SANTOSH 9702: Pakistan

Friday, September 18, 2026

Is it true that Jodhpur wanted to join Pakistan in 1947?

In 1947, the Hindu king of Jodhpur was so tempted to join Pakistan that Muhammad Ali Jinnah handed him a signed, blank sheet of paper and told him to write his own terms.

When the British partitioned India, the over 500 princely states had to choose between acceding to India or Pakistan. Jodhpur was a massive, Hindu-majority desert state sharing a long border with Pakistan. Its young ruler, Maharaja Hanwant Singh, saw a rare opportunity for leverage. Jinnah, hoping to drive a wedge into India's western frontier, was prepared to give the Maharaja whatever he wanted. The offers on the table included free access to the Karachi port, arms manufacturing rights, and independent jurisdiction over the regional railway system.

Indian leaders Lord Mountbatten and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel quickly learned of the secret negotiations. Patel recognized that losing Jodhpur would be disastrous for the territorial integrity of independent India. He stepped in with a counter-offer, guaranteeing Jodhpur the continuation of its railway jurisdiction and offering robust famine relief. More importantly, Mountbatten warned Hanwant Singh that his Hindu subjects would almost certainly revolt if he aligned a Hindu-majority state with a Muslim nation during a time of intense communal violence.

The pressure from both sides brought Hanwant Singh to a breaking point. During a tense meeting in Delhi to finalize the Instrument of Accession with V.P. Menon, the Secretary of the Ministry of States, the Maharaja finally agreed to sign his state over to India. As soon as Mountbatten left the room, however, the young king snapped. In a sudden fit of rage, Hanwant Singh pulled out a .22 caliber pistol hidden inside a specialized pen, pointed it directly at Menon's head, and shouted, "I refuse to accept your dictation!"

Mountbatten rushed back in upon hearing the commotion and managed to defuse the situation. Hanwant Singh calmed down, the accession papers went through, and Jodhpur officially became part of India. The Maharaja’s flirtation with Pakistan ended up being a brief diplomatic crisis, but his blank-check offer from Jinnah remains one of the most remarkable near-misses of the partition.

Maharaja Hanwant Singh, the ruler of Jodhpur who briefly considered aligning his state with Pakistan during the 1947 partition of India. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Saturday, April 11, 2026

What are some of the little-known facts about Indian geography?

1. Forgotten Dispute between India and Pakistan.

Apart from Kashmir,Sir Creek a 96 km strip of water in the Rann of Kutch marshlands is maritime dispute between India and Pakistan.
This area is of little military advantage to both the countries but this region is rich in oil and gas and considered to be among the largest fishing grounds in Asia.
This region fell amid tensions after Atlantique Incident in 1999 when Indian Air force MiG 21 shot down Pakistan Navy’s Reconnaissance plane for airspace violation and Pakistan retaliation of targeting MiG 21 was narrowly missed.

2.Gandikota- Grand Canyon of India

The almost forgotten gorge of Gandikota is situated on the Pennar River in Andhra Pradesh.
Gandi means cannon and Kota refers to a fort. Gandikota fort was one of the largest forts in southern India at its peak.

3. Indian Ocean is the only ocean named after our country India

India has the longest coastline in the Indian Ocean.
India holds a central location which is at the head of the Indian Ocean
India in ancient times was an important location in the Indian Ocean which connected Europe with countries of Southeast Asia.

4. India subcontinent consists of 7 countries

Indian Subcontinent contains 7 countries-India,Pakistan,Bangladesh,Sri Lanka,Nepal,Bhutan and Maldives accounts for 25% of world’s population.
Indian sub continent is also geographically diversified as it contains deserts, plateaus, rain forests, mountains, hot springs and rests on a separate tectonic plate which is called as Indian plate.
Geographically, it is the peninsular region in south-central Asia delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east.
Geopolitically it had formed the whole territory of Greater India that were historically influenced by Indian culture and languages.

5. Lake Manasarovar is the Origin of Asia’s largest rivers Sutlej,Indus,Brahmaputra and Ghaghara Rivers.

The lake is revered as a sacred place in four religions: Bon, Buddhism,Hinduism and Jainism.
Lake Mansarovar is a freshwater lake overflows into saline endorheic lake Rakshastal by Ganga Chhu channel.

6. Brahmaputra’s The Great Bend

Yarlung Zangbo leaves China to flow into the Arunachal Pradesh region of India and become the Brahmaputra, it makes a dramatic turn of almost 270 degrees to the south.

7. East Flowing Rivers Vs West Flowing Rivers

East flowing rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri originate in Western Ghats and drain into Bay of Bengal.They have large volume of water but flow velocity is so slow that it cannot further carry the sediment brought by the river, which is dropped its mouth and form deltas at their mouths.
West Flowing rivers Narmada and Tapi originate in Central India and drain into Arabian Sea. They have lesser volume of water and form estuaries.
Sunderban is the world’s largest delta and Mangrove forest which is made from the integration of both the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers.

8. Keibul Lamjao National Park- World’s only Floating National Park

It is located in Loktak Lake characterized by many floating decomposed plant materials locally called phumdis.
It is only home of endangered Sangai deer.
The Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Laboratory (IBSD), Imphal has established India's first floating laboratory at Loktak Lake to monitor the ecosystem of the lake as well as the water quality.