Between the years 1947 and 1949, 565 princely states were integrated to join the Indian Union in record time. nation, n. (14c) 1. A large group of people having a common origin, language, and tradition and usu. constituting a political entity. • When a nation is coincident with a state, the term nation-state is often used.... James, Paul (1996). Nation Formation: Towards a Theory of Abstract Community. London: Sage Publications. Ahmed, Zahid Shahab. "Impact of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor on nation-building in Pakistan." Journal of Contemporary China 28.117 (2019): 400–414.

Wimmer, Andreas (2018). "Nation Building: Why Some Countries Come Together While Others Fall Apart". Survival. 60 (4): 151–164. doi: 10.1080/00396338.2018.1495442. ISSN 0039-6338. S2CID 158766905. Richmond, Edmun B. (1993). "Senegambia and the Confederation: History, Expectations, and Disillusions". Journal of Third World Studies. 10 (2): 172–194. JSTOR 45193442 . Retrieved 28 September 2021. Patel responded saying that this was no time for people like him to think of rest or retirement. That he ought to consider it his bounden duty to work for the consolidation of freedom. Putting nation ahead of personal interests, at just this one direction from Sardar, Menon came on board to accept the secretaryship of the States Ministry. Together with Sardar Patel, Menon played an instrumental role in the integration of 565 princely states into the Union of India in such a short span of time.V.P. Menon urged C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar, the ruler of Travancore to reconsider his decision. Lauding him for his past contribution toward the nation, Menon told the Aiyar that it ought not to be said that the Raja had not made a contribution toward building a united nation when he had it in his power to do so. The Raja asked for more time to think the matter over.

Defining Nation, nationality or nationalism is a complicated exercise. These terms are often used to imply a multiplicity of interrelated phenomena, leading to their ambivalence. One reason for such ambivalence is that they all have the etymological origin in the same Latin word ‘ natio’ which implies birth or descent. Mylonas, Harris; Tudor, Maya (11 May 2021). " Nationalism: What We Know and What We Still Need to Know". Annual Review of Political Science. 24 (1): 109–132. The decision was not communicated to the Government of India. The first intimation those in the Government had was when it was reported in the newspapers of 17th August. Gorski, Philip S. (2000). "The Mosaic Moment: An Early Modernist Critique of the Modernist Theory of Nationalism". American Journal of Sociology. 105 (5): 1428–68. doi: 10.1086/210435. JSTOR 3003771. S2CID 144002511. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022 . Retrieved 27 April 2023. Bokat-Lindell, Spencer. "Is the United States Done Being the World’s Cop? The New York Times July 20, 2021There were hundreds of princely states, some large, some small, scattered across the length and breadth of the country. The task at hand was monumental. And time was running out fast.