How many principalities were merged in the 'Saurashtra Sangh' on 15th February, 1948?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, 222. On 15 February 1948, 222 princely states and estates of the Kathiawar (Saurashtra) peninsula in present-day Gujarat were merged into a single union named Saurashtra State (Saurashtra Sangh) — one of the largest such mergers carried out by the States Department under Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon during post-Independence integration.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Below the documented count of 222 states merged into the Saurashtra union.  (b) One short of the official figure of 222.  (d) One more than the official figure of 222.

Concept: Saurashtra State was formed by uniting the numerous small princely states of the Kathiawar peninsula — one of the most fragmented regions of princely India — into a single administrative union in February 1948. It functioned as a separate 'Part B' state with a Rajpramukh until the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, merged it into the bilingual Bombay State; Bombay State itself was later split in 1960 into Gujarat and Maharashtra, placing the Saurashtra region in Gujarat.

State PCS 2023 Q63 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q63 — History PYQ with Answer