhan became the Chief Minister on 12 January 1955 and remained in office as last incumbent.[citation needed]

Subdivisions[]

Initially, in 1948, the state was divided into the following eight districts:

  1. Patiala
  2. Nabha
  3. Jind
  4. Faridkot
  5. Kalsian
  6. Kapurthala
  7. Malerkotla
  8. Nalagarh

In 1953, the number of districts was reduced from eight to five. Barnala district became part of Sangrur district and Kohistan and Fatehgarh districts became part of Patiala district.[5]

There were four Lok Sabha constituencies in this state. Three of them were single-seat constituency: Mohindergarh, Sangrur and Patiala. The Kapurthala-Bhatinda Lok Sabha constituency was a double-seat constituency.

Demography[]

The state had a population of 3,493,685 (1951 census), of which 19% was urban. The population density was 133/km².[6]

Notes[]

  1. ^ President's rule may be imposed when the "government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution", which often happens because no party or coalition has a majority in the assembly. When President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant, and the administration is taken over by the governor, who functions on behalf of the central government. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ "States Reorganisation Act, 1956". India Code Updated Acts. Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India. 31 August 1956. pp. section 9. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  2. ^ worldstatesmen.org PEPSU
  3. ^ Amberish K. Diwanji. "A dummy's guide to President's rule". Rediff.com. 15 March 2005.
  4. ^ Singh, Roopinder (16 December 2001). "Rarewala: A Punjabi-loving gentleman-aristocrat". The Tribune.
  5. ^ "History of Jind district". Jind district website. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  6. ^ "Patiala and East Punjab States Union". The Sikh Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2016.

Further reading[]

  1. Singh, Gursharan (1991). History of PEPSU, India: Patiala and East Punjab States Union, 1948-1956, Delhi: Konark Publishers, ISBN 81-220-0244-7.

Coordinates: 31°27′N 77°36′E / 31.45°N 77.60°E / 31.45; 77.60

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