At the end of 16 August 1947
The 1941 map preserves Kadana separately, but the secondary chronology records its annexation to Sant on 22 April 1943. Its 1947 relationship therefore followed Sant. [1][2][3]
Ruler, negotiators and other participants
The ruler or governing authority recorded for the snapshot is: Pravinsinhji Jorawarsinhji of Sant (Sunth). Kadana’s former ruler Chhatrasalji had died in 1942. [1][2][3]
National framework: Vallabhbhai Patel headed the States Department; V. P. Menon was its secretary; Mountbatten assisted accession negotiations. This does not establish that all three personally negotiated this territory’s settlement. [4][5]
How the relationship changed
Kadana was already part of Sant before independence. Sant subsequently participated in the Gujarat settlement and merger into Bombay. A separate Kadana accession in August 1947 is not asserted. [1][2][3]
The documented sequence distinguishes these events: 22 April 1943 — annexed to Sant (secondary chronology); 10 June 1948 — gujarat settlement: merger into Bombay. [1][2][3]
A 1941 outline for a state already absorbed before independence
Kadana demonstrates why the age of the boundary layer matters. The secondary ruler chronology records its absorption into Sant on 22 April 1943, after Kadana’s former ruler Chhatrasalji had died. A separately drawn Kadana in a 1941 dataset therefore does not establish that it still had a separate ruler or accession decision in August 1947. [2][3]
At independence its position followed Sant, whose ruler was Pravinsinhji Jorawarsinhji. The subsequent Gujarat settlement brought Sant into Bombay’s administration in 1948. The page keeps Kadana’s source outline available for inspection while distinguishing it from an independent political unit at the snapshot date. [3][1]
SHARED HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Gujarat: unravelling an interlaced administrative map
The Gujarat settlement concerned more than a list of equivalent sovereign states. It included states, estates, talukas, thanas and jurisdictions with several shareholders. Their territories were interspersed with Baroda and with Bombay’s Ahmedabad and Kaira districts. The White Paper argued that this geography made a separate union of the small Gujarat jurisdictions impractical. [1]
After discussions in Bombay, the jurisdictional rulers agreed on 17 March 1948 to merger with the province. Bombay took over administration on 10 June. The official total of 144 units, or a larger number when shareholders were counted separately, describes that regional settlement. It is not the number of individually verified states on this map, and 10 June is an administrative transfer date rather than proof of the day each ruler signed. [1]
Merger replaced a patchwork of governing authorities with provincial administration. Danta was taken over separately in November 1948; Baroda itself did not merge until May 1949. Grouped and ambiguously named features need particular care, since a source polygon may combine jurisdictions whose histories differ. Where the individual instrument or ruler has not been identified, the regional account supplies context without filling those gaps with a fictional common accession. [1][6]
The timeline
Dates identify the event recorded. A month or year is left imprecise where the evidence does not supply a day.
- BY THE SNAPSHOT
Annexed to Sant (secondary chronology)
- AFTER THE SNAPSHOT
Gujarat settlement: merger into Bombay
Timeline evidence: [1] 1950 White Paper: Gujarat States[2] World Statesmen: Kadana and its 1943 annexation[3] World Statesmen: Sant (Sunth)
Evidence & map notes
Snapshot basis. Shown through Sant, which had absorbed Kadana before 1947; not a separate Kadana accession.
The source-year outline does not imply independent statehood in 1947. The 1943 transition is recorded in a secondary chronology; the historical boundary remains provisional.
Boundary source: 1941. Source-year boundary (1941); the 16 August 1947 boundary has not been independently verified. This reference is not a verified reconstruction of the boundary on 16 August 1947.
Paragraph citations distinguish published agreements, contemporary accounts, later chronologies and historical scholarship. Regional chapters explain a shared process; they do not establish a separate local negotiation or exact instrument date where none has been verified.
Sources & further reading
The White Paper records the Indian government’s account and reproduced legal instruments. It is not an independent assessment of every claim of consent, coercion or popular opinion.
- 1950 White Paper: Gujarat States ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- World Statesmen: Kadana and its 1943 annexation ↗Secondary chronology
- World Statesmen: Sant (Sunth) ↗Secondary chronology
- 1950 White Paper: States Department ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- 1950 White Paper: Special Meeting of Princes on 25th July, 1947 ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- 1950 White Paper: Baroda ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- 1950 White Paper: Successful Conclusion of Negotiations ↗Government account / primary document transcription
- 1950 White Paper: Instrument of Accession ↗Government account / primary document transcription