Dethroned: Patel, Menon And The Integration Of Princely India

Zubrzycki Expertly Juggles A Fascinating Cast Of Characters:

Mountbatten, Who Grasped The Complexity Of The States Problem Far Too Late; Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, The Pragmatic, Toughminded Politician And Patriot, Who Employed Both Fury And Charm To Get His Way; His Deputy, V.P. Menon, The Cigarsmoking Civil Servant And Tireless Master Strategist, Regarded By Some As ‘The Real Architect’ Of Integration; Jawaharlal Nehru, Who Made No Secret Of His Contempt For The Princely Order; Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Who Assiduously Wooed Wavering Princes To His Side; And Finally, An Array Of Bejewelled Rulers, Grappling With The Challenge Of A Lifetime.

What Patel And Menon Described As A ‘Bloodless Revolution’ Was Anything But. Zubrzycki Also Looks At How Pakistan Dealt With The Princely States That Fell To Its Lot And Takes The Indian Story Into The 1970S When An Imperious Indira Gandhi Delivered The Final Blow To The Princely Order.

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