Editing Princely state

{{Short description|Indian vassal states under the British Raj}}
{{About|states ruled by princes in the former British Raj of India and current Republic of India|the global concept|Principality}}
{{Colonial India}}
{{Princely states of India topics}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}

A '''princely state''' (also called '''native state''') was semi-independent and a nominally sovereign<ref>{{Harvnb|Ramusack|2004|pp=85}} '''Quote:''' "The British did not create the Indian princes.  Before and during the European penetration of India, indigenous rulers achieved dominance through the military protection they provided to dependents and their skill in acquiring revenues to maintain their military and administrative organizations. Major Indian rulers exercised varying degrees and types of sovereign powers before they entered treaty relations with the British.  What changed during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is that the British increasingly restricted the sovereignty of Indian rulers. The [[East India Company|Indian Company]] set boundaries; it extracted resources in the form of military personnel, subsidies or tribute payments, and the purchase of commercial goods at favorable prices, and limited opportunities for other alliances.  From the 1810s onwards as the British expanded and consolidated their power, their centralized military despotism dramatically reduced the political options of Indian rulers." (p. 85)</ref> entity of [[British Raj]] that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an indigenous ruler under a form of [[indirect rule]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Ramusack|2004|p=87}} '''Quote:''' "The British system of indirect rule over Indian states ... provided a model for the efficient use of scarce monetary and personnel resources that could be adopted to imperial acquisitions in Malaya and Africa."</ref> subject to a [[subsidiary alliance]] and the [[suzerainty]] or [[Suzerainty#British paramountcy|paramountcy]] of the [[the Crown|British Crown]].

At the time of the British withdrawal, 565 princely states were officially recognized in the Indian Subcontinent,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhargava |first=R. P. |title=The Chamber of Princes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAQgNE1uSEgC&pg=PA313 |year=1991 |publisher=Northern Book Centre |isbn=978-81-7211-005-5 |pages=312–323}}</ref> apart from thousands of [[zamindar|zamindari estates]] and [[jagir]]s. In 1947, princely states covered 40% of the area of pre-independence India and constituted 23% of its population.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} The most important princely states had their own Indian political residencies: [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]] of the [[Nizam]]s, [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]], [[Pudukkottai State|Pudukkottai]] and [[Travancore State|Travancore]] in the South, [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Gwalior]] in North and [[Indore State|Indore]] in Central India. The most prominent among those – roughly a quarter of the total – had the status of a [[salute state]], one whose ruler was entitled to a set number of [[gun salute]]s on ceremonial occasions.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The princely states varied greatly in status, size, and wealth; the premier 21-gun salute states of Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir were each over {{Convert|200000|km2||abbr=on}} in size. In 1941, Hyderabad had a population of over 16 million, while Jammu and Kashmir had a population of slightly over 4 million. At the other end of the scale, the non-salute principality of [[Lawa Thikana|Lawa]] covered an area of {{Convert|49|km2||abbr=on}}, with a population of just below 3,000. Some two hundred of the lesser states even had an area of less than {{Convert|25|km2||0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Markovits2004">{{cite book|author=Markovits, Claude |title=A history of modern India, 1480–1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C|year=2004|publisher=Anthem Press|pages=386–409|isbn=978-1-84331-004-4}}</ref><ref name="scale">{{cite book|pages=33–37|title=The India Office and Burma Office List: 1945|publisher=Harrison & Sons, Ltd.|year=1945}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:India1765and1805b.jpg|thumb|250px|right|1765–1805 map of India, shown with a territorial division between Hindus, Muslims and the British]]
[[File:British Indian Empire 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India.jpg|thumb|Political subdivisions of the Indian Empire in 1909 with British India (pink) and the princely states (yellow)]]

The princely states at the time of Indian independence were mostly formed after the disintegration of the [[Mughal Empire]]. Many Princely states had a foreign origin due to the long period of external migration to India. Some of these were the rulers of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]] ([[Turco-Persian tradition|Turco-Persians]]), [[Bhopal State|Bhopal]] ([[Afghans]]) and [[Janjira State|Janjira]] ([[Habesha peoples|Abyssinian]]). Among the Hindu kingdoms, most of the rulers were [[Kshatriya]]. Only the [[List of Rajput dynasties and states|Rajput states]], [[Manipur (princely state)|Manipur]], and a scattering of [[History of South India|South Indian kingdoms]] could trace their lineage to the pre-Mughal period.<ref name=AZ>{{Cite book |first=John |last=Zubrzycki |title=Dethroned |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2024 |pages=41 |isbn=978-1-80526-053-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aYHgEAAAQBAJ&q=dethroned+patel+alexander |quote=Princely States at the time of Indian independence owed their existence to the slow collapse of the Mughal Empire following the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. Centuries of foreign domination meant that many of the rulers who carved out their own states were outsiders. The Nizams of Hyderabad were of Turkoman stock. Bhopal was established by one of Aurangzeb's Afghan generals. Rampurs first ruler, Nawab Faizullah Khan, was a Pashtun. Tonk in present day Rajasthan was founded by Pindari freebooters. The seaboard state of Janjira was the creation of an Abysinnian pirate. Among the Hindu kingdoms, most of the rulers were Kshatriya. Only the Rajput states and a scattering of South Indian kingdoms could trace their lineage to the pre-Mughal period. }}</ref>

==British relationship with the princely states==
[[British Raj|India under the British ''Raj'']] (the "Indian Empire") consisted of two types of territory: [[British India]] and the ''native states'' or ''princely states''. In its [[Interpretation Act 1889]], the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] adopted the following definitions:

<blockquote>
(4.) The expression "British India" shall mean all territories and places within Her Majesty's dominions which are for the time being governed by Her Majesty through the Governor-General of India or through any governor or other officer subordinate to the Governor-General of India.<br />
(5.) The expression "India" shall mean British India together with any territories of any native prince or chief under the suzerainty of Her Majesty exercised through the Governor-General of India, or through any governor or other officer subordinate to the Governor-General of India.<ref>Interpretation Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 63), s. 18</ref>
</blockquote>

In general the term "[[British India]]" had been used (and is still used) also to refer to the regions under [[Company rule in India|the rule of the East India Company]] in India from 1774 to 1858.<ref>'''1.''' ''Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume IV, published under the authority of the [[India Office|Secretary of State for India-in-Council]]'', 1909, Oxford University Press. page 5. Quote: "The history of British India falls, as observed by Sir C. P. Ilbert in his ''Government of India'', into three periods. From the beginning of the seventeenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century the East India Company is a trading corporation, existing on the sufferance of the native powers and in rivalry with the merchant companies of Holland and France. During the next century the Company acquires and consolidates its dominion, shares its sovereignty in increasing proportions with the Crown, and gradually loses its mercantile privileges and functions. After the mutiny of 1857 the remaining powers of the Company are transferred to the Crown, and then follows an era of peace in which India awakens to new life and progress." '''2.''' ''The Statutes: From the Twentieth Year of King Henry the Third to the ...'' by [[Robert Drayton|Robert Harry Drayton]], Statutes of the Realm – Law – 1770 Page 211 (3) "Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the law of British India and of the several parts thereof existing immediately before the appointed ..." '''3.''' Edney, M. E. (1997) [https://archive.today/20110521135907/http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=40921 ''Mapping an Empire: The Geographical Construction of British India, 1765–1843''], University of Chicago Press. 480 pages. {{ISBN|978-0-226-18488-3}} '''4.''' Hawes, C.J. (1996) [https://books.google.com/books?id=d22WUEmG49IC&q=+%22British+India%22 Poor Relations: The Making of a Eurasian Community in British India, 1773–1833]. Routledge, 217 pages. {{ISBN|0-7007-0425-6}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II|1908|pp=463, 470}} Quote'''1''': "Before passing on to the political history of British India, which properly begins with the Anglo-French Wars in the [[Carnatic region|Carnatic]], ... (p. 463)" Quote'''2''': "The political history of the British in India begins in the eighteenth century with the French Wars in the Carnatic. (p.471)"</ref>

The [[British Crown]]'s suzerainty over 175 princely states, generally the largest and most important, was exercised in the name of the British Crown by the central government of British India under the Viceroy; the remaining approximately 400 states were influenced by Agents answerable to the provincial governments of British India under a governor, lieutenant-governor, or chief commissioner.<ref name=igi-60>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=60}}</ref> A clear distinction between "dominion" and "suzerainty" was supplied by the jurisdiction of the courts of law: the law of British India rested upon the legislation enacted by the British Parliament, and the legislative powers those laws vested in the various governments of British India, both central and local; in contrast, the courts of the princely states existed under the authority of the respective rulers of those states.<ref name=igi-60/>

==Princely status and titles==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2024}}
[[File:Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Maharaja of Baroda, 1919.jpg|thumb|[[Sayajirao Gaekwad III]], The [[Maharaja]] of [[Baroda State]]]]

The Indian rulers bore various titles including [[Maharaja]] or [[Raja]] ("king"), [[Sultan]], [[Emir]], [[Raje]], [[Nizam]], [[Wadiyar dynasty|Wadiyar]] (used only by the Maharajas of [[Mysore]], meaning "lord"), Agniraj Maharaj for the rulers of Bhaddaiyan Raj, [[Chogyal]], [[Nawab]] ("governor"), [[Nayak (title)|Nayak]], [[Wāli]], [[Inamdar (feudal title)|Inamdar]],<ref name="CommissionSimon1930">{{cite book|author1=Great Britain. Indian Statutory Commission|author2=Viscount John Allsebrook Simon Simon|title=Report of the Indian Statutory Commission ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KTEoAAAAMAAJ|access-date=9 June 2012|year=1930|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office}}</ref> [[Saranjamdar]]<ref name="All India reporter">{{cite book|title=All India reporter|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.531944|access-date=9 June 2012|year=1938|publisher=D.V. Chitaley}}</ref> and many others. Whatever the literal meaning and traditional prestige of the ruler's actual title, the British government translated them all as "prince", to avoid the implication that the native rulers could be "kings" with status equal to that of the British monarch.
[[File:British Residency in Kollam.jpg|right|thumb|An old image of the [[British Residency]] in the city of [[Quilon]], [[Kerala]]]]

