Confidential Letter from the Ruler of Manavadar to M.A. Jinnah

Sub title : Regarding the State's Political Future

Subject: Princely State of Manavadar | Accession to Pakistan | Secret Diplomacy | M.A. Jinnah | Kathiawar States

Date of publication: 1947

Language: English

Page: 1p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 28019

Keyword: Manavadar State -- Kathiawar -- M.A. Jinnah -- Princely State Accession -- July 1947 | Secret Negotiations -- Partition -- Pakistan -- Diplomatic Envoys -- Abdul Kadir Quraishi

Abstract: A confidential letter from the ruler of the princely state of Manavadar to M.A. Jinnah, dated 15 July 1947, at the height of the Partition crisis. The ruler explains that due to his sensitive position as the leader of a group of Non-Salute (Hindu-majority) Constituent States in Kathiawar, he cannot personally meet Jinnah without damaging their trust. Instead, he dispatches two high-ranking officials—his Private Secretary, Mr. Abdul Kadir Quraishi, and the District & Sessions Judge, Mr. Mohammed Husain—to hold secret, in-person discussions with Jinnah regarding the critical political future and alignment of Manavadar State.

Description: This file contains a single-page confidential letter that reveals the delicate and covert diplomatic maneuvers undertaken by the ruler of Manavadar, a Muslim-majority state within the predominantly Hindu region of Kathiawar, just weeks before the independence of India and Pakistan. The document highlights the complex political tightrope walked by the ruler, who publicly led a group of Hindu states while privately seeking guidance from Jinnah on his state's survival and possible accession to Pakistan. It underscores the clandestine nature of these critical negotiations, the use of trusted personal envoys, and the immense pressure on princely state rulers to make fateful decisions during the transfer of power. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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