The present attempt is to focus light on the period of rapid changes in the political map of India as well as in our state around 1947. Authors have endeavoured to shape the contours of developments like peoples' mobilisation at a sub-terranean level amongst tribal and peasantry populations by relying on primary data.
Princes were one of the prime movers at this point of time and a large number of articles are on their hopes, aspirations, efforts to organise themselves for their political future etc. Some articles go in to the subjects of administrative mechanism in the Feudatory States as well as tenurial systems in the Garjat areas. A better appreciation of these aspects shall only go towards enrichment of our understanding of Orissa's history.
Orissa State Archives have ceaselessly tried to strengthen writing of social history of Orissa. With this edition, the effort is further consolidated. I compliment my colleagues in the Archives under the able and of Sri Prahlad Sahoo. dedicated leadership Superintendent, State Archives.
Between 1947 and 1949, all-600 ruling princes in India were pensioned off and their ancestral domains were submerged in the body politic of the Indian Union. This integration, according to Ian Copland, represented a major watershed. For Orissa it was infact the most significant event, as in the prolonged search for her identity she got a finishing point. It swelled the area of the New Orissa State and Greater Orissa sprang up.
The integration of the Garjats with Orissa culminated after a prolonged process. It passed through many hazy steps. In the first phase of the 20th century many new leaders provided potent source of inspiration to this move, by their speeches (as reported in the periodicals). The consciousness of the tribals and the peasants in both the zones, awakening in the Garjats against the tyrannical and authoritative rule of the chiefs and awakening in the coastal belt in Orissa against colonialism lent support to merger. Many people in both the zones articulated a common cultural identity which would only take shape by merger. Politically and economically the merger was indispensable for a stable new Orissa. It is true that many of the Garjat Chiefs eagerly wanted the formation of the Eastern States' Union. But leaders like Harekrushna Mahtab, Sarangadhar Das and many Prajamandal workers were determined for the merger of the two zones. They insisted on the merger for the establishment of an economically stable Orissa and for the preservation of Oriya culture and tradition. Despite decades of rapid and radical political change in India and Orissa, diplomacy of the princes, strategic thinking of the Garjat leaders, darbari administrative rationalization and Constitutional reforms, merger was accepted as the only possible solution of the problem.
This book unfolds the story of pre-merger and merger of the feudatory states in Orissa on the basis of reliable archival documents. The learned contributors have taken care to unravel the darker aspects of the study of Garjat politics in the first half of the 20th century. They have concentrated on the problems -awakening in the Garjats as an important stage for merger, story of the prolonged steps (political and diplomatic) for integration, merger as an important assertion of Oriya identity, contribution of Harekrushna Mahtab for integration, status of the princes during and after merger etc. from new perspectives. I sincerely thank them for the pain they took to sketch an outline of their respective topics. I am sure that the work will receive due recognition from scholars in and outside India.
Due to official engagements it was not possible on my part to go minutely through the proof sheets. It is humbly submitted that the responsibility for the errors must remain mine alone, but for the context the individual authors are responsible.
I am thankful to the staff of Orissa State Archives for helping me in compiling this volume and prepare the press copy.
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