Babariawad was a small principality under suzerainty of the Princely State of Junagadh. During

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, was the easternmost district of Princely State of Junagadh, in south central

Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...

. It consisted then of some 51 villages and city of Rajula. In 1947, upon

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, the Jagirdars of Babariawad, along with the principality of Mangrol, declared their independence from Junagadh and declared their accession to Union of India. The Nawab of Junagadh did not approve the accessions and prevailed upon

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

of Mangrol to renounce his accession to India and sent his troops to occupy the Babariawad. Sardar Patel saw this as an aggression upon State of India and called for military response. However,

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

wanted to first establish the validity of accession of principality of Babariawad to India. Once this was established with

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

, on 22 September 1947, they sent a telegram to

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

of Junagadh clarifying the legality of accession and to withdraw their troops from Babariawad. Further, Indian Army was ordered to go to Babariawad and get the territories in India's possession.
Jammu and Kashmir war, 1947-1948: political and military perspective By Kuldip Singh Bajwa The Nawab of Junagadh refused to vacate his troops from Babariawad and Mangrol. In October, 1947 Nawab of Junagarh fled with his family to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The Indian Army finally entered and occupied Babariawad in November 1947 and stood on alert along borders of Junagadh and Mangrol for further orders. leading to the integration of Junagadh into Union of India. Cities of Rajula and Mangrol got independence at 1 november 1947.

References

{{coord missing, Gujarat Junagadh States and territories disestablished in 1947 Princely states of Gujarat History of Gujarat (1947–present) 1947 disestablishments in India