List of princely states of British India (by region)

Chamber of Princes meeting in 1941

In principle, the princely states had internal autonomy, while by treaty the British Crown had suzerainty and was responsible for the states' external affairs. In practice, while the states were indeed ruled by potentates with a variety of titles, such as Maharaja, Raja, Nizam, Raje, Deshmukh, Nawab, Mirza, Baig, Chhatrapati, Khan, Thakur Sahab, Darbar saheb or specially Jam for Jadeja/Samma, the British still had considerable influence.

By the time of the departure of the British in 1947, only four of the largest of the states still had their own British Resident, a diplomatic title for advisors present in the states' capitals, while most of the others were grouped together into Agencies, such as the Central India Agency, the Deccan States Agency, and the Rajputana Agency.

From 1920, the states were represented in the Chamber of Princes, which held its meetings in New Delhi.

The most important states were ranked as salute states, whose rulers were entitled to a given number of salute guns.

By the Indian Independence Act 1947, the British gave up their suzerainty of the states and left each of them free to choose whether to join one of the newly independent countries of India and Pakistan or to remain outside them. For a short time, some of the rulers explored the possibility of a federation of the states separate from either, but this came to nothing. Most of the states then decided to accede to India or to Pakistan, such as Junagadh (1947–1948), Hyderabad on 18 September 1948, Bilaspur on 12 October 1948, and Bhopal on 1 May 1949. Travancore also chose to remain an independent country.

In Jammu and Kashmir, a state with a Muslim majority but a Hindu ruler, the Maharaja hoped to remain independent but acceded to India on 27 October 1947 at the outset of the invasion of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan — leading to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

On 31 March 1948, Kalat acceded to Pakistan, although the brother of the Khan led a rebellion against this decision.

• List of princely states of India (alphabetical)
• List of Maratha dynasties and states
• List of Rajput dynasties and states

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Princely states of India.

• Indian Princely States Genealogy
• Flags of Indian Princely States

• The Relationship Between the Indian Princely States and the Indian Central Government, 1921-1933, by Harry Dunseth Wood. Published by University of Chicago, 1951.
• The Paramount Power and the Princely States of India, 1858-1881, by Ajit K. Neogy. Published by K. P. Bagchi, 1974.
• Rajahs and Prajas: An Indian Princely State, Then and Now, by S. Devadas Pillai. Published by Popular Prakashan, 1976.
• Princely States and the Paramount Power, 1858-1876: A Study on the Nature of Political Relationship Between the British Government and the Indian State, by Mihir Kumar Ray. Rajesh Publications, 1981.
• Documents and Speeches on the Indian Princely States, by Adrian Sever. Published by B.R. Pub. Corp., 1985.
• The Late Pre-colonial Background to the Indian Princely States, by Richard B Barnett. Published by Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Punjab, 1988.
• Indian Princely Medals: A Record of the Orders, Decorations, and Medals of the Indian Princely States, by Tony McClenaghan. Published by Spantech & Lancer, 1996. ISBN 1-897829-19-1.
• British Policy Towards Princely States of India: Seminar Entitled "British Policy Towards North Indian Princely States" : Selected Papers, by R P Vyas. Published by Rajasthan-Vidya Prakashan, 1992.
• The Princely States of India: A Chronological Checklist of Their Rulers, by David P. Henige. Published by Borgo Press, 1997. ISBN 0-89370-325-7.
• Constitutional Development in the Indian Princely States, by Ranjana Kaul. Published by UBS Publishers Distributors, 1998. ISBN 81-259-0511-1.
• The Maharaja & the Princely States of India, by Sharada Dwivedi. Published by Lustre Press, 1999. ISBN 81-7436-081-6.
• Illustrated Encyclopaedia & Who's who of Princely States in Indian Sub-continent, by J. C. Dua. Published by Kaveri Books, 2000. ISBN 81-7479-036-5.
• 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, by Sir Roper Lethbridge. Adamant Media Corporation, 2001. ISBN 1-4021-9328-9.
• True Tales of British India & the Princely States: & The Princely States, by Michael Wise. Published by In Print, 1993. ISBN 1-873047-06-1.
• Princely States of India: A Guide to Chronology and Rulers, by David P. Henige. Published by Orchid Press, 2006. ISBN 974-524-049-4.
• India's Princely States: People, Princes and Colonialism, by Waltraud Ernst, Biswamoy Pati. Published by Routledge, 2007. ISBN 0-415-41541-1.