Integration of Princely States and Reorganization of India

Goa, Daman, and Diu were colonies of the Portuguese Empire for over 450 years until they were annexed by India in 1961.

The Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh included a provision that the final status of the state would be decided by the will of the people, often referred to as a plebiscite.

Vallabhbhai Patel was the First Home Minister of India. He took charge of the states department in July 1947. He handled the task of integrating 562 independent states with a democratic self-governing India.  By August 15, 1947 all except Hyderabad, Junagarh and Kashmir acceded to India.

A Union Territory is a type of administrative division in the Republic of India. Unlike the states of India, which have their own governments, union territories are federal territories governed directly by the Central Government of India

The Indian Independence Act allowed states to remain independent, Sardar Patel led the integration efforts, and the three named states initially delayed signing the Instrument of Accession.

Operation Vijay was the military operation conducted by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961 to liberate the territories of Goa, Daman, and Diu from Portuguese rule.

Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), popularly known as Sardar Patel, was the first Home minister and Deputy Prime Minister of independent India. Patel organised relief efforts for refugees fleeing to Punjab and Delhi from Pakistan and worked to restore peace.

V.P. Menon was a key civil servant who worked closely with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to draft the necessary legal documents for the integration of the Princely States into the Indian Union.

The Bhavnagar state was one of the first to merge into the United State of Saurashtra, which occurred on February 15, 1948.

Goa attained statehood on May 30, 1987, at which point Daman and Diu were separated to become a separate Union Territory.

Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947, following the tribal invasion of the state.

Following the military action in 1961, the territories of Goa, Daman, and Diu were formally integrated into the Indian Union in 1962.

The Discovery of India is a book by Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Language was the basis of the reorganisation of states in India in the year 1956.

Potti Sreeramulu was an activist who demanded the formation of a Telugu-majority state. He died on 16 December 1952 after undertaking a fast-unto-death for the purpose. This resulted in the creation of the first state on a linguistic basis for Telugu speaking people called Andhra State on October 1, 1953. It was later renamed Andhra Pradesh.

The Payyannur Congress session in 1928 was presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru. It was a significant event in the Kerala regional movement.

National Herald was founded by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938 as a tool to win independence. It was started with a vision of building a modern, democratic, just, equitable, liberal and socially harmonious nation.

Jawaharlal Nehru was a staunch advocate of secularism and played a primary role in embedding secular principles into the Indian Constitution and the national identity.

Puducherry (Pondicherry) remained under French colonial rule until 1954, well after India's independence in 1947.

Raja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession to India in October 1947, primarily to secure military assistance against the tribal invasion supported by Pakistan.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is known as the 'Iron Man of India' for his monumental task of integrating over 500 princely states into the newly independent Indian Union.