Three problems that the newly independent nation of India faced were:

1) Rehabilitation of a large number of refugees- As a result of partition, eight million refugees had come into the country from what was now Pakistan. These people had to be found homes and jobs.

2) Assimilation of princely states- Second, the problem was of the princely states, almost 500 of them, each ruled by a Maharaja or a Nawab, each of them had to be persuaded to join the new nation.

3) Ensuring the unity of a country which is full of diversity- In the longer term, the new nation had to adopt a political system that would best serve the hopes and expectations of its population.