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Cooch Behar
Merger Agreement |
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On 15th August
1947, it was the birth of an independent India and Pakistan, free from two
decades of Colonial Rule. Question arose regarding which nation the State of
Cooch Behar will cede to. On the 28th of August 1949 an
agreement was contracted between the Governor-General of India and His
Highness the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, which came to be known as the Cooch
Behar Merger Agreement, in which His Highness the Maharaja of Cooch Behar ceded
to the Dominion Government (Govt. of India) - |
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"full and extensive authority,
jurisdiction and powers for and in relation to the governance of the
State" and agreed "to transfer the administration of the State to
the Dominion Government on the 12th day of September, 1949."
It was stipulated that from the 12th September, 1949 the
Government of India would be competent to govern the State in such a manner
and through such agency as it might think fit. Following is the extract
of that Cooch Behar Merger Agreement :-
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Cooch Behar Merger Agreement :
Agreement made this twenty eighth day of August 1949 between the Governor
General of India and His Highness the Maharaja of Cooch Behar.
Whereas in the best interests of the
State of Cooch Behar as well as of the Dominion of India it is desirable to
provide for the administration of the said State by or under the authority of
the Dominion Government :
It
is hereby agreed as follows :~
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Article - 1 :-
His Highness the Maharaja of Cooch Behar hereby cedes to the
Dominion Government full and exclusive authority, jurisdiction and powers for
and in relation to the governance of the State and agrees to transfer the
administration of the State to the Dominion Government on the 12th day of
September 1949 (hereinafter referred to as 'the said day').
As from the said day the Dominion Government will be competent to exercise the
said powers, authority and jurisdiction in such manner and through such agency
as it may think fit.
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Article - 2 :-
His Highness the Maharaja shall
continue to enjoy the same personal rights, privileges, dignities and titles
which he would have enjoyed had this agreement not been made.
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Article - 3 :-
His Highness the Maharaja shall with
effect from the said day be entitled to receive for his lifetime from the
revenues of the State annually for his privy purse the sum of Rupees eight
lakhs fifty thousand free of all taxes. After him the privy parts will be
fixed at Rupees seven lakhs only. this amount is intended to cover all the
expenses of the Ruler and his family, including expenses on account of his
personal staff, maintenance of his residences, marriages and other
ceremonies, etc., and will neither be increased nor reduced for any reason
whatsoever.
The Government of India undertakes the
said sum of Rupees eight lakhs fifty thousand shall be paid to His Highness
the Maharaja in four equal installments in advance at the beginning of each
quarter from the State Treasury or at such Treasury as may be specified by
the Government of India.
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Article - 4 :-
His Highness the Maharaja shall be
entitled to the full ownership, use and enjoyment of all private properties
(as distinct from State properties) belonging to him on the date of this
agreement.
His Highness the Maharaja will furnish to the
Dominion Government before the 15th September 1949, an inventory of all the
immovable property, securities and cash balances held by him as such private
property.
If any dispute arises as to whether any item of
property is the private property of His Highness the Maharaja
or State property, it shall be referred to a Judicial Officer
qualified to be appointed as High Court Judge, and the decision of that
Officer shall be final and binding on both parties.
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Article - 5 :-
All the members of His Highness'
family shall be entitled to all the personal privileges, dignities and
titles enjoyed by them whether within or outside the territories of the
State, immediately before the 15th day of August 1947.
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Article - 6 :-
The Dominion Government guarantees
the succession, according to law and custom, to the Gaddi of the
State and to His Highness the Maharaja's personal rights, privileges,
dignities and titles.
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Article - 7 :-
No enquiry shall be made by or under
the authority of the Government of India, and no proceedings shall lie in
any court in Cooch Behar against His Highness the Maharaja, whether in a
personal capacity or otherwise, in respect of anything done or omitted to be
done by him or under his authority during the period of his administration
of that State.
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Article - 8 :-
(i) The Government of India hereby
guarantees either the continuants in service of the permanent members of the
public services of Cooch Behar on conditions which will be not less
advantageous than those on which they were serving before the date on which
the administration of Cooch Behar is made over to the Government of India or
the payment of reasonable compensation.
(ii) The
Government of India further guarantees the continuance of pensions and leave
salaries sanctioned by His Highness the Maharaja to servants of the State
who have retired or proceed on leave preparatory to retirement, before the
date on which the administration of Cooch Behar is made over to the
Government of India.
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Article - 9 :-
Except with the previous sanction of
the Government of India no proceedings, civil and criminal, shall be
instituted against any person in respect of any act done or purpoting to be
done in the execution of his duties as a servant of the State before the day
on which the administration is made over to the Government of India.
