How many Princely States Joined India?

A princely state, sometimes known as a native state or an Indian state, was a nominally independent part of the British Indian Empire that was instead subject to a subsidiary alliance with an Indian monarch and the suzerainty or paramountcy of the British crown.

History

The history of princely states on the Indian subcontinent dates back to at least the fifth or sixth century C.E., during the rise of the middle kingdoms of India after the fall of the Gupta Empire. During this time, many of the future ruling clan groups, particularly the Rajputs, started to emerge. By the 13th and 14th centuries, many of the Rajput clans had firmly established semi-independent principalities in the north-west, along with several in the Many princes entered tributary agreements with Islamic sultanates during this period of Islam's extensive expansion, particularly with the Mughal Empire. The future Mysore Kingdom was one of the tributaries of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire, which ruled the southern region until the middle of the 17th century.

The East India Company's expansion

The EIC gradually increased its dominance over the subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 18th century, but it was challenged by rival European commercial firms. Indian states occasionally allied themselves with the enemies of Great Britain. As an illustration, consider Haidar Ali of Mysore, who fought alongside the French and the Marathas in an effort to undermine the EIC and consolidate his dominance over southern India. Tipu Sultan, Ali's son, carried on his father's policies (1750-1799). These battles occasionally offered the British new friends keen to defend their own borders, in this case Travancore, as with Mysore's ambitious expansion.

The central government of British India, which was led by the Viceroy, exercised the British Crown's suzerainty over 175 princely states, usually the largest and most important. The remaining 400 states were influenced by Agents who reported to the provincial governments of British India, which were led by a governor, lieutenant-governor, or chief commissioner. The jurisdiction of the courts of law provided a clear distinction between "dominion" and "suzerainty": the law of British India was based on legislation passed by the British Parliament, and the legislative authority those laws granted to the various governments of British India, both central and local; in contrast, the princely states' courts operated under the authority of their respective monarchs.

As mentioned above, several nations also had an EIC garrison within their borders, and each princely state had a permanent British Resident who served as the EIC's representative. However, this diplomacy was supported by weapons and the constant threat of EIC military intervention. The British occasionally intervened to overthrow a ruler, as they did in 1819 with Bharmalji, the ruler of Cutch (also known as Kachchh), for continually attacking neighboring nations. His son, who was still a minor, took the position of Bharmalji. Since the British required the princes as allies in their campaigns in other parts of India, such direct intervention was uncommon.

Precedence and prestige

The title of a princely state's ruler, which was typically given (or at least acknowledged) as a favour, frequently in appreciation for allegiance and services performed to the Mughal Empire, cannot accurately reflect the actual importance of a princely state. There was no automated updating when a state gained or lost actual power, despite the fact that several titles were increased once or even more than once. The owners of domains (mostly jagirs) and even taluqdars and zamindars, which were not even states, were given royal titles. Various sources offer drastically varying numbers of states and domains of the various sorts, most of the zamindar who hold the princely titles were in fact formerly princely and royal states subjugated to zamindari by the British EIC.

It is obvious that there is no consensus on what titles and domains are even in general.

A significant number of princes received honorary ranks as officers in the British and Indian Armed Forces in addition to those princely houses who enlisted and distinguished themselves in the military. Those ranks were awarded based on a number of criteria, such as the individual's heritage, lineage, gun-salute (or lack thereof), character, or martial traditions. Due to their states' contributions to the war effort during the First and Second World Wars, the princely rulers of several significant kingdoms, including Gwalior, Patiala, Nabha, Faridkort, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jammu and Kashmir, and Hyderabad, received honorary general officer ranks.

India's Independence

During Britain's engagement in the First World War, a number of princely realms provided soldiers for the war effort (1914-18). Few kings were persuaded to take up politics as a result of the rising popularity of anti-British political organisations like the Indian National Congress and the All Muslim League, but there was little cooperation between the princes and the "home rule" movement. Although the Indian National Congress opposed both the British and Indian monarchies, it did attempt to persuade some princely states to adopt more democratic forms (without actively interfering), but these efforts were unsuccessful. Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948), the acknowledged leader of the free India movement, viewed the princes as nothing more than pawns raised by the British for their own merciless purposes.

Before the British Raj ended and India gained full independence in 1947 through a negotiated process that the princes were not directly involved in, several princely kingdoms maintained some degree of freedom. On August 15, 1947, the 584 remaining princely kingdoms agreed to submit to the control of the newly established Indian government in New Delhi. In the end, all the states were absorbed into the new political reality that followed the immediate partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan, whether peacefully or by invasion (actual or threatened).

Integration of Princely States After Independence

48% of Pre-Independent India was covered by these 500 princely states. It was Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel's responsibility to integrate the princely realms. Princely states had the option to join either India or Pakistan or to maintain their independence under the Indian Independence Act of 1947.The strategies for integrating the princely states of India were persuasion, diplomacy, military force, or plebiscite.Approximately 584 princely states, commonly referred to as "native states," that were not officially and totally a part of British India existed in India prior to the Partition of India in 1947. There were 552 princely states in total in India after its independence. They had the option of remaining independent states, joining Pakistan or India, or both. Of the 552 princely nations, 549 were in favour of joining India.