“We must celebrate our democracy. More importantly, it must be nurtured, preserved and deepened.”

Episode 1 of The India Project, The Princely States, opens with these lines, going on to explore how one of the fundamental challenges to the idea of a unified India came from its princely states. From Hyderabad under the Nizam to the kingdom of Travancore, from Junagadh to Bhopal, each state was presented with the option of joining the dominion of India or Pakistan. As the clock ticked towards August 15, 1947, how did the builders of the nation resolve the intricacies of this maze?

The India Project is an ambitious project with investigative reporter Josy Joseph. Author, most recently, of A Feast of Vultures: The Hidden Business of Democracy in India, and The Silent Coup: A History of India’s Deep State, Josy unearths documents that shed new light on the birth of Indian democracy and its institutions through snippets and stories.

Acknowledgements:

Tryst With Destiny | India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru addresses the nation of India (English). YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrEkYscgbqE&t=58s

1946 Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru’s Constituent Assembly Speech at Delhi (Hindi). YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrEkYscgbqE&t=58s

Credits:

A man of great contradictions… that is how the learned and venerable reformer and technocrat Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer is introduced in the second episode of The India Project with Josy Joseph. In the summer of 1947, Sir CP had drawn up an aggressive plan for independence… not of India, but of the princely state of Travancore, of which he was the Diwan from 1936 to 1947. As the clock ticked, it appeared as if Travancore would hoist its own national flag even before India would. Until one night in July, as Sir CP finished addressing the audience at a concert commemorating the anniversary of the former Maharaja and Carnatic music composer Swathi Thirunal, a sickle swished in the dark.

Episode 2 of The India Project unravels the intrigues and covert correspondences leading up to Travancore’s eventual accession to the Union of India. Until the turning point — the attempted assassination of Sir CP.

Listen to discover more.

The India Project, narrated by investigative reporter and author Josy Joseph, chronicles the formation of the republic through documents that shed new light on the genesis of Indian democracy and its institutions.

Acknowledgements:

Tryst With Destiny - Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s address to the nation on August 15, 1947 | YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrEkYscgbqE&t=58s

Nagumomu - Abheri performed by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer | YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofgoh6Ef3io

Thanks to Confluence Media for CP’s Letter to the Maharaja

Performed by Narayan Krishnaswamy

Music used from

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/maharajah-of-bikaners-birthday

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar.

A car chase in Bombay climaxes in a cold-blooded street murder and a foiled abduction. A cornered potentate, chastened by a scandal, agrees reluctantly to abdicate. Amid the power play of dangerous liaisons, this episode of The India Project packs it all in.

After our exploration of the fraught politics of The Princely States in Episode 1 and the mutinous designs of Travancore to renege on the Union in Episode 2, we journey to Indore, a princely state in present-day Madhya Pradesh, where palace intrigues deepen the Maharaja’s decision — accede to the Union of India, or secede and face the consequences. After the abdication of Maharaja Tukoji Rao III Holkar XIII, scion of the Holkar dynasty, his young happy-go-lucky heir Yashwant Rao Holkar II has been installed on the throne, a move that marks the beginning of British control of Indore. Years later, barely weeks from August 15, 1947, the flamboyant ruler is in the crosshairs of a crisis as he tries to assert his dominion’s independence.

Acknowledgements:

Audio excerpts in this episode are drawn from the following sources:

Lord Louis Mountbatten at New Delhi talks (1947) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUWNDK6ZDt4

Thief Of Baghdad- 1940 ( Hindi) 1:16:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBorHUADApc&t=4578s

Sazaa Full Movie - Dev Anand - Nimmi - Shyama | Old Hindi Movies | Classic Bollywood Film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-sE_SUrH40

Sheesh Mahal (1950) Full Movie | शीश महल | Sohrab Modi, Naseem Banu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HeeJCq0XPY&feature=youtu.be

Raj Nartaki 1940 Hindi Classical Full Movie || Prithviraj Kapoor, Sadhna Bose || Hindi Movies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d43ZbFo39s&t=2079s

AI voices from Murf.ai

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

Did you know that Bhopal has a rich history, and a role to play in the cloak-and-dagger drama that preceded Independence?

Before it came to be the capital of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal was the second-largest Islamic princely state in British India. In fact, Bhopal State had a long lineage of rulers, including a succession of female Nawabs or Nawab Begums, unique in Indian history. The last ruling Nawab, Hamidullah Khan, enjoyed a closeness to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was campaigning for the independent Islamic nation of Pakistan, as well as Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India. The Nawab had made up his mind to join Pakistan, but things didn’t quite go according to plan.

