Accession

noun; also verb (transitive, technical — to record an item in a library or museum collection)

/əkˈsɛʃən/

The formal act of a princely state joining or merging with the Indian Union (or Pakistan) through the legal instrument known as the Instrument of Accession, by which the ruler ceded specified subjects to the new dominion.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union in October 1947, effected through the Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh, remains a watershed in the constitutional integration of the princely states.

Synonyms

assumption (of office)successionenthronementelevationjoiningentry

Antonyms

abdicationsecessionwithdrawalresignation

🌱 Word Family

accede (v), acceding (v pres.p), acceded (v past), accession (n), accessional (adj)

🔡 Root

Latin ad- = to + cedere = to go/yield → accedere = to approach; accessio = a going to

📜 Etymology

From Latin accessionem (nominative accessio, "a going to, joining, increase"), from the past participle stem of accedere ("to approach, to go to"), from ad- ("to") + cedere ("to go, to yield").

🧠 Memory Hook

ACCESSION = gaining ACCESS — a ruler gains access to the throne; a state gains access to a union. Contrast its mirror-opposite: SEcession (going apart) vs ACcession (coming to join).

🏛️ History & Culture 📖 Seen in: Women in Freedom Movement, Role of Pre...

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