More prestigious Hindu rulers (mostly existing before the Mughal Empire, or having split from such old states) often used the title "[[Raja]]", or a variant such as Raje, [[Rai (title)|Rai]], [[Rana (title)|Rana]], [[Babu (title)|Babu]], [[Rao (title)|Rao]], Rawat, or [[Rawal (title)|Rawal]]. Also in this 'class' were several [[Thakur (Indian title)|Thakurs or Thai ores]] and a few particular titles, such as [[Sardar]], [[Mankari]], [[Deshmukh]], Sar Desai, Istamuradar, [[Saranjamdar]], Raja Inamdar, etc. The most prestigious Hindu rulers usually had the prefix "maha-" ("great", compare for example "[[grand duke]]") in their titles, as in ''Maharaja, Maharana, Maharao'', etc. This was used in many princely states including [[Kingdom of Nagpur|Nagpur]], [[Kolhapur State|Kolhapur]], [[Kingdom of Gwalior|Gwalior]], [[Baroda State|Baroda]], [[Mewar]], [[Travancore]] and [[Cochin]]. The state of [[Travancore]] also had [[queen regent|queens regent]] styled [[Maharani]], applied only to [[Marumakkathayam|the sister of the ruler]] in [[Kerala]].

[[Muslim]] rulers almost all used the title "[[Nawab]]" (the Arabic honorific of ''naib'', "deputy") originally used by Mughal governors, who became ''de facto'' autonomous with the decline of the Mughal Empire, with the prominent exceptions of the [[Nizam]] of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad & Berar]], the [[Wali (administrative title)|Wali]]/[[Khan (title)|Khan]] of [[Kalat (princely state)|Kalat]] and the [[Wāli of Swat|Wali of Swat]].
Other less usual titles included [[Darbar (title)|Darbar Sahib]], [[Dewan]], [[Jam (title)|Jam]], [[Chitral (princely state)|Mehtar]] (unique to [[Chitral (princely state)|Chitral]]) and Mir (from [[Emir]]).

The [[Sikh]] princes concentrated at [[Punjab region|Punjab]] usually adopted titles when attaining princely rank. A title at a level of [[Maharaja]] was used.

There were also compound titles, such as (Maha)rajadhiraj, Raj-i-rajgan, often relics from an elaborate system of hierarchical titles under the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperors]]. For example, the addition of the adjective ''Bahadur'' (from Persian, literally meaning "brave") raised the status of the titleholder one level.

Furthermore, most dynasties used a variety of additional titles such as [[Varma (name)|Varma]] in South India. This should not be confused with various titles and suffixes not specific to princes but used by entire (sub)castes. This is almost analogous to [[Singh]] title in North India.

==Precedence and prestige==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2024}}
The actual importance of a princely state could not be read from the title of its ruler, which was usually ''granted'' (or at least recognized) as a favor, often in recognition for loyalty and services rendered to the [[British Raj]]. Although some titles were raised once or even repeatedly, there was no automatic updating when a state gained or lost real power. In fact, princely titles were even awarded to holders of domains (mainly [[jagir|''jagirs'']]) and even [[taluqdar|''taluqdars'']] and [[zamindar|''zamindars'']], which were not states at all. Most of the ''zamindars'' who held princely titles were in fact erstwhile princely and royal states reduced to becoming ''zamindars'' by the British East India Company. Various sources give significantly different numbers of states and domains of the various types. Even in general, the definition of titles and domains are clearly not well-established.

[[File:Group portrait of the Maharaja of Mysore and his brothers and sisters.jpg|right|thumb|An 1895 group photograph of the eleven-year-old [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV]], ruler of the [[Kingdom of Mysore|princely state of Mysore]] in [[South India]], with his brothers and sisters. In 1799, his grandfather, then aged five, had been granted dominion of Mysore by the British and forced into a [[subsidiary alliance]]. The British later directly governed the state between 1831 and 1881]]
[[Image:Maharaja rewapalace govindgarh1870.jpg|right|thumb|The Govindgarh Palace of the Maharaja of [[Rewa (princely state)|Rewa]]. The palace which was built as a hunting lodge later became famous for the first [[white tiger]]s that were found in the adjacent jungle and raised in the palace zoo]]
[[Image:Nawab junagadh1885.jpg|thumb|The [[Nawab of Junagarh]] Bahadur Khan III (seated centre in an ornate chair) shown in an 1885 photograph with state officials and family]]
[[Image:Maharani sikkim1900.jpg|thumb|Photograph (1900) of the Maharani of [[Sikkim]]. Sikkim was under the [[suzerainty]] of the Provincial government of Bengal; its ruler received a 15-gun salute]]

In addition to their titles, all princely rulers were eligible to be appointed to certain British orders of chivalry associated with India, the [[Order of the Star of India|Most Exalted Order of the Star of India]] and the [[Order of the Indian Empire|Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire]]. Women could be appointed as "Knights" (instead of Dames) of these orders. Rulers entitled to 21-gun and 19-gun salutes were normally appointed to the highest rank, Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India.

Many Indian princes served in the [[British Army]], the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]], or in local guard or police forces, often rising to high ranks; some even served while on the throne. Many of these were appointed as an [[aide-de-camp]], either to the ruling prince of their own house (in the case of relatives of such rulers) or to British monarchs. Many saw [[active service]], both on the subcontinent and on other fronts, during both World Wars.

Apart from those members of the princely houses who entered military service and who distinguished themselves, a good number of princes received honorary ranks as officers in the British and Indian Armed Forces. Those ranks were conferred based on several factors, including their heritage, lineage, gun-salute (or lack of one) as well as personal character or martial traditions. After the First and Second World Wars, the princely rulers of several of the major states, including [[Gwalior State|Gwalior]], [[Patiala State|Patiala]], [[Nabha State|Nabha]], [[Faridkot State|Faridkort]], [[Bikaner State|Bikaner]], [[Jaipur State|Jaipur]], [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur]], [[Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] and Hyderabad, were given honorary general officer ranks as a result of their states' contributions to the war effort.
* Lieutenant/Captain/Flight Lieutenant or Lieutenant-Commander/Major/Squadron Leader (for junior members of princely houses or for minor princes)
* Commander/Lieutenant-Colonel/Wing Commander or Captain/Colonel/Group Captain (granted to princes of salute states, often to those entitled to 15-guns or more)
* Commodore/Brigadier/Air Commodore (conferred upon princes of salute states entitled to gun salutes of 15-guns or more)
* Major-General/Air Vice-Marshal (conferred upon princes of salute states entitled to 15-guns or more; conferred upon rulers of the major princely states, including Baroda, [[Kapurthala State|Kapurthala]], Travancore, [[Bhopal State|Bhopal]] and [[Mysore Kingdom|Mysore]])
* Lieutenant-General (conferred upon the rulers of the largest and most prominent princely houses after the First and Second World Wars for their states' contributions to the war effort.)
* General (very rarely awarded; the Maharajas of Gwalior and Jammu & Kashmir were created honorary Generals in the British Army in 1877, the Maharaja of Bikaner was made one in 1937, and the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1941){{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

It was also not unusual for members of princely houses to be appointed to various colonial offices, often far from their native state, or to enter the diplomatic corps.

===Salute states===
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2024}}
{{main|Salute state}}

[[File:HH The Maharaja Sir Jayaji Rao Scindia of Gwalior, General Sir Henry Daly (Founder of The Daly College, Indore), with British officers and Maratha nobility in Indore, Holkar State, Central India. Circa 1879..jpg|thumb|left| [[Jayajirao Scindia|HH Maharaja Sir Jayaji Rao Scindia]] of [[Gwalior State]], General Sir [[Henry Daly]] (Founder of The [[Daly College]]), with British officers and [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] [[nobility]] ([[Sardar]]s, [[Jagirdar]]s & [[Mankari]]s) in [[Indore]], [[Holkar State]], {{circa|1879}}]]
The [[gun salute]] system was used to set unambiguously the precedence of the major rulers in the area in which the British East India Company was active, or generally of the states and their dynasties. As heads of a state, certain princely rulers were entitled to be saluted by the firing of an odd number of guns between three and 21, with a greater number of guns indicating greater prestige. Generally, the number of guns remained the same for all successive rulers of a particular state, but individual princes were sometimes granted additional guns on a personal basis. Furthermore, rulers were sometimes granted additional gun salutes within their own territories only, constituting a semi-promotion. The states of all these rulers (about 120) were known as [[salute states]].

After [[Partition of India|Indian Independence]], the Maharana of [[Udaipur State|Udaipur]] displaced the [[Nizam]] of Hyderabad as the most senior prince in India, because [[Hyderabad State]] had not acceded to the new [[Dominion of India]], and the style ''Highness'' was extended to all rulers entitled to 9-gun salutes. When the princely states had been integrated into the Indian Union their rulers were promised continued privileges and an income (known as the [[Privy Purse in India|Privy Purse]]) for their upkeep. Subsequently, when the Indian government abolished the Privy Purse in 1971, the whole princely order ceased to be recognised under Indian law, although many families continue to retain their social prestige informally; some descendants of the rulers are still prominent in regional or national politics, diplomacy, business and high society.

