History wars are nothing new — whether in India or almost any country in the world. In recent years, two of the most prominent figures to be caught in the crosshairs of these ideologically-driven skirmishes have been Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel. To his detractors, Nehru’s place in history has been overvalued, whereas Patel yet to be given his due. Had Patel, with his pro-market ideology and superior organisational skills, become India’s first prime minister, the country’s evolution as an independent country would have been radically different.
In my recent book Dethroned, I examine the critical role of the 562 princely states in the transfer of power in 1947. That India narrowly averted being ‘Balkanised’ if these states opted for independence or joined Pakistan’s has more to do with Patel’s powers of persuasion than Nehru’s charisma, but the remarkable feat also highlights their strengths and weaknesses — and the rivalry that existed between them.
