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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

“With great skill and masterful diplomacy and using both persuasion and pressure, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel succeeded in integrating the hundreds of princely states with the Indian Union.” Discuss.

  • UPSC 2007
  • Consolidation as a Nation

At independence, nearly 600 princely states, covering a third of the subcontinent's area, stood outside British India proper, and their fate was undecided.

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of the History Optional PYQ Master Pack.

What the full answer covers

  • The Stakes: Why Integration Could Not Be Left to Chance
  • Persuasion — The Carrot
  • Pressure — The Stick
  • Case Studies Combining Both Methods
  • Assessing the "Masterful Diplomacy" Claim

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