At the time of Indian independence, only five rulers – the [[Nizam]] of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]], the Maharaja of [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]], the Maharaja of [[Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir state]], the Maharaja [[Scindia]] of [[Gwalior State|Gwalior]] and the Maharaja [[Gaekwad]] of [[Baroda State|Baroda]] – were entitled to a 21-gun salute. Six more{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} – the Nawab of [[Bhopal State|Bhopal]], the [[House of Holkar|Maharaja Holkar]] of [[Indore State|Indore]], the Maharaja of [[Bharatpur State|Bharatpur]]{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}, the Maharana of [[Udaipur State|Udaipur]], the Maharaja of [[Kolhapur State|Kolhapur]], the [[Maharaja]] of [[Patiala State|Patiala]]{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} and the Maharaja of [[Travancore]] – were entitled to 19-gun salutes. The most senior princely ruler was the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]], who was entitled to the unique style ''[[Exalted Highness]]'' and [[21-gun salute]].<ref>{{cite web |title=King of all rewinds |website=[[The Week (Indian magazine)|The Week]] |url=https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/king-of-all-rewinds.html}}</ref> Other princely rulers entitled to salutes of 11 guns (soon 9 guns too) or more were entitled to the style ''Highness''. No special style was used by rulers entitled to lesser gun salutes.

As ''paramount ruler'', and successor to the Mughals, the British ''[[King-Emperor]]'' of India, for whom the style of [[Majesty]] was reserved, was entitled to an 'imperial' 101-gun salute—in the European tradition also the number of guns fired to announce the birth of an heir (male) to the throne.

===Non-salute states===
[[File:Princely States. Karauli. Manak Pal (1772-1804) Karauli mint. Struck in the name of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. Dated 1784-5 CE.jpg|thumb|Coinage of king Manak Pal (1772-1804), [[Karauli State|Princely State of Karauli]]. Karauli mint. Struck in the name of the Mughal emperor [[Shah Alam II]]. Dated 1784-5 CE]]
There was no strict correlation between the levels of the titles and the classes of gun salutes, the real measure of precedence, but merely a growing percentage of higher titles in classes with more guns.
As a rule the majority of gun-salute princes had at least nine, with numbers below that usually the prerogative of Arab Sheikhs of the [[Aden protectorate]], also under British protection.

There were many so-called non-salute states of lower prestige. Since the total of salute states was 117 and there were more than 500 princely states, most rulers were not entitled to any gun salute. Not all of these were minor rulers – [[Surguja State]], for example, was both larger and more populous than [[Karauli State]], but the Maharaja of Karauli was entitled to a 17-gun salute and the Maharaja of Surguja was not entitled to any gun salute at all.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lethbridge |first=Sir Roper |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zykYAAAAYAAJ&q=karauli+gun+salute |title=The Golden Book of India. A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated, of the Indian Empire. With an Appendix for Ceylon |date=1900 |publisher=S. Low, Marston & Company |pages=132 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Office |first=Great Britain India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGJPAAAAMAAJ&q=karauli+gun+salute |title=The India List and India Office List for ... |date=1902 |publisher=Harrison and Sons |pages=172 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hooja |first=Rima |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tosMAQAAMAAJ |title=A History of Rajasthan |date=2006 |publisher=Rupa & Company |isbn=978-81-291-0890-6 |pages=856 |language=en}}</ref>

A number of princes, in the broadest sense of the term, were not even acknowledged as such.{{example needed|?|date=December 2018}} On the other hand, the dynasties of certain defunct states were allowed to keep their princely status – they were known as [[political pensioner]]s, such as the Nawab of [[Oudh]]. There were also certain estates of British India which were rendered as [[Saranjamdar|political saranjams]], having equal princely status.<ref name="Patel1957">{{cite book|author=Govindlal Dalsukhbhai Patel|title=The land problem of reorganized Bombay state|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XvQCAAAAMAAJ|access-date=9 June 2012|year=1957|publisher=N. M. Tripathi}}</ref> Though none of these princes were awarded gun salutes, princely titles in this category were recognised as a form of [[vassal state|vassals]] of salute states, and were not even in direct relation with the paramount power.

===Largest princely states by area===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|+ Eleven largest princely states in terms of area
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! colspan="2"|Population in 1941 !! Present State !! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! Gun-salute for ruler
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1936-1953).svg}} [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
| style="text-align:right"| 84,471
| 4,021,616 ||including Gilgit, Baltistan (Skardu), Ladakh, and Punch (mostly Muslim, with a sizeable Hindu and Buddhist minority)
| [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu & Kashmir]] and [[Ladakh]] in India
| ''Maharaja'', ''[[Dogras|Dogra]], Hindu''
| style="text-align:center"| 21 
|-
| {{flag|Hyderabad State}}
| style="text-align:right"| 82,698
| style="text-align:right"| 16,338,534 ||(mostly Hindu with a sizeable Muslim minority)
| [[Telangana]], [[Maharashtra]], [[Karnataka]] in [[India]]
| ''[[Nizam]]'', ''[[Turkic peoples|Turkic]], Muslim''
| style="text-align:center"| 21 
|-
| align="left" |{{Flag|Khanate of Kalat}}|| align="right" | 73,278 || align="right" | 250,211 || align="left" | (chiefly Muslim with a small Hindu minority) || align="left" | [[Balochistan, Pakistan]] || align="left" | ''Khan'' or ''Wali'', [[Baloch people|Baloch]], Muslim || align="center" | 19 
|-
| {{flagicon image|Jodhpur.svg}} [[Jodhpur State]]
| style="text-align:right"| 36,071
| style="text-align:right"| 2,125,000 ||(mostly Hindu with a sizeable Muslim minority)
| [[Rajasthan]], India
| ''Maharaja'', [[Rathore (Rajput clan)|Rathore]], Hindu
| style="text-align:center"| 17
|-
| {{flag|Kingdom of Mysore}}
| style="text-align:right"| 29,458
| style="text-align:right"| 7,328,896 ||(Chiefly Hindu, with pockets of Muslim minority)
| [[Karnataka]], India
| ''[[Wodeyar]]'' dynasty; ''Maharaja''; [[Kannadiga]]; [[Hindu]] [[Kshattriya]] (Urs/Arasu in Kannada)
| style="text-align:center"| 21 
|-
| {{flag|Gwalior State}}
| style="text-align:right"| 26,397
| style="text-align:right"| 4,006,159 ||(chiefly Hindu, with a sizeable Muslim minority)
| [[Madhya Pradesh]], India
| ''[[Maharaja]]'', ''[[Maratha]], [[Hindu]]''
| style="text-align:center"| 21 
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of Bikaner.svg}} [[Bikaner State]]
| style="text-align:right"|23,317
| style="text-align:right"|936,218 ||(chiefly Hindu, with a low Muslim minority)
| [[Rajasthan]], India
| ''Maharaja, Rathore, Hindu''
| style="text-align:center"|17
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of State of Bahawalpur.svg}} [[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Bahawalpur State]]
| style="text-align:right"|17,726
| style="text-align:right"|1,341,209 ||(Chiefly Muslim, with a sizeable Hindu and Sikh minority)
|[[Punjab, Pakistan]]
|''Nawab Amir, Abbasid, Muslim''
| style="text-align:center"|17
|-
|{{flagicon image|Jaisalmer Flag.svg}} [[Jaisalmer State]]
| style="text-align:right"|16,100
| style="text-align:right"|76,255 ||(Chiefly Hindu with a sizeable Muslim minority)
| [[Rajasthan]], India
| ''Maharaja, [[Bhati]], Hindu''
| style="text-align:center"|15
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Jaipur.svg}} [[Jaipur State]]
| style="text-align:right"|15,601
| style="text-align:right"|2,631,775 ||(Chiefly Hindu, with a sizeable Muslim population)
| [[Rajasthan]], India
| ''Maharaja, [[Kachhwaha]], Hindu''
| style="text-align:center"|17
|-
|{{flagicon image|Drapeau Bastar.png}} [[Bastar State]]
| style="text-align:right"|13,062
| style="text-align:right"|306,501 ||(Chiefly Hindu, with a low Muslim population)
| [[Chhattisgarh]], India
|''Maharaja, [[Kakatiya dynasty|Kakatiya]] - [[Bhanj dynasty|Bhanj]], Hindu''
| style="text-align:center"| -
|}

==Doctrine of lapse==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2024}}
{{Main|Doctrine of lapse}}

A controversial aspect of East India Company rule was the [[doctrine of lapse]], a policy under which lands whose feudal ruler died (or otherwise became unfit to rule) without a male biological heir (as opposed to an adopted son) would become directly controlled by the company and an adopted son would not become the ruler of the princely state. This policy went counter to Indian tradition where, unlike Europe, it was far more the accepted norm for a ruler to appoint his own heir.

The doctrine of lapse was pursued most vigorously by the Governor-General [[James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Sir James Ramsay]], 10th Earl (later 1st Marquess) of [[Earl of Dalhousie|Dalhousie]]. Dalhousie annexed seven states, including [[Oudh State|Awadh]] (Oudh), whose Nawabs he had accused of misrule, and the [[Maratha]] states of [[Nagpur]], [[Jhansi]], [[Satara State|Satara]], [[Sambalpur]], and [[Thanjavur]]. Resentment over the annexation of these states turned to indignation when the heirlooms of the Maharajas of Nagpur were auctioned off in Calcutta. Dalhousie's actions contributed to the rising discontent amongst the upper castes which played a large part in the outbreak of the [[Indian mutiny of 1857]]. The last Mughal ''badshah'' (emperor), whom many of the mutineers saw as a figurehead to rally around, was deposed following its suppression.

In response to the unpopularity of the doctrine, it was discontinued with the end of Company rule and the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]]'s assumption of direct power over India.

