<P> Mountbatten stressed that he would act as the trustee of the princes' commitment, as he would be serving as India's head of state well into 1948 . He engaged in a personal dialogue with reluctant princes, such as the Nawab of Bhopal, who he asked through a confidential letter to sign the Instrument of Accession making Bhopal part of India, which Mountbatten would keep locked up in his safe . It would be handed to the States Department on 15 August only if the Nawab did not change his mind before then, which he was free to do . The Nawab agreed, and did not renege over the deal . </P> <P> At the time, several princes complained that they were being betrayed by Britain, who they regarded as an ally, and Sir Conrad Corfield resigned his position as head of the Political Department in protest at Mountbatten's policies . Mountbatten's policies were also criticised by the opposition Conservative Party . Winston Churchill compared the language used by the Indian government with that used by Adolf Hitler before the invasion of Austria . Modern historians such as Lumby and Moore, however, take the view that Mountbatten played a crucial role in ensuring that the princely states agreed to accede to India . </P> <P> By far the most significant factor that led to the princes' decision to accede to India was the policy of the Congress and, in particular, of Patel and Menon . The Congress' stated position was that the princely states were not sovereign entities, and as such could not opt to be independent notwithstanding the end of paramountcy . The princely states must therefore accede to either India or Pakistan . In July 1946, Nehru pointedly observed that no princely state could prevail militarily against the army of independent India . In January 1947, he said that independent India would not accept the divine right of kings, and in May 1947, he declared that any princely state which refused to join the Constituent Assembly would be treated as an enemy state . Other Congress leaders, such as C. Rajagopalachari, argued that as paramountcy "came into being as a fact and not by agreement", it would necessarily pass to the government of independent India, as the successor of the British . </P> <P> Patel and Menon, who were charged with the actual job of negotiating with the princes, took a more conciliatory approach than Nehru . The official policy statement of the Government of India made by Patel on 5 July 1947 made no threats . Instead, it emphasised the unity of India and the common interests of the princes and independent India, reassured them about the Congress' intentions, and invited them to join independent India "to make laws sitting together as friends than to make treaties as aliens". He reiterated that the States Department would not attempt to establish a relationship of domination over the princely states . Unlike the Political Department of the British Government, it would not be an instrument of paramountcy, but a medium whereby business could be conducted between the states and India as equals . </P>

Which state became part of india after independence