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In confirmation whereof Mr. Vapal Pangunni
Menon, Advisor to the Govt. of India in the Ministry of States has appended
his signature on behalf and with the authority of the Governor General of
India and Lieutenant Colonel His Highness the Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan
Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar, has appended his signature on behalf of
himself, his heirs and successors.
Jagaddipendra Narayan
Maharaja of Cooch Behar
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V. P. Menon
Advisor to the Govt. of India
Ministry of States
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Farewell Notes of Maharaja
Jagaddipendra Narayan
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At the juncture
of this merger, the Maharaja was deeply felt. People of Cooch Behar had also
to bear this end of the |
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Royalty.
Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan bade farewell to his beloved people in the
following way :
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On this solemn occassion which marks the end of long and happy association,
my mother and I send you our very best wishes, my beloved people.
Whereever we may be, we shall never forget you, your loyalty, and your
devotion, we hope you will always maintain the peace, goodwill and harmony
which has been our common heritage.
We shall
always watch with keen interest your moral and material welfare and always
pray for your happiness and prosperity.
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May God Almighty bless you
all
Jagaddipendra Narayan
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What followed next -
Assimilation |
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Between the 12th September and
31st December 1949, Cooch Behar was known as a Chief
Commissioner's Province in the Government of India under a Chief Commissioner.
When the Government of the State passed into the hands of the Government of
India there was a series of discussions between the Union Government, the West
Bengal Government and the Government of Assam, in which the wishes of the
people of Cooch Behar were taken into account, and the Government of India
reached the conclusion that the best interests of the people of - |
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Cooch Behar and
of India as a whole would be served by the merger of Cooch Behar in the
province of West Bengal. This was done with effect from the 1st January 1950,
by means of an order under S. 290(a) of the Government of India Act of 1935.
Almost immediately the Government of West Bengal enacted an Act, called the
Cooch Behar (Assimilation of State Laws) Act in 1950, in which the following
Acts, contained in the first schedule, were assimilated to the laws of the
State of West Bengal. :-
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The
Cooch Behar ( Assimilation of State
Laws ) Act, 1950
SCHEDULE 1
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The
Cooch Behar Village Choukidari Act, 1893 (Cooch Behar Act III of 1893). |
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The
Cooch Behar Cess Act, 1893 (Cooch Behar Act V of 1893). |
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The
Cooch Behar Revenue Sales Act, 1897 (Cooch Behar Act V of 1897)` |
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The
Kist Act, Cooch Behar, 1898 (Cooch Behar Act I of 1898). |
| (5) |
The
Cooch Behar Town Committee Act of 1903 (Cooch Behar Act IV of 1903). |
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The
Cooch Behar Tenancy Act, 1910 (Cooch behar Act V of 1910). |
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The
Cooch Behar Municipal Act, 1944 (Cooch Behar Act III of 1944). |
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Further
enactments followed, and now most laws of the State of West Bengal are common
to the district of Cooch Behar. Cooch Behar was declared a district of the
State of West Bengal with effect from the 1st January 1950, and the District
Officer came to be gazetted as Deputy Commissioner of Cooch Behar, on the
analogy of the - |
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designation of
District Officers of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri. The Deputy Commissioner is
re-notified as the District Magistrate of Cooch Behar, every time a fresh
appointment is made. The following notifications are mentioned regarding the
constitution of the Chief Commissioner's province of Cooch Behar into a
district in West Bengal :
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Notification
No. 3509GA, dated 01/01/1950 regarding constitution of the Chief
Commissioner's Province of Cooch Behar into a district in West Bengal with
police stations as follows :
(1) Kotwali, (2) Dinhata,
(3) Sitai, (4) Tufanganj,
(5) Mathabhanga,
(6) Sitalkuchi, (7) Mekliganj and
(8) Haldibari.
Notification No. 3549GA, dated 01/01/1950 regarding division of
the district of Cooch Behar into following subdivisions namely :
(1) Cooch
Behar Sadar, (2) Dinhata,
(3) Mathabhanga,
(4) Tufanganj and (5) Mekliganj.
Notification Nos. 9P1
to 16P1, dated 01/01/1950 regarding formation of police stations Sitalkuchi,
Mekliganj, Haldibari, Kotwali, Dinhata, Sitai, Tufanganj and Mathabhanga in
the District of Cooch Behar. |
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Notification No. 7018J, dated 01/01/1950 regarding
formation of subdivisions as detailed below :
(1) Subdivision Cooch Behar with
P.S. Kotwali;
(2) Subdivision Dinhata with
(a) P.S. Dinhata
and
(b) P.S. Sitai;
(3) Subdivision Tufanganj with P.S. Tufanganj;
(4)
Subdivision Mathabhanga with
(a) P.S. Mathabhanga and
(b) P.S. Sitalkuchi;
(5) Subdivision Mekliganj with
(a) P.S. Mekliganj
and
(b) P.S. Haldibari.
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