==Imperial governance==
{{Main|Agencies of British India|Residencies of British India}}
[[File:Group at Residency including the Maharaja of Kolhapur.jpg|thumb|Photograph (1894) of the 19-year-old [[Shahaji II|Shahaji II Bhonsle]] Maharajah of [[Kolhapur (princely state)|Kolhapur]] visiting the British resident and his staff at the Residency]]

By treaty, the British controlled the external affairs of the princely states absolutely. As the states were not [[British possessions]], they retained control over their own internal affairs, subject to a degree of British influence which in many states was substantial.

By the beginning of the 20th century, relations between the British and the four largest states – [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]], [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore]], Jammu and Kashmir, and [[Baroda State|Baroda]] – were directly under the control of the [[governor-general of India]], in the person of a British [[Resident minister#Residents in Asia|resident]]. Two agencies, for [[Rajputana]] and [[Central India Agency|Central India]], oversaw twenty and 148 princely states respectively. The remaining princely states had their own British political officers, or Agents, who answered to the administrators of India's provinces. The agents of five princely states were then under the authority of [[Madras Presidency|Madras]], 354 under [[Bombay Presidency|Bombay]], 26 of [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], two under [[Assam]], 34 under [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], fifteen under the [[Central Provinces and Berar]] and two under the [[Uttar Pradesh|United Provinces]].
[[File:Chamber of Princes 17-03-1941 detail.png|thumb|Chamber of Princes meeting in March 1941]]
The [[Chamber of Princes]] (''Narender Mandal'' or ''Narendra Mandal'') was an institution established in 1920 by a [[Proclamation|royal proclamation]] of the [[George V of the United Kingdom|King-Emperor]] to provide a forum in which the rulers could voice their needs and aspirations to the government. It survived until the end of the [[British Raj]] in 1947.<ref>Vapal Pangunni Menon (1956) ''The Story of the Integration of the Indian States'', Macmillan Co., pp. 17–19</ref>

By the early 1930s, most of the princely states whose agencies were under the authority of India's provinces were organised into new Agencies, answerable directly to the governor-general, on the model of the Central India and Rajputana agencies: the [[Eastern States Agency]], [[Punjab States Agency]], [[Baluchistan Agency]], [[Deccan States Agency]], [[Madras States Agency]] and the [[Northwest Frontier States Agency]]. The [[Baroda Residency]] was combined with the princely states of northern Bombay Presidency into the [[Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency]]. [[Gwalior]] was separated from the Central India Agency and given its own Resident, and the states of [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]] and [[Benares]], formerly with Agents under the authority of the United Provinces, were placed under the [[Gwalior Residency]] in 1936. The princely states of [[Sanduru|Sandur]] and [[Banaganapalli|Banganapalle]] in Mysore Presidency were transferred to the agency of the Mysore Resident in 1939.

;Principal princely states in 1947

The native states in 1947 included five large states that were in "direct political relations" with the Government of India. For the complete list of princely states in 1947, see [[lists of princely states of India]].

===In direct relations with the central government===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Five large princely states in direct political relations with the Central Government in India<ref name=igi-92>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=92}}</ref><ref>"Mysore", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 173, Macmillan & Co.</ref><ref>"Jammu and Kashmir", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 171, Macmillan & Co.</ref><ref>"Hyderabad", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 170, Macmillan & Co.</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1941 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand [[Coins of British India|rupees]])!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! Gun-salute for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | {{flag|Baroda State}} || align="center" | 13,866 || align="center" | 3,343,477 (chiefly Hindu, with a sizeable Muslim population) || align="center" | 323.26 || align="center" | ''Maharaja'', [[Maratha]], Hindu || align="center" | 21 || align="center" | Resident at Baroda
|-
| align="center" | {{flag|Hyderabad State}} || align="center" | 82,698 || align="center" | 16,338,534 (mostly Hindu with a sizeable Muslim minority) || align="center" | 1582.43 || align="center" | ''[[Nizam]]'', [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]], Muslim || align="center" | 21 || align="center" | Resident in Hyderabad
|-
| align="center" | {{flagicon image|Flag of Jammu and Kashmir (1936-1953).svg}} [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] || align="center" | 84,471 || align="center" | 4,021,616 including Gilgit, Baltistan (Skardu), Ladakh, and Punch (mostly Muslim, with sizeable Hindu and Buddhist populations) || align="center" | 463.95 || align="center" | ''Maharaja'', [[Dogras|Dogra]], Hindu || align="center" | 21 || align="center" | Resident in Jammu & Kashmir
|-
|align="center" | {{flag|Kingdom of Mysore}} || align="center" | 29,458 || align="center" | 7,328,896 (chiefly Hindu, with sizeable Muslim populations) || align="center" | 1001.38 || align="center" | ''Wodeyar'' (means Owner in [[Kannada]]) and ''Maharaja'', [[Kannadiga]], Hindu || align="center" | 21 || align="center" | Resident in [[Mysore]]
|-
|align="center" | {{flag|Gwalior State}} || align="center" | 26,397 || align="center" | 4,006,159 (chiefly Hindu, with a sizeable Muslim population) || align="center" | 356.75 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', [[Maratha]], [[Hindu]] || align="center" | 21 || align="center" | [[Resident (title)#Residents in (British) Asia|Resident]] at Gwalior
|-
! Total !! 236,890 !! 35,038,682 !! 3727.77 !! colspan="3" |
|}

'''[[Central India Agency]], [[Gwalior Residency]], [[Baluchistan Agency]], [[Rajputana Agency]], [[Eastern States Agency]]'''
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 88 princely states forming the Central India Agency<ref name=igi-93>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=93}}</ref><ref>"Central India Agency", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 168, Macmillan & Co.</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1941 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! Gun-salute for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Indore State]] || align="center" | 9,341 || align="center" | 1,513,966 (chiefly Hindu, with a sizeable Muslim population) || align="center" | 304.9 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', [[Maratha]], [[Hindu]] || align="center" | 19 (plus 2 local) || align="center" | [[Resident minister#Residents in Asia|Resident]] at Indore
|-
|align="center" | [[Bhopal (state)|Bhopal]] || align="center" | 6,924 || align="center" | 785,322 (chiefly Hindu, with a sizeable Muslim population) || align="center" | 119.82 || align="center" | ''[[Nawab]]''(m)/''[[Begum]]''(f), [[Pashtun people|Afghan]], [[Muslim]] || align="center" | 19 (plus 2 local) || align="center" | Political Agent in Bhopal
|-
| align="center" | [[Rewa (princely state)|Rewah]] || align="center" | 13,000 || align="center" | 1,820,445 (chiefly Hindu, with a sizeable Muslim population) || align="center" | 65 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', [[Baghel]] [[Rajput]], [[Hindu]] || align="center" | 17 || align="center" | Second largest state in [[Bagelkhand Agency|Baghelkhand]]
|-
| align="center" | 85 smaller and minor states (1941) || align="center" | 22,995 (1901) || align="center" | 2.74&nbsp;million (chiefly Hindu, 1901) || align="center" | 129 (1901) || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|-
! Total !! 77,395 (1901) !! 8.51&nbsp;million (1901) !! 421 (1901) !! colspan="3" |
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 42 princely states forming the Eastern States Agency<ref name="igi-93"/><ref>"Eastern States", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 168, Macmillan & Co.</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1941 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! Gun-salute for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Cooch Behar State|Cooch Behar]] || align="center" | 1,318 || align="center" | 639,898 (chiefly Hindu, with a sizeable Muslim population) || align="center" | 91 || align="center" | ''Maharaja'', [[Rajbongshi people|Koch]] (Kshattriya), Brahmo || align="center" | 13 || align="center" | Resident for the Eastern States
|-
| align="center" | [[Hill Tippera|Tripura State]] || align="center" | 4,116 || align="center" | 513,010 (chiefly [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavite]], with a sizeable [[Sanamahism|Sanamahi]] minority) || align="center" | 54 || align="center" | ''Maharaja'', [[Tripuri people|Tripuri]], Vaishnavite (Kshattriya) || align="center" | 13 || align="center" | Resident for the Eastern States
|-
| align="center" | [[Mayurbhanj State]] || align="center" | 4,243 || align="center" | 990,977 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 49 || align="center" | ''Maharaja'', Kshattriya, Hindu || align="center" | 9 || align="center" | Resident for the Eastern States
|-
| align="center" | 39 smaller and minor states (1941) || align="center" | 56,253 || align="center" | 6,641,991 || align="center" | 241.31 || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|-
! Total !! 65,930 !! 8,785,876 !! 435.31 !! colspan="3" |
|}

'''[[Gwalior Residency]] (two states)'''

