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Princely state

Princely state is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Princely state rather than just read about it. In short: A princely state (also called native state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British Indian government, but rather by an indigenous ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a subsidiary alliance and the suzerainty or paramountcy of the British Crown. The rulers of the princely states were very largely allowed to govern their own territories, b…

Princely state — main illustration
Princely state — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Princely state belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Princely state to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Princely state from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A princely state (also called native state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British Indian government, but rather by an indigenous ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a subsidiary alliance and the suzerainty or paramountcy of the British Crown. The rulers of the princely states were very largely allowed to govern their own territories, but were not allowed relations with states outside the Indian Empire, and were not allowed to fight wars against other princely states. British pressure on the rulers to modernize their domains increased over the period.

At the time of the British withdrawal, 565 princely states were officially recognized in the Indian Subcontinent, apart from thousands of zamindari estates and jagirs. In 1947, princely states covered 40% of the area of pre-independence India and constituted 23% of its population. The most important princely states had their own Indian political residencies, quasi-diplomatic missions of the British Raj: Hyderabad State, Mysore, Pudukkottai and Travancore in the South, Jammu and Kashmir and Gwalior in North and Indore in Central India. The most prominent of them – roughly a quarter of the total – had the status of a salute state, one whose ruler was entitled to a set number of gun salutes on ceremonial occasions. 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 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) 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 covered an area of 49 km2 (19 sq mi), with a population of just below 3,000. Some two hundred of the lesser states even had an area of less than 25 km2 (10 sq mi). After 15 August 1947, most of the princely states soon acceded to India or Pakistan, or were annexed, as in the case of Hyderabad; but for some years many continued to exist within the new nations, until suppressed. There were several princely states in modern Pakistan, though they had relatively small sizes, except for Bahawalpur, which was large but thinly populated. The territory of modern Bangladesh had no princely states.

History

The princely states were the traditional monarchical states of India who had formed, under various degrees of pressure, subsidiary alliances with the East India Company. These relationships were taken over by the British Raj after 1858. Some dynasties, especially of Rajput princes, were very long-established, but others dated back to the turbulent period of the disintegration of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century, including the numerous Maratha states. Some princely states, mainly with Muslim ruling families, had a foreign origin due to the long period of external migration to India. Some of these were the rulers of Hyderabad (Turco-Persians), Bhopal (Afghans) and Janjira. Among the Hindu kingdoms, most of the rulers were Kshatriya. Only the Rajput states, Manipur, and a scattering of South Indian kingdoms could trace their lineage to the pre-Mughal period. Many dynasties conquered by the Maratha confederacy, Sikh Empire and others involved in the Mughal collapse remained without territories. Where the EIC had generally regarded the princes unfavourably, as politically untrustworthy, wastefully extravagant, resistant to the development of India, and poor rulers of their peoples, the top level of the new British Raj came to see them more favourably, as a force for stability in Indian society, and one capable of being encouraged to exert themselves to improve the economy and social conditions of their peoples. The general refusal of the princes to join the rebels in the Indian Mutiny had not gone unnoticed. Schools such as Mayo College and Aitchison College (in Lahore), modelled on the English public schools, were set up to educate boys from princely families. Among others, the successive holders of the titles of Maharaja of Mysore and Maharaja of Jaipur were regarded as model rulers. In 1920, the Indian National Congress party under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi declared swaraj (self-rule) for Indians as its goal and asked the princes of India to establish responsible government. Jawaharlal Nehru played a major role in pushing Congress to confront the princely states and declared in 1929 that "the only people who have the right to determine the future of the Princely States must be the people of these States". In the 1937 Indian provincial elections, the Congress won in most parts of India, excluding the princely states, where there were no elections, as they were not provinces; it started to seek to intervene in the affairs of the states. In the same year, Gandhi played a major role in proposing a federation involving a union between British India and the princely states, with an Indian central government. In 1946, Nehru observed that no princely state could prevail militarily against the army of independent India. The rulers of some of the princely states had a last moment of real power during the Partition of India as the Indian Independence Act 1947 (passed in Britain) allowed their rulers to choose whether to join India or Pakistan.

British relationship with the princely states

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 British Parliament adopted the following definitions:

(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. (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.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Princely state: Political subdivisions of the Indian Empire in 1909 with British India (pink) and the princely states (yellow)
Political subdivisions of the Indian Empire in 1909 with British India (pink) and the princely states (yellow)
Princely state: Sayajirao Gaekwad III, The Maharaja of Baroda State
Sayajirao Gaekwad III, The Maharaja of Baroda State
Princely state: 1765–1805 map of India, shown with a territorial division between Hindus, Muslims and the British
1765–1805 map of India, shown with a territorial division between Hindus, Muslims and the British
Princely state: The 19-year-old Shahaji II Bhonsle Maharajah of Kolhapur visiting the British resident and his staff at the Residency, 1894
The 19-year-old Shahaji II Bhonsle Maharajah of Kolhapur visiting the British resident and his staff at the Residency, 1894
Princely state: Portrait of the First Nizam of Hyderabad
Portrait of the First Nizam of Hyderabad

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Princely state

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Princely state claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Princely state before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Princely state ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Princely state

In research
Princely state appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Princely state in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Princely state is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1721 establishments in India, 1949 disestablishments in India, British India, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Princely state outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Princely state in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Princely state means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Princely state out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Princely state in simple terms?

A princely state (also called native state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British Indian government, but rather by an indigenous ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a subsidiary alliance and the suzerainty or paramoun…

Why does Princely state matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Princely state?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Princely state.

Tags

  • 1721 establishments in India
  • 1949 disestablishments in India
  • British India
  • British rule in Burma
  • Client states
  • Former British protectorates
  • Hindu dynasties
  • History of Bangladesh
  • History of Myanmar
  • History of Pakistan
  • History of the British Empire
  • History of the Commonwealth of Nations

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