Princely state facts for kids
A princely state (also called a native state or Indian state) was a state within the former British Indian Empire where a native Indian sovereign came under subordinate alliance with the British via a treaty. Such treaties allowed for what was termed British Paramountcy as opposed to sovereignty over the native states. The peoples of these native states were officially not considered subjects of the British Indian Empire but rather as subjects of their native monarch. For the purposes of travel the term used on the passports of subjects of Native sovereigns was "British protected person". As according to treaty with the empire the native ruler had surrendered the subject of foreign affairs, such states could not have direct relations with other states without British approval.
From time to time, however, often for the purposes of its own security, the British Indian Empire would interfere in the internal affairs of even the first class states in violation of the treaties made with them. Such interference was met by both public and formal protests buy native rulers and their subjects and was considered as an "encroachment on a native states sovereignty" by the empire.
The rulers of these states held various titles: e.g. raja (a Hindu ruling prince); maharaja (a greater Hindu ruling prince); nawab (a Muslim ruling prince such as the Nawab of Awadh); nizam, the title of the Nizam of Hyderabad. About 118 of the 565 princely states existing in 1947 were considered first class sovereign states and had state governments of their own and only five were large states (Hyderabad (Princely state), Mysore, Kashmir and Jammu, and Baroda). Of these three became part of the dominion of India while the status of Jammu and Kashmir was disputed.
Images for kids
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An 1895 group photograph of the eleven-year-old Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, ruler of the 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.
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The Govindgarh Palace of the Maharaja of Rewa. The palace which was built as a hunting lodge later became famous for the first white tigers that were found in the adjacent jungle and raised in the palace zoo.
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The Nawab of Junagarh Bahadur Khan III (seated centre in an ornate chair) shown in an 1885 photograph with state officials and family.
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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.
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Photograph (1894) of the 19-year-old Shahaji II Bhonsle Maharajah of Kolhapur visiting the British resident and his staff at the Residency
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Chamber of Princes meeting in March 1941
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See also
In Spanish: Estados principescos de la India para niños