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Two states under the suzerainty of the Resident at Gwalior, Gwalior having direct relations with the central government.<ref name="igi-92"/><ref>"Gwalior Residency", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 170, Macmillan & Co.</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1941 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! [[Gun salute#In the colonial context|Gun-salute]] for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Rampur State|Rampur]] || align="center" | 893 || align="center" | 464,919 (chiefly Muslim, with a sizeable Hindu population in 1931) || align="center" | 51 || align="center" | ''[[Nawab]]'', [[Jat]],<ref>[[Hari Ram Gupta|Gupta, Hari Ram]] (1999) [1980]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=82wwAQAAIAAJ History of the Sikhs]. Vol. III: Sikh Domination of the Mughal Empire (1764–1803) (2nd rev. ed.). [[Munshiram Manoharlal]]. p. 11. {{ISBN|978-81-215-0213-9}}. {{OCLC|165428303}}. "The real founder of the Rohilla power was Ali Muhammad, from whom sprang the present line of the Nawabs of Rampur. Originally a Hindu Jat, who was taken prisoner when a young boy by Daud in one of his plundering expeditions, at village Bankauli in the parganah of Chaumahla, and was converted to Islam and adopted by him."</ref><ref>Khan, Iqbal Ghani (2002). "Technology and the Question of Elite Intervention in Eighteenth-Century North India". In Barnett, Richard B. (ed.). [https://books.google.com/books?id=_jJuAAAAMAAJ Rethinking Early Modern India]. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 271. {{ISBN|978-81-7304-308-6}}. "Thus we witness the Ruhelas accepting an exceptionally talented non-Afghan, an adopted Jat boy, as their nawab, purely on the basis of his military leadership; ..."</ref> Muslim || align="center" | 15 || align="center" | Political Agent at Rampur
|-
|align="center" | [[Benares State]] || align="center" | 875 || align="center" | 391,165 (chiefly Hindu, 1931) || align="center" | 19 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', [[Bhumihar Brahmin]], Hindu || align="center" | 13 (plus 2 local) || align="center" | Political Agent at Benares
|-
! Total !! 1,768 !! 856,084 (1941, approx.)!! 70 !! colspan="3" |
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 23 princely states forming the [[Rajputana Agency]], with the Resident for Rajputana at Abu<ref name=igi-94-95>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|pp=94–95}}</ref><ref>"Rajputana", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 175, Macmillan & Co.</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1941 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! Gun-salute for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Udaipur State|Udaipur (Mewar)]] || align="center" | 13,170 || align="center" | 1,926,698 (chiefly Hindu and [[Bhil]]) || align="center" | 107 || align="center" | ''[[Maharana]]'', [[Sisodia Dynasty|Sisodia]] [[Rajput]], Hindu || align="center" | 19 (plus 2 personal) || align="center" | Political Agent for the [[Mewar]] and Southern Rajputana States
|-
| align="center" | [[Jaipur State|Jaipur]] || align="center" | 15,610 || align="center" | 3,040,876 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 188.6 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', [[Kachwaha]] [[Rajput]], Hindu || align="center" | 17 (plus 2 personal) || align="center" | Political Agent at Jaipur
|-
|align="center" | [[Jodhpur State|Jodhpur (Marwar)]] || align="center" | 36,120 || align="center" | 2,555,904 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 208.65 || align="center" | ''Maharaja'', [[Rathore (Rajput clan)|Rathor]] [[Rajput]], Hindu || align="center" | 17 || align="center" | Political Agent for the Western States of [[Rajputana Agency|Rajputana]]
|-
| align="center" | [[Bikaner (princely state)|Bikaner]] || align="center" | 23,181 || align="center" | 1,292,938 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 185.5 || align="center" | ''Maharaja'', Rathor Rajput, Hindu || align="center" | 17 || align="center" | Political agent for the Western States of Rajputana
|-
| align="center" | 17 salute states, 1 chiefship, 1 ''zamindari'' || align="center" | 42,374 || align="center" | 3.64&nbsp;million (chiefly Hindu, 1901) || align="center" | 155 (1901) || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|-
! Total !! 128,918 (1901) !! 9.84&nbsp;million (1901) !! 320 (1901) !! colspan="3" |
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Three princely states forming the Baluchistan Agency<ref name=igi-96>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=96}}</ref><ref>"Baluchistan States", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 160, Macmillan & Co.</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1941 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! Gun-salute for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" |[[Khanate of Kalat|Kalat]]|| align="center" | 73,278 || align="center" | 250,211 (chiefly Muslim) || align="center" | 21.3 || align="center" | ''Khan'' or ''Wali'', [[Baloch people|Baloch]], Muslim || align="center" | 19 || align="center" | Political Agent in Kalat
|-
| align="center" |[[Las Bela (princely state)|Las Bela]]|| align="center" | 7,132 || align="center" | 68,972 (chiefly Muslim) || align="center" | 6.1 || align="center" | ''Jam'', [[Baloch people|Baloch]], Muslim || align="center" | || align="center" | Political Agent in Kalat
|-
| align="center" |[[Kharan (princely state)|Kharan]]|| align="center" | 14,210 || align="center" | 33,763 (chiefly Muslim) || align="center" | 2 || align="center" | ''Nawab'', [[Baloch people|Baloch]], Muslim || align="center" | || align="center" | Political Agent in Kalat
|-
! Total !! 94,620 !! 352,946 !! 29.4 !! colspan="3" |
|}

'''Other states under provincial governments'''

'''[[Madras Presidency|Madras]] (5 states)'''

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 5 states under the suzerainty of the Provincial Government of [[Madras Presidency|Madras]]<ref name="igi-96"/>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1901 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! [[Gun salute#In the colonial context|Gun-salute]] for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Travancore]] || align="center" | 7,091 || align="center" | 2,952,157 (chiefly Hindu and Christian) || align="center" | 100 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', [[Samantha Kshatriya|Kshatriya-Samanthan]], Hindu || align="center" | 21 (including two guns personal to the then ruler)|| align="center" | Resident in Travancore and Cochin
|-
|align="center" | [[Kingdom of Cochin|Cochin]] || align="center" | 1,362 || align="center" | 812,025 (chiefly Hindu and Christian) || align="center" | 27 || align="center" | ''Raja'', [[Samantha Kshatriya|Samanta-Kshatriya]], Hindu || align="center" | 17|| align="center" | Resident in Travancore and Cochin
|-
| align="center" | [[Pudukkottai State|Pudukkottai]]|| align="center" | 1,100 || align="center" | 380,440 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 11 || align="center" | ''Raja'', [[Kallar, Trivandrum|Kallar]], Hindu || align="center" | 11 || align="center" | Collector of Trichinopoly (''ex officio'' Political Agent)
|-
| align="center" | 2 minor states ([[Banganapalle State|Banganapalle]] and [[Sandur State)|Sandur]])|| align="center" | 416 || align="center" | 43,464 || align="center" | 3 || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|-
! Total !! 9,969 !! 4,188,086 !! 141 !! colspan="3" |
|}

'''[[Bombay Presidency|Bombay]] (354 states)'''

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 354 states under the suzerainty of the Provincial Government of [[Bombay Presidency|Bombay]]<ref name=igi-97>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V04_126.gif&volume=4 97]}}</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1901 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! Gun-salute for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Kolhapur State|Kolhapur]] || align="center" | 2,855 || align="center" | 910,011 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 48 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]''", Chhtrapati "[[Maratha]], Hindu || align="center" | 19 || align="center" | Political Agent for Kolhapur
|-
|align="center" | [[Cutch State|Cutch]] || align="center" | 7,616 || align="center" | 488,022 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 20 || align="center" | ''[[Maharao]]'', [[Jadeja]] [[Rajput]], Hindu || align="center" | 17 || align="center" | Political Agent in Cutch
|-
| align="center" | [[Junagarh (state)|Junagarh]]|| align="center" | 3,284 || align="center" | 395,428 (chiefly Hindu with a sizeable Muslim population) || align="center" | 27 || align="center" | ''[[Nawab]]'', [[Pashtun people|Pathan]], Muslim || align="center" | 11 || align="center" | Agent to the Governor in Kathiawar
|-
| align="center" | [[Nawanagar State|Navanagar]]|| align="center" | 3,791 || align="center" | 336,779 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 31 || align="center" | ''[[Jam Sahib]]'', [[Jadeja]] [[Rajput]], Hindu || align="center" | 11 || align="center" | Agent to the Governor in Kathiawar
|-
| align="center" | 349 other states|| align="center" | 42,165 || align="center" | 4,579,095 || align="center" | 281 || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|-
! Total !! 65,761 !! 6,908,648 !! 420 !! colspan="3" |
|}

'''[[Central Provinces and Berar|Central Provinces]] (15 states)'''

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 15 states under the suzerainty of the Provincial Government of the [[Central Provinces and Berar|Central Provinces]]<ref name=igi-102>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V04_131.gif&volume=4 102]}}</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1901 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! [[Gun salute#In the colonial context|Gun-salute]] for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Kalahandi State|Kalahandi]] || align="center" | 3,745 || align="center" | 284,465 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 4 || align="center" | ''[[Raja]]'', Kshatriya, [[Hindu]] || align="center" | 9 || align="center" | Political Agent for the [[Chhattisgarh Division|Chhattisgarh]] [[Feudatory|Feudatories]]
|-
|align="center" | [[Bastar state|Bastar]] || align="center" | 13,062 || align="center" | 306,501 (chiefly [[Animism|animist]]) || align="center" | 3 || align="center" | ''Raja'', Kshatriya, Hindu || align="center" | || align="center" | Political Agent for the [[Chhattisgarh Division|Chhattisgarh]] [[Feudatory|Feudatories]]
|-
| align="center" | 13 other states|| align="center" | 12,628 || align="center" | 1,339,353 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 16 || align="center" | || align="center" | 11 || align="center" |
|-
! Total !! 29,435 !! 1,996,383 !! 21 !! colspan="3" |
|}

'''[[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]] (45 states)'''

