All India States Peoples Conference

The All India States Peoples' Conference (AISPC) was a conglomeration of political movements in the princely states of the British Raj. The first session of the organisation was held in Bombay in December 1927. The Conference eventually got affiliated to the Indian National Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru became its president in 1939. The Conference dissolved itself on 25 April 1948, all its constituents merging into the Congress.^[1]

Organisation

The Conference brought together representatives from hundreds of Indian princely states, including Baroda, Bhopal, Travancore and Hyderabad. It was established to encourage political dialogue between the princely class of India, and the British Raj, upon the issues of governance, political stability and future of India.

For a long period, the Conference was hostile to the Indian independence movement, and acted often to condemn and counter-act the work of the Indian National Congress when it was banned by British authorities.

Democratisation

The body had no popular representation until the 1930s, when it opened up its ranks to membership from across the political spectrum.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who would become the first Prime Minister of India in 1947, was invited to become the President of the All-India body in 1935, became the President in 1939 and remained so until 1946.

Indian integration

The body would play an important role during the political integration of India, helping Indian leaders Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru negotiate with hundreds of princes over the formation of a united, independent India after 1947.

See also

• History of the Republic of India
• British Raj
• Indian independence movement

References

Bibliography

• Chandra, Bipan (2000), India's Struggle for Independence, Penguin Books Limited, ISBN 978-81-8475-183-3 
• Ramusack, Barbara N. (1988), "Congress and the People's Movement in Princely India: Ambivalence in Strategy and Organization", in Richard Sisson; Stanley Wolpert, Congress and Indian Nationalism: The Pre-independence Phase, University of California Press, pp. 377–404, ISBN 978-0-520-06041-8 
• Sisson, Richard (1988), Congress and Indian Nationalism: The Pre-independence Phase, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-06041-8 
• Presidential Address, All-India States' Peoples' Conference, February 1939, Ludhiana