Event
PEPSU formation
Six of its eight merged states were Sikh-ruled
Who: Eight princely states merged: Patiala, Jind, Kapurthala, Nabha, Kalsia, Faridkot, Malerkotla, and Nalagarh. Led by Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala (Rajpramukh).
What: Formation of PEPSU, a state created by merging eight small princely states into a unified administrative territory. Initial Rajpramukh (ceremonial head): Maharaja Yadavindra Singh. Population approximately 3.5 million. Six of the eight merged states had Sikh rulers.
Where: Southern East Punjab region (areas now in modern Punjab and Haryana).
Why it mattered: PEPSU was the nearest thing to a Sikh-led state inside the Indian Union, demographic precursor to the eventual Punjabi Suba (achieved 1966). The PEPSU experiment demonstrated both the viability and the complexity of Sikh-majority sub-national administration.
PEPSU's trajectory: Merged into (enlarged) Punjab state in November 1956 under the States Reorganization Act, the same Act that controversially excluded Punjab from linguistic reorganization. PEPSU's absorption into Punjab was one of the grievances driving the subsequent Punjabi Suba agitation.
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Sources
- Patiala and East Punjab States Union, The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism (Punjabi University, Patiala). eos.learnpunjabi.org
- Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com