Despite the strong reservations of the ruling elite of Pakistan against sub-national groups and nationalisms, it was these very groups which showed remarkable progress and success during the first decade of Pakistan’s existence. The princely states of Khairpur, Bahawalpur and Swat were at the forefront of rapid development in the years following accession and, in some cases, they quickly surpassed their adjoining erstwhile British Indian provinces.

Among the princely states, the story of Khairpur is the most enchanting. Called ‘jungly’ by the Punjab States Resident in 1946, Khairpur had emerged as a powerhouse by 1955, the eve of its merger into the One Unit. Led by the dynamic Mumtaz Kazilbash as chief minister and a Cambridge educated ruler, His Highness Mir George Ali Murad Talpur, Khairpur became the prime example of a developing ‘welfare state’ in Pakistan in its first decade.

Presenting the budget for Khairpur State for the year 1955, Chief Minister Kazilbash noted: "A welfare State…demands proportionate sacrifice, industry, labour and austerity from each and everyone on the principle of ‘to each according to his need, from each according to his capacity.’ In a Welfare State there is no place for cultivating the prestige of idleness or conspicuous living. All have to be workers…It is the duty of all…to participate actively in this adventure of economic and social development and not rest until a Welfare State has been achieved." Even the voicing of such lofty ideals in a state which was considered primitive just a few years ago was indeed a positive development.

Khairpur State’s foremost achievement was that it was the first unit of Pakistan which held elections on universal adult franchise in 1950. Till that time no other province or state in Pakistan had elections on universal adult franchise and all provincial assemblies and even the constituent assembly were functioning under the adapted 1935 Government of India Act with a limited franchise. No wonder then when the prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, inaugurated the Khairpur Assembly on November 11, 1950, he stated that Khairpur had ‘stolen the march’ in introducing this very important element of democratic reform. Unfortunately, the State never elected its own chief minister, but that had more to do with the controlling tendencies of the central government than the unwillingness of the local population or even the local elite.

Khairpur State did not just pay lip service to development. In several departments it made exemplary progress. In education the state spent 22 per cent of its revenue on education which came to about Rs10 per person. This was the highest percentage and the highest per capita spending in all of Pakistan. Furthermore, the state provided free education till the matric standard, and also gave free books and hostel accommodation. Elementary education for boys was made compulsory, and scholarships were given for higher education in all parts of Pakistan. A state of the art school, the Naz Girls High School, was also established for girls -- the first in the state. The result of all these interventions was that the literacy rate of Khairpur almost tripled between 1941 and 1961, and enrolment at the primary level surpassed seventy per cent.

In terms of judicial reforms too, Khairpur made measured progress. Initially it used the services of a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, Choudhri Naimatullah, as the head of the judicial committee and even after independence the judiciary was gradually separated from the executive and made strong and independent. The state legislature noted one instance where "…food was being smuggled out of Pakistan, Special Police had to be posted by the Central Government in several neighbouring districts…But the vigilance of the state authorities was such that no special police had to be stationed in the state."

Road and transport communications were also a major focus of the Khairpur government and expenditure on roads rose from a mere Rs100,000 in 1947 to over Rs2.2 million by 1955. The state also participated in the Karachi-Lahore highway and built its portion of the road at a cost of Rs2 million. Most significantly, Khairpur established a nationalised local transport system at a cost of Rs300,000 in 1955, which radically changed communications in this hitherto remote state.

Khairpur also excelled in economic development and its budget income dramatically increased. Between 1948 and 1955 its income rose from a meagre Rs5.7 million to over Rs16.9 million, an increase of 310 per cent. The Khairpur state legislature therefore gleefully noted that while the budget income had risen in East Bengal by 65 per cent, in the Punjab by 41 per cent and by only 13 per cent in Sindh, it has outmatched all these former British Indian provinces.

The state also boasted the highest per capita budget income of Rs53, where the next highest per capita income was of the Punjab at Rs20. Khairpur also set up a state of the art textile mill in 1951, at a cost of Rs10 million. This mill made a profit of Rs4.5 million in 1954-55, and was then sold to a private company. The chief minister noted that this sale was done because "the textile mill has already served the purpose for which the state established it: it was intended to play the part of a pump-primer for further economic and industrial development." For a state which literally had no industry in 1947, by 1955 there were two other private textile mills, a tobacco redrying factory had been set up in 1954, a soap and oil factory was functioning by 1955, and several new projects had been proposed by the time the state was merged in the One Unit.

Thus, by the time the state was merged into the One Unit in October 1955, it had made exemplary progress. It had proven that smaller units worked well in the federal structure of Pakistan, and that preserving them was the best way to ensure development. The state legislature passed a unanimous resolution in November 1954, just as it heard about possible plans for the creation of a united west Pakistan, that "…the raison d’état of a federation is that the units (big or small) should have the option of maintaining their separate identity as a provincial unit…" The state legislature forcefully argued that smaller units are in fact better for a large country like Pakistan, especially in terms of competitive development. It noted that "the existence of progressive units like that of Khairpur will engender a spirit of wholesome competition between different units of Pakistan, and will create healthy rivalry between them to improve the condition of their people…"

Read also: Democratic trajectory of Bahawalpur State 

Focusing on the practical functionality of smaller units the legislature noted that "smaller states, with less official paraphernalia, which can give prompt attention to public needs and complaints are better suited to the conditions in Pakistan." The legislature then finally argued that in the spirit of democracy too, smaller units should be allowed to exist: "Continuance of viable units in accordance with the wishes of the people of the said units can alone create satisfaction and strengthen the unity of Pakistan." But sadly, these pleas fell on deaf ears and the state was merged with the One Unit on October 14, 1955.

To be continued