Recent content by hesiod

Sardar Patel, as I understand, would not allow an independent Travancore. I don't think the British nor Americans understood the value of a pro-American, free market state taking hold on the Indian subcontinent. So they would not have stood in his way. Had the Truman recognized Travancore, it...

The British "divide and conquer" didn't work so well in the so-called upper castes. Though divided by language and perhaps some religious rituals, Brahmins from all of South India viewed themselves as having the same ethnic origin (Kashmir or some other part of Northern India who took refuge in...

Hyderabad was landlocked and that would have weighed heavily against economic viability. However, Churchill would most likely have recognized an Independent Hyderabad just to spite Nehru (whom he resented). Labour, being close to Nehru, had no such compunction.

If I recall, the rulers of Travancore circa 1947 were definitely anti-communist and decidedly more pro-American than pro-British. Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, who most likely would have been Prime Minister of an independent Travancore, is credited with laying the foundation for the industrial...

I believe that the Nizam was working with the several members of the House of Lords to gain diplomatic recognition for an independent Hyderabad. There was also talk of an independent Hindu state in Travancore (part of what is now the Indian state of Kerala) getting diplomatic recognition from...