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 45 states under the suzerainty of the Provincial Government of the [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]]<ref name=igi-100>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V04_129.gif&volume=4 100]}}</ref><ref>"Punjab States", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 174, Macmillan & Co.</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1941 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! [[Gun salute#In the colonial context|Gun-salute]] for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Bahawalpur State]] || align="center" | 16,434 || align="center" | 1,341,209 (chiefly Muslim) || align="center" | 335 || align="center" | ''[[Nawab]]'', [[Daudpota|Daudputra]], Muslim || align="center" | 17 || align="center" | Political Agent for [[Phulkian]] States and Bahawalpur
|-
|align="center" | [[Patiala State]] || align="center" | 5,942 || align="center" | 1,936,259 (chiefly Sikh) || align="center" | 302.6 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', Sikh || align="center" | 17 (and 2 personal) || align="center" | Political Agent for Phulkian States and Bahawalpur
|-
| align="center" | [[Nabha State]] || align="center" | 947 || align="center" | 340,044 (chiefly Sikh) || align="center" | 38.7 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', Sikh || align="center" | 13 (and 2 local)|| align="center" | Political Agent for Phulkian States and Bahawalpur
|-
| align="center" | [[Jind State]] || align="center" | 1,299 || align="center" | 361,812 (chiefly Sikh) || align="center" | 37.4 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', Sikh || align="center" | 13 (and 2 personal) || align="center" | Political Agent for Phulkian States and Bahawalpur
|-
| align="center" | [[Kapurthala State]] || align="center" | 645 || align="center" | 378,380 (chiefly Sikh) || align="center" | 40.5 || align="center" | ''Maharaja'', Ahuluwalia, Sikh || align="center" | 13 (and 2 personal) || align="center" | Commissioner of the [[Jullundur]] Division (''ex officio'' Political Agent)
|-
| align="center" | [[Faridkot State]] || align="center" | 638 || align="center" | 199,283 (chiefly Sikh) || align="center" | 22.7 || align="center" | ''Raja'', Sikh || align="center" | 11 || align="center" | Commissioner of the Jullundur Division (''ex officio'' Political Agent)
|-
| align="center" | [[Garhwal Kingdom|Garhwal State]] || align="center" | 4,500 || align="center" | 397,369 (chiefly Hindu) || align="center" | 26.9 || align="center" | ''[[Maharaja]]'', [[Rajput]] Hindu || align="center" | 11 || align="center" | [[Commissioner#India|Commissioner]] of [[Kumaon Kingdom|Kumaun]] (''ex officio'' Political Agent)
|-
| align="center" | [[Khayrpur (princely state)|Khayrpur State]]|| align="center" | 6,050 || align="center" | 305,387 (chiefly Muslim) || align="center" | 15 (plus 2 local) || align="center" | ''[[Mir (title)|Mir]]'', [[Talpur]] [[Baloch people|Baloch]], Muslim || align="center" | 37.8 || align="center" | Political Agent for Khairpur
|-
| align="center" | 25 other states|| align="center" | 12,661 (in 1901) || align="center" | 1,087,614 (in 1901) || align="center" | 30 (in 1901) || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|-
! Total !! 36,532 (in 1901) !! 4,424,398 (in 1901) !! 155 (in 1901) !! colspan="3" |
|}

'''[[Assam#British Assam|Assam]] (26 states)'''

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 26 states under the suzerainty of the Provincial Government of [[Assam#British Assam|Assam]]<ref name=igi-103>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V04_132.gif&volume=4 103]}}</ref><ref>"Assam States", Indian States and Agencies, ''The Statesman's Year Book 1947,'' pg 160, Macmillan & Co.</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1941 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! [[Gun salute#In the colonial context|Gun-salute]] for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Manipur (princely state)|Manipur]] || align="center" | 270.3 || align="center" | 512,069 (chiefly Hindu and animist) || align="center" | 19 || align="center" | ''[[Raja]]'', [[Kshatriya]], Hindu || align="center" | 11 || align="center" | Political Agent in Manipur
|-
|align="center" | [[Khasi Hill States|25 Khasi States]] || align="center" | 3,778 || align="center" | 213,586 (chiefly Khasi and Christian) || align="center" | ~1 (1941, approx.) || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" | Deputy Commissioner, Khasi and Jaintia Hills
|-
! Total !! 12,416 !! 725,655 !! 20 (1941; approx.) !! colspan="3" |
|}

==Burma==
{{See also|Shan States|Wa States}}

;[[Burma#Colonial era (1886–1948)|Burma]] (52 states)

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 52 states in [[Burma#Colonial era (1886–1948)|Burma]]: all except [[Kantarawadi]], one of the [[Karenni States]], were included in British India until 1937<ref name=igi-101>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V04_130.gif&volume=4 101]}}</ref>
|-
! Name of princely state !! Area in square miles !! Population in 1901 !! Approximate revenue of the state (in hundred thousand rupees)!! Title, ethnicity, and religion of ruler !! Gun-salute for ruler !! Designation of local political officer
|-
| align="center" | [[Hsipaw State|Hsipaw]] (Thibaw)|| align="center" | 5,086 || align="center" | 105,000 ([[Buddhist]]) || align="center" | 3 || align="center" | ''Sawbwa'', [[Shan people|Shan]], Buddhist || align="center" | 9 || align="center" | Superintendent, [[Shan State|Northern Shan States]]
|-
|align="center" | [[Kengtung State|Kengtung]] || align="center" | 12,000 || align="center" | 190,000 (Buddhist) || align="center" | 1 || align="center" | ''Sawbwa'', Shan, Buddhist || align="center" | 9 || align="center" | Superintendent [[Shan State|Southern Shan States]]
|-
| align="center" | [[Yawnghwe]]|| align="center" | 865 || align="center" | 95,339 (Buddhist) || align="center" | 2.13 || align="center" | ''Sawbwa'', Shan, Buddhist || align="center" | 9 || align="center" | Superintendent Southern Shan States
|-
| align="center" | [[Möng Nai]]|| align="center" | 2,717 || align="center" | 44,000 (Buddhist) || align="center" | 0.5 || align="center" | ''Sawbwa'', Shan, Buddhist || align="center" | || align="center" | Superintendent Southern Shan States
|-
| align="center" | 5 [[Karenni States]]|| align="center" | 3,130 || align="center" | 45,795 (Buddhist and animist) || align="center" | 0.035 || align="center" | ''Sawbwa'', [[Karenni people|Karenni]], Buddhist|| align="center" | || align="center" | Superintendent Southern Shan States
|-
| align="center" | 44 other states|| align="center" | 42,198 || align="center" | 792,152 (Buddhist and animist) || align="center" | 8.5 || align="center" | || align="center" | || align="center" |
|-
! Total !! 67,011 !! 1,177,987 !! 13.5 !! colspan="3" |
|}

==State military forces==
{{Main|Indian State Forces}}

The armies of the princely states were bound by many restrictions that were imposed by [[subsidiary alliance]]s. They existed mainly for ceremonial use and for internal policing, although certain units designated as Imperial Service Troops, were available for service alongside the regular Indian Army upon request by the British government.<ref>Lt. Gen. Sir George MacMunn, page 198 "The Armies of India", {{ISBN|0-947554-02-5}}</ref>

According to the {{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=85}}, <blockquote>Since a chief can neither attack his neighbour nor fall out with a foreign nation, it follows that he needs no military establishment which is not required either for police purposes or personal display, or for cooperation with the Imperial Government. The treaty made with Gwalior in 1844, and the instrument of transfer given to Mysore in 1881, alike base the restriction of the forces of the State upon the broad ground of protection. The former explained in detail that unnecessary armies were embarrassing to the State itself and the cause of disquietude to others: a few months later a striking proof of this was afforded by the army of the Sikh kingdom of Lahore. The British Government has undertaken to protect the dominions of the Native princes from invasion and even from rebellion within: its army is organised for the defence not merely of [[British India]], but of all the possessions under the [[suzerainty]] of the King-Emperor.<ref>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=85}}</ref></blockquote>

In addition, other restrictions were imposed:

<blockquote>The treaties with most of the larger States are clear on this point. Posts in the interior must not be fortified, factories for the production of guns and ammunition must not be constructed, nor may the subject of other States be enlisted in the local forces. ... They must allow the forces that defend them to obtain local supplies, to occupy cantonments or positions, and to arrest deserters; and in addition to these services they must recognise the [[British Empire|Imperial]] control of the railways, telegraphs, and postal communications as essential not only to the common welfare but to the common defence.<ref>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|pp=85–86}}</ref></blockquote>

The Imperial Service Troops were routinely inspected by British army officers and had the same equipment as soldiers in the [[British Indian Army]].<ref name=IGI-4-87>{{Harvnb|Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV|1907|p=87}}</ref> Although their numbers were relatively small, the Imperial Service Troops were employed in China and [[British Somaliland]] in the first decade of the 20th century, and later saw action in the [[First World War]] and [[Second World War]] .<ref name=IGI-4-87/>

==Political integration of princely states==

In 1920, the Indian National Congress under the leadership of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] declared that attainment of ''swaraj'' for Indians was its goal. It asked "all the sovereign princes of India to establish full responsible government in their states". Gandhi assured the princes that the Congress would not intervene  in the princely states internal affairs .<ref name="Sisson Wolpert">{{cite book | last1=Sisson | first1=Richard | last2=Wolpert | first2=Stanley | title=Congress and Indian Nationalism: The Pre-Independence Phase | publisher=University of California Press | year=2018 |isbn=978-0-520-30163-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=47jADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA381 | access-date=2023-08-14 | page=381}}</ref> Congress reiterated their demand at 1928 Calcutta Congress, "This Congress assures the people of the Indian States of its sympathy with and support in their legitimate and peaceful struggle for the attainment of full responsible government in the States."<ref name="o824">{{cite book | last=Purushotham | first=S. | title=From Raj to Republic: Sovereignty, Violence, and Democracy in India | publisher=Stanford University Press | series=South Asia in Motion | year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5036-1455-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4lQMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT40 | access-date=2024-08-11 | page=40}}</ref>

[[Jawaharlal Nehru]] as well as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played a major role in pushing Congress to confront the princely states.<ref name="o824"/> In his presidential address at Lahore session in 1929, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] declared: "The Indian states cannot live apart from the rest of the (sic) India".<ref name="Phadnis">{{cite book | last=Phadnis | first=Urmila | title=Towards the Integration of Indian States, 1919-1947 | publisher=Asia Publishing House | series=Thesis Phil. Banaras Hindu University | year=1968 |isbn=978-0-210-31180-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvYDAAAAMAAJ | access-date=2023-08-14 | page=90}}</ref> Nehru added he is "no believer in kings or princes" and that "the only people who have the right to determine the future of the States must be the people of these States. This Congress which claims self-determination cannot deny it to the people of the states."<ref name="o824"/>