As the date for Independence drew near, the Nawab was a troubled man. His letters to Jinnah seemed to receive a cold shoulder, while the Viceroy was unsupportive of his decision to join Pakistan. There was also the geographical absurdity of it to consider — Bhopal being a landlocked territory that shared no terrestrial borders with the proposed boundaries of Pakistan.

Tensions, naturally, ran high with every passing minute. There was much desperate hand-wringing and feverish letter-writing, not to mention a cocked pistol that the Nawab brandished at his daughter.

How did Bhopal eventually join the Union of India? To know that, revisit the drama of the times in this gripping episode.

Acknowledgements:

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech - Tryst with Destiny Tryst with Destiny | Jawaharlal Nehru

Thanks to Confluence Media for the letters in this episode.

Zafarullah Khan’s Letter to VP Menon performed by Ranvijay Pratap Singh

CC Desai’s letter as a reply to Zafarullah Khan’s letter performed by Zia Ahmed

Nawab Of Bhopal Hamidullah Khan’s letter to Jinnah performed by Kafeel Jafri

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Beej, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

In August 1947, as India took the final steps towards becoming an independent nation, numerous actors thronged the chessboard in the northeast of the country, contemplating their moves. Among them was the Governor of Assam, Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari, who initiated talks with the respective princely states and ethnic dominions of the northeast, including the Naga Hills, Khasi Hills and Mizo Hills.

Tracing various documents and correspondences, reporter and author Josy Joseph reconstructs the history of how the northeast states — present-day Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur — were stitched into the fabric of the new nation.

Listen to Ep 5 - The Northeast on The India Project with Josy Joseph in conversation with Seetal Iyer.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to Confluence Media for the Letters in this episode.

Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari Letter to Pt. Nehru performed by Ranvijay Pratap Singh

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech - Tryst with Destiny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrEkYscgbqE&t=58s

Audio used from: https://ncaa.gov.in/repository/search/displaySearchRecordPreview/IGRMS-MINI_DV_1081-MDV/Nagaland-Tour-(Vol.-X)

https://ncaa.gov.in/repository/search/displaySearchRecordPreview/CVI-SUR_R_4470-UMLB/Bamboo-Dance-of-Mizoram

https://ncaa.gov.in/repository/search/displaySearchRecordPreview/CVI-SUR_R_1489-UMHB/Lifestyle-of-Khasi-Community-(Vol.-V)

Tripura folk song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEVDCrEIRIk

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Beej, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

Co-host Seetal joins expert Josy Joseph in conversation in this penultimate episode of The India Project. As they unravel the story so far, they bring on stage the key characters for a curtain call.

What became of Travancore Diwan Sir C P ’s machinations in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on him? What were the moves being planned by the Nizam of Hyderabad? In the wake of the Japanese Army’s advance on the northeast, what were Governor Hydari’s options?

As they tie up the loose ends, the clock races towards the final days preceding Independence. A nation awaits its tryst with destiny.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to Confluence Media for the letters featured in this episode

YouTube | The Quint: The Battle of Imphal: When World War II was fought in India https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH3kV5cOsSM

Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer’s letter read by Narayan Krishnaswamy

AI voice - Murf.ai

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

What is the mood in the streets of India on August 14, 1947? If you expected cheering crowds and processions of jubilation on the eve of Independence, here’s the sobering truth: not everyone is celebrating.

For some princely states, accession to the Indian Union is not a natural choice. Punjab, Sind and Bengal, cloven by Partition, witness scenes of horrific violence and the displacement of millions. The birth of our nation, as the facts reveal, is not without its share of labour pangs.

In the season finale of The India Project with Josy Joseph, we observe the awakening of India as an unstoppable idea whose time has come. With memorable sound-bites from the leaders of a newly free nation, we end Season 1 on a note of nostalgic introspection.

Thank you for joining us on the journey so far.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to Confluence Media for the letters in this episode:

Letter from CP Ramaswami Iyer replying to Indore’s invitation to be the Prime minister performed by Narayan Krishnaswamy

Letter from Mir Osman Ali, Nizam of Hyderabad, performed by Ranvijay Pratap Singh

Letter from Hamidullah Khan, Nawab of Bhopal, to Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, performed by Kafeel Jafri

View the full list of acknowledgements on our website: https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/radio-azim-premji-university

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar