Which one of the following statements about 'Princely States' in India is not correct?

The British Government declared that with the lapse of paramountcy, the 565 Princely States were legally free to join India, Pakistan, or remain independent [1]. This decision was left to the princely rulers rather than the people [1]. Travancore was indeed the first state to publicly declare its intention to remain independent on June 11, 1947, under the influence of its Dewan, C.P. Ramaswami Iyer [1]. However, statement 4 is incorrect because Travancore did not join India through a plebiscite. Following an assassination attempt on the Dewan and subsequent negotiations, the ruler signed the Instrument of Accession on July 30, 1947. In contrast, it was the state of Junagadh where the issue of accession was resolved through a plebiscite after the Nawab had initially fled to Pakistan [2].

Sources

1. [1] Politics in India since Independence, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: Challenges of Nation Building > The problem > p. 14
2. [2] Politics in India since Independence, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: Challenges of Nation Building > Government's approach > p. 16