After the Congress's electoral victory [[1937 Indian provincial elections| in 1937 elections]], protests, sometimes violent, and ''[[Satyagraha|satyagrahas]]'' against the princely states were organised and were supported by the Congress's ministries. Gandhi fasted in [[Rajkot State]] to demand "full responsible government" and added that "the people" were "the real rulers of Rajkot under the paramountcy of the Congress". Gandhi termed this protest as struggle against "the disciplined hordes of the British empire". Gandhi proclaimed that the Congress had now every right to intervene in "the states which are the vassals of the British".<ref name="o824"/> In 1937, Gandhi played a major role in formation of federation involving a union between British India and the princely states with an Indian central government.<ref name="Singh 2017">{{cite book | last=Singh | first=R. | title=Gandhi and the Nobel Peace Prize | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2017 |isbn=978-1-351-03612-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SitEDwAAQBAJ | access-date=2023-08-14 | page=4}}</ref>

In 1939, Nehru challenged the existence of the princely states and added that "the states in modern India are anachronistic and do not deserve to exist."<ref name="o824"/> In July 1946, Nehru pointedly observed that no princely state could prevail militarily against the army of independent India.<ref name="books.google.co.in"/>

[[Hindu Mahasabha]] took funding from the [[princely states]] and supported them to remain independent even after the [[independence of India]]. [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar|V. D. Savarkar]] particularly hailed the Hindu dominated states as the 'bedrock of Hindu power' and defended their despotic powers, referring to them as the 'citadels of organised Hindu power'. He particularly hailed the princely states such as [[Mysore State]], [[Travancore]], [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|Oudh]] and [[Baroda State]] as 'progressive Hindu states'.<ref name="c565">{{cite book | last=Bapu | first=P. | title=Hindu Mahasabha in Colonial North India, 1915-1930: Constructing Nation and History | publisher=Routledge | series=Online access with subscription: Proquest Ebook Central | year=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-67165-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iUFalxUFFWkC&pg=PA32 | access-date=2024-10-12 | page=32-33}}</ref><ref name="w584">{{cite book | last=Chhibber | first=P.K. | last2=Verma | first2=R. | title=Ideology and Identity: The Changing Party Systems of India | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2018 |isbn=978-0-19-062390-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJRqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT248 | access-date=2024-10-12 | page=248}}</ref>

The era of the princely states effectively ended with Indian independence in 1947; by 1950, almost all of the principalities had [[Instrument of Accession|acceded]] to either India or Pakistan.<ref>Ravi Kumar Pillai of Kandamath in the Journal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, pages 316–319 https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03068374.2016.1171621</ref> The accession process was largely peaceful, except in the cases of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] (whose ruler decided to accede to India following an [[First Kashmir War|invasion]] by Pakistan-based forces, resulting in a long-standing [[Kashmir dispute|dispute between the two countries]]),<ref>{{cite book|last=Bajwa|first=Kuldip Singh|title=Jammu and Kashmir War, 1947–1948: Political and Military Perspectiv|year=2003|publisher=Hari-Anand Publications Limited|location=New Delhi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bREjE5yXNMC&q=dogra+1948+tribal+pakistan+invasion&pg=PA21|isbn=978-81-241-0923-6}}</ref> [[Hyderabad State]] (whose ruler opted for independence in 1947, followed a year later by [[Annexation of Hyderabad|the invasion and annexation]] of the state by India), [[Junagarh (state)|Junagarh]] and its vassal [[Bantva Manavadar]] (whose rulers acceded to Pakistan, but were [[Annexation of Junagadh|annexed]] by India),<ref name="Pande2011">{{cite book|author=Aparna Pande|title=Explaining Pakistan's Foreign Policy: Escaping India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HPWrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT31|date=16 March 2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-136-81893-6|pages=31–}}</ref> and [[Khanate of Kalat|Kalat]] (whose ruler declared independence in 1947, followed in 1948 by the state's accession to Pakistan).<ref>{{citation |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |author-link=Ayesha Jalal |title=The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=87VnBAAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-74499-8 |ref={{sfnref|Jalal, Struggle for Pakistan|2014}} |page=72}}: "Equally notorious was his high-handed treatment of the state of Kalat, whose ruler was made to accede to Pakistan on threat of punitive military action."</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Samad |first1=Yunas |author-link=Yunas Samad |title=Understanding the insurgency in Balochistan |journal=Commonwealth & Comparative Politics |volume=52 |issue=2 |year=2014 |pages=293–320 |doi=10.1080/14662043.2014.894280 |s2cid=144156399 |ref={{sfnref|Samad, Understanding the insurgency in Balochistan|2014}}}}: "When Mir Ahmed Yar Khan dithered over acceding the Baloch-Brauhi confederacy to Pakistan in 1947 the centre's response was to initiate processes that would coerce the state joining Pakistan. By recognising the feudatory states of Las Bela, Kharan and the district of Mekran as independent states, which promptly merged with Pakistan, the State of Kalat became land locked and reduced to a fraction of its size. Thus Ahmed Yar Khan was forced to sign the instrument of accession on 27 March 1948, which immediately led to the brother of the Khan, Prince Abdul Karim raising the banner of revolt in July 1948, starting the first of the Baloch insurgencies."</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Harrison |first=Selig S. |author-link=Selig S. Harrison |title=In Afghanistan's Shadow: Baluch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLnCAAAAIAAJ |year=1981 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |isbn=978-0-87003-029-1 |ref={{sfnref|Selig Harrison, In Afghanistan's Shadow|1981}} |page=24}}: "Pakistani leaders summarily rejected this declaration, touching off a nine-month diplomatic tug of war that came to a climax in the forcible annexation of Kalat.... it is clear that Baluch leaders, including the Khan, were bitterly opposed to what happened."</ref>
===India===
{{Main|Political integration of India}}
At the time of [[Partition of India|Indian independence]] on 15 August 1947, India was divided into two sets of territories, the first being the territories of "[[British India]]", which were under the direct control of the [[India Office]] in London and the [[Governor-General of India|governor-general of India]], and the second being the "princely states", the territories over which [[the Crown]] had [[suzerainty]], but which were under the control of their hereditary rulers. In addition, there were several colonial enclaves controlled by France and Portugal. The integration of these territories into [[Dominion of India]], that had been created by the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British Parliament, was a declared objective of the [[Indian National Congress]], which the [[Government of India]] pursued over the years 1947 to 1949. Through a combination of tactics, [[Sardar]] [[Vallabhbhai Patel]] and [[V. P. Menon]] in the months immediately preceding and following the independence convinced the rulers of almost all of the hundreds of princely states to accede to India. In a speech in January 1948, Vallabhbhai Patel said:

{{blockquote|As you are all aware, on the lapse of Paramountcy every Indian State became a separate independent entity and our first task of consolidating about 550 States was on the basis of accession to the Indian Dominion on three subjects. Barring Hyderabad and Junagadh all the states which are contiguous to India acceded to Indian Dominion. Subsequently, Kashmir also came in... Some Rulers who were quick to read the writing on the wall, gave responsible government to their people; Cochin being the most illustrious example. In Travancore, there was a short struggle, but there, too, the Ruler soon recognised the aspiration of his people and agreed to introduce a constitution in which all powers would be transferred to the people and he would function as a constitutional Ruler.<ref>R. P. Bhargava (1992) ''The Chamber of Princes'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=BAQgNE1uSEgC&pg=PA313 p. 313]</ref>}}

Although this process successfully integrated the vast majority of princely states into India, it was not as successful in relation to a few states, notably the former princely state of [[Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)|Kashmir]], whose Maharaja delayed signing the instrument of accession into India until his territories were under the threat of invasion by Pakistan, and the state of [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]], whose ruler decided to remain independent and was subsequently defeated by the [[Operation Polo]] invasion.

Having secured their accession, Sardar Patel and V. P. Menon then proceeded, in a step-by-step process, to secure and extend the central government's authority over these states and to transform their administrations until, by 1956, there was little difference between the territories that had formerly been part of British India and those that had been princely states. Simultaneously, the Government of India, through a combination of diplomatic and economic pressure, acquired control over most of the remaining European colonial exclaves on the subcontinent. Fed up with the protracted and stubborn resistance of the Portuguese government; in 1961 the [[Indian Army]] [[Annexation of Goa|invaded and annexed]] [[Portuguese India]].<ref>Praval, Major K.C. (2009). Indian Army after Independence. New Delhi: Lancer. p. 214. {{ISBN|978-1-935501-10-7}}.</ref> These territories, like the princely states, were also integrated into the Republic of India.

As the final step, in 1971, the 26th amendment<ref>{{Citation|url=http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend26.htm|title=The Constitution (26 Amendment) Act, 1971|publisher=Government of India|work=indiacode.nic.in|year=1971|access-date=9 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206041333/http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend26.htm|archive-date=6 December 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> to the [[Constitution of India]] withdrew recognition of the princes as rulers, took away their remaining privileges, and abolished the remuneration granted to them by [[Privy Purse in India|privy purses]].

