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A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign [1] entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, [2] subject to a subsidiary alliance and the suzerainty or paramountcy of the British crown.
Before the partition of India in 1947, about 584 princely states, also called "native states", existed in India. [1] These were not part of British India, the parts of the Indian subcontinent which were under direct British administration, but rather under indirect rule, subject to subsidiary alliances.
The states are listed alphabetically; this list complements the list of princely states of British India, which is arranged by region and agency. Geographical and administrative assigning is indicative, as various names and borders have changed significantly, even entities (provinces, principalities) split, merged, renamed, etc .
The early history of British expansion in India was characterised by the co-existence of two approaches towards the existing princely states. [7] The first was a policy of annexation, where the British sought to forcibly absorb the Indian princely states into the provinces which constituted their Empire in India.
British India and the princely states were together referred to as the "Indian Empire", commonly called "India". The Government of India Act 1935 introduced the concept of the Instrument of Accession, wherein a ruler of a princely state could accede his kingdom into the 'Federation of India'. The federation concept was initially opposed by the ...
The following lists of princely states of (British) India have been compiled: Flags of Indian princely states; List of princely states of British India (alphabetical)
A map of the British Indian Empire in 1909 during the partition of Bengal (1905–1911), showing British India in two shades of pink (coral and pale) and the princely states in yellow. At the turn of the 20th century, British India consisted of eight provinces that were administered either by a governor or a lieutenant-governor.
The Resident was a senior British official posted in the capital of these Princely States, technically a diplomat but also responsible for keeping the ruler to his alliance. [2] This was seen as a system of indirect rule that was carefully controlled by the British Resident.