As per the terms of accession, the erstwhile Indian princes received [[Privy Purse in India|privy purses]] (government allowances), and initially retained their statuses, privileges, and autonomy in internal matters during a transitional period which lasted until 1956. During this time, the former princely states were merged into unions, each of which was headed by a former ruling prince with the title of ''Rajpramukh'' (ruling chief), equivalent to a state governor.<ref>Wilhelm von Pochhammer, ''India's road to nationhood: a political history of the subcontinent'' (1982) ch 57</ref> In 1956, the position of ''Rajpramukh'' was abolished and the federations dissolved, the former principalities becoming part of Indian states. The states which acceded to Pakistan retained their status until the promulgation of a new constitution in 1956, when most became part of the province of [[West Pakistan]]; a few of the former states retained their autonomy until 1969 when they were fully integrated into Pakistan. The Indian government abolished the privy purses in 1971, followed by the government of Pakistan in 1972.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In July 1946, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] pointedly observed that no princely state could prevail militarily against the army of independent India.<ref name="books.google.co.in">{{Cite book|last1=Menon|first1=Shivshankar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eaWWDwAAQBAJ|title=India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present|date=20 April 2021|isbn=978-0-670-09129-4|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|pages=34}}</ref> In January 1947, Nehru said that independent India would not accept the [[divine right of kings]].<ref>Lumby, E. W. R. 1954. ''The Transfer of Power in India, 1945–1947''. London: [[George Allen and Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]]. p. 228</ref> In May, 1947, he declared that any princely state which refused to join the [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]] would be treated as an enemy state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=172053|title=Sardar Patel – Man who United India|date=30 October 2017|first=Aaditya|last=Tiwari|website=Press Information Bureau }}</ref> There were officially 565 princely states when India and Pakistan became independent in 1947, but the great majority had contracted with the British [[Governor-General of India|
viceroy]] to provide public services and tax collection. Only 21 had actual state governments, and only four were large ([[Hyderabad State]], [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore State]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir State]], and [[Baroda State]]). They [[Instrument of accession|acceded]] to one of the two new independent countries between 1947 and 1949. All the princes were eventually pensioned off.<ref>Wilhelm von Pochhammer, ''India's road to nationhood: a political history of the subcontinent'' (1981) ch 57</ref>

===Pakistan===
{{Main|Princely states of Pakistan}}
During the period of the [[British Raj]], there were four princely states in Balochistan: [[Makran (princely state)|Makran]], [[Kharan (princely state)|Kharan]], [[Las Bela (princely state)|Las Bela]] and [[Kalat (princely state)|Kalat]]. The first three acceded to Pakistan.<ref name="CheemaRiemer1990">{{cite book|author1=Pervaiz I Cheema|author2=Manuel Riemer|title=Pakistan's Defence Policy 1947–58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CX6xCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|date=22 August 1990|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-349-20942-2|pages=60–}}</ref><ref name="Siddiqi2012">{{cite book|author=Farhan Hanif Siddiqi|title=The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir Ethnic Movements|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDb6i9x1FKgC&pg=PA71|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-68614-3|pages=71–}}</ref><ref name="Paul2014">{{cite book|author=T.V. Paul|title=The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IYBeAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA133|date=February 2014|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-932223-7|pages=133–}}</ref><ref name="LongSingh2015">{{citation |last=Bangash |first=Y. K. |chapter=Constructing the state: Constitutional integration of the princely states of Pakistan |editor1=Roger D. Long |editor2=Gurharpal Singh |editor3=Yunas Samad |editor4=Ian Talbot |title=State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzivCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-44820-4 |pages=82–}}</ref> However, the ruler of the fourth princely state, the [[Khan of Kalat]] [[Ahmad Yar Khan]], declared Kalat's independence as this was one of the options given to all princely states.<ref name="Schmidle2010">{{cite book|author=Nicholas Schmidle|title=To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LayUUE4KNtwC&pg=PA86|date=2 March 2010|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|isbn=978-1-4299-8590-1|pages=86–}}</ref> The state remained independent until it was acceded on 27 March 1948. The signing of the Instrument of Accession by Ahmad Yar Khan, led his brother, [[Prince Abdul Karim]], to revolt against his brother's decision in July 1948, causing an [[Balochistan conflict|ongoing and still unresolved insurgency]].<ref name="Hasnat2011">{{cite book|author=Syed Farooq Hasnat|title=Global Security Watch—Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KiELa2EoA04C&pg=PA94|date=26 May 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-34698-9|pages=94–}}</ref>

[[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Bahawalpur]] from the Punjab Agency joined Pakistan on 5 October 1947. The princely states of the [[North-West Frontier States Agency|North-West Frontier States Agencies]]. included the Dir Swat and Chitral Agency and the Deputy Commissioner of Hazara acting as the Political Agent for Amb and Phulra. These states joined Pakistan on independence from the British.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Flags of Indian princely states]]
* [[Political integration of India]]
* [[List of princely states of British India (by region)]] 
* [[List of Indian monarchs]]
* [[Praja Mandal]]
* [[Salute state]]
* [[Indian feudalism]]
* [[Indian honorifics]]
* [[Ghatwals and Mulraiyats]]
* [[Jagirdar]]
* [[List of Maratha dynasties and states]]
* [[List of Rajput dynasties and states]]
* [[Maratha Empire]]
* [[List of Jat dynasties and states]]
* [[Oudh Bequest]]
* [[Rajputana]]
* [[Zamindar]]
{{div col end}}

<!-- unused
==Notes==
{{notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=paramountcy|For instance, having noticed that many rulers of the larger states, such as [[Kapurthala State|Kapurthala]] and [[Baroda State|Baroda]], were in the habit of making frequent trips to Europe, to the detriment of their subjects and treasury, [[George_Curzon,_1st_Marquess_Curzon_of_Kedleston|Viceroy Curzon]] issued a circular in 1900 reminding the princes that they had to devote their best energies to the administration of their states and welfare of their subjects. In the future they were asked to obtain prior permission from the [[British Raj|Supreme Government]] before going abroad.<ref name="curzon">{{cite book |last1=Suri |first1=Anju |title=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress Vol 63 |date=2002 |publisher=Indian History Congress |page=535 |chapter=Curzon and British Paramountcy in the Princely States: Some Significant Aspects}}</ref>}}
}}
 -->

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Bangash, Yaqoob Khan (2016). "A Princely Affair: The Accession and Integration of the Princely States of Pakistan, 1947–1955". Oxford University Press Pakistan. {{ISBN|978-0-19-940736-1}}
* Bhagavan, Manu. "Princely States and the Hindu Imaginary: Exploring the Cartography of Hindu Nationalism in Colonial India" ''Journal of Asian Studies,'' (Aug 2008) 67#3 pp 881–915 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20203428 in JSTOR]
* Bhagavan, Manu. ''Sovereign Spheres: Princes, Education and Empire in Colonial India'' (2003)
* {{Citation | last1=Copland | first1=Ian | year=2002 | title=Princes of India in the Endgame of Empire, 1917–1947| publisher=(Cambridge Studies in Indian History & Society). Cambridge and London: [[Cambridge University Press]]. Pp. 316|isbn=978-0-521-89436-4 }}.
* Ernst, W. and B. Pati, eds. ''India's Princely States: People, Princes, and Colonialism'' (2007)
* {{Citation| last1=Harrington| first1=Jack| year=2010| title=Sir John Malcolm and the Creation of British India, Chs. 4 & 5. | publisher=New York: [[Palgrave Macmillan]].|isbn=978-0-230-10885-1}}
* Jeffrey, Robin. ''People, Princes and Paramount Power: Society and Politics in the Indian Princely States'' (1979) 396pp
* Kooiman, Dick. ''Communalism and Indian Princely States: Travancore, Baroda & Hyderabad in the 1930s'' (2002), 249pp
* {{cite book|author=Markovits, Claude |title=A history of modern India, 1480–1950|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzOmy2y0Zh4C|year=2004|publisher=Anthem Press|isbn=978-1-84331-152-2|pages=386–409|chapter=ch 21: "Princely India (1858–1950)}}
* {{Citation | last = Ramusack | first = Barbara | year = 2004 | title = The Indian Princes and their States |series=[[The New Cambridge History of India]] | publisher = Cambridge and London: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 324 |isbn=978-0-521-03989-5 }}
* Pochhammer, Wilhelm von ''India's Road to Nationhood: A Political History of the Subcontinent'' (1973) ch 57 [https://books.google.com/books?id=mHLB4m75pisC&dq=india+princely+states&pg=PA503 excerpt]
* {{cite journal | last1 = Zutshi | first1 = Chitralekha | year = 2009 | title = Re-visioning princely states in South Asian historiography: A review | journal = Indian Economic & Social History Review | volume = 46 | issue = 3| pages = 301–313 | doi = 10.1177/001946460904600302 | s2cid = 145521826 }}

===Gazetteers===
* {{Citation | last = [[Imperial Gazetteer of India]] vol. II | title = The Indian Empire, Historical | publisher = Published under the authority of His Majesty's [[India Office|Secretary of State for India in Council]], Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Pp. xxxv, 1 map, 573. | year = 1908}} [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ online]
* {{Citation | last = Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. III | title = The Indian Empire, Economic (Chapter X: Famine, pp. 475–502 | publisher = Published under the authority of His Majesty's Secretary of State for India in Council, Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Pp. xxxvi, 1 map, 520. | year = 1907}} [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ online]
* {{Citation | last = Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. IV | title = The Indian Empire, Administrative|publisher = Published under the authority of His Majesty's Secretary of State for India in Council, Oxford at the Clarendon Press. Pp. xxx, 1 map, 552. | year = 1907}} [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ online]

==External links==
{{commons category|Princely states of India}}
* {{cite book |title= The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled or Decorated, of the Indian Empire (Full text)|author=Sir Roper Lethbridge |author-link=Roper Lethbridge|publisher=Macmillan And Co., New York|year=1893|url=https://archive.org/stream/goldenbookofindi00lethuoft/goldenbookofindi00lethuoft_djvu.txt }}
* [http://www.rulers.org/ruli.html#india Exhaustive lists of rulers] and heads of government, and some biographies.
* {{Whatdotheyknow.com|https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/1034058/response/2447588/attach/4/India.pdf|India, Order Book|1034058|Passport Office, UK|17 October 2023}}

{{Princely states of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Princely State}}
[[Category:Princely states| ]]
[[Category:1721 establishments in India]]
[[Category:1949 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:Types of administrative division]]
[[Category:Client state]]
[[Category:Hindu dynasties]]
[[Category:Former British protectorates]]
[[Category:Muslim dynasties]]