A princely state is any state under the reign of a prince, both terms being taken in the broad sense. The term refers not just to monarchs of sovereign nations, but also various high nobles (often vassals) heading lower, often feudal, polities; they may really rule, or be reduced in power, as under colonial indirect rule, sometimes mere figureheads. The term prince (the female form is princess), from the Latin root princeps, when used for a member of the highest aristocracy, has several fundamentally different meanings - one generic, and several types of titles. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ... Indirect rule is a type of European colonial policy as practiced by the British Empire, in which the traditional local power structure, or at least part of it, is incorporated into the colonial administrative structure. ...

In English, the term is most often used only for a native state of the British Empire under an autochthonous princely house, especially for the hundreds of native states of the former British India. These states were mostly brought into the British colonial sphere of influence by the East India Company, and after 1858 formally under the British crown, which assumed the role of Emperor of India as heir to the former paramount Mughal dynasty. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The British Empire was the worlds first global power and the largest empire in history. ... Indigenous peoples are: Peoples living in an area prior to colonization by a state Peoples living in an area within a nation-state, prior to the formation of a nation-state, but who do not identify with the dominant nation. ... British India (otherwise known as The British Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, were under the colonial authority of the British Empire (Undivided India). ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ... The following list of Indian monarchs is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents. ...

Unlike the British Provinces of India — such as Bengal, Punjab, Bombay, Madras, Central Provinces, United Provinces, etc. — which were ruled directly by the British government, rulers of princely states had treaty arrangements directly with the British monarch. These treaties allowed a degree of local autonomy and each state had its own laws, languages, holidays, ministers, and monarch, but each was under British protection and so was essentially a vassal state. Provinces of India or more correctly, the Provinces of British India were formed in 1858 when the British Crown took direct control of India. ... Bengal, known as Bôngo (Bengali: বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bôngodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in Bangla (Bengali), is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ... Punjab, 1903 Punjab Province, 1909 The Punjab (meaning: Land of five Rivers; also Panjab, Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, Shahmukhi: پنجاب) is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. ... Bombay Presidency was a former province of British India. ... Madras Presidency, also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St. ... A British Raj province comprising British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India. ... Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش), also popularly known by its acronym UP, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Union of India. ... A vassal or liege, in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a lord, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fief. ...

At the time of independence in 1947 a few hundred (various sources give significantly different numbers, depending on various criteria and probably incomplete listing) such states existed in British India. Nearly 680 were represented in a special chamber of the Indian legislative assembly called the Chamber of Princes. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... British India (otherwise known as The British Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, were under the colonial authority of the British Empire (Undivided India). ...

Princely status and titles

The Indian rulers bore various titles — including Maharaja ("great king"), Badshah and Raja ("king"), Nawab ("governor"), Nizam, Wali, and many other. Whatever the literal meaning and traditional prestige of the ruler's actual title, the British government translated them all as "prince," in order to avoid the implication that the native rulers could be "kings" with status equal to that of the British monarch. The word Maharaja (also spelled maharajah) is Hindi as well as ancient Sanskrit for high king (a karmadharaya from maha great and rajan king). Its use is primarily for Hindu potentates (ruler or sovereign). ... Padishah, Badishah, or Badshah is a title sometimes applied to to a several historic monarchs, notably the rulers of Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and the Moghul Empire. ... A Raja (sometimes spelled Rajah) is a king, or princely ruler. ... A Nawab was originally the provincial governor or viceroy of a province or region of the Mughal empire. ... Nizam-ul-Mulk was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad state from 1724 to 1949. ... In the spritual tradition of Islam, a Wali (lit. ...

The least prestigious Hindu rulers often used the title "Thakur or its variant Thakore". This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... ...

More prestigious Hindu rulers -mostly existing before the Mughal Empire, or having split from such old states- often used the title "Raja," or a variant such as "Rana," "Rao," "Rawat" or "Rawal." Also in this 'class' were several Thakur sahibs and a few particular titles, such as the Sar Desai. A Raja (sometimes spelled Rajah) is a king, or princely ruler. ...

The most prestigious Hindu rulers usually had the prefix "maha" ("great", compare for example Grand duke) in their titles, as in "Maharaja," "Maharana," Maharao, etc.

There were also compound titles, such as (maha)rajadhiraj, Raj-i-rajgan, often relics from an elaborate system of hierarchical titles under the Mughal emperors. For example, the addition of the adjective Bahadur raised the status of the titleholder one level. The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ...

The Sikh princes (a syncretic religion, mixing many elements from Hinduism and Islam; politically concentrated in Punjab) usually adopted Hindu type title when attaining princely rank; at a lower level Sardar was used. A Sikh man wearing a turban A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a religious faith originating in the Punjab. ... The word Sardar (, IPA ) originally came from Afghanistan (from the Pashto language of Indo-Iranian language family), where it means a commander. ...

Muslim rulers almost all used the title "Nawab" (originally the title of an amovable governor under real Mughal rule, but soon tending to hereditary succession whenever Delhi/Agra lost effective control over the province) with the prominent exceptions of the Nizam of Hyderabad & Berar, the Wali/Khan of Kalat, and the Wali of Swat. Other less usual titles included Jam, Mehtar (unique to Chitral) and Mir (from Emir). Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... A Nawab was originally the provincial governor or viceroy of a province or region of the Mughal empire. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... Nizam-ul-Mulk was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad state from 1724 to 1949. ... Hyderabad and Berar, 1903 Hyderābād was an autonomous princely state of south-central India from 1724 until 1948, ruled by a hereditary Nizam, and an Indian state from 1948 to 1956. ... In the spritual tradition of Islam, a Wali (lit. ... Khan (sometimes spelled as xan, han, Polish chan) is a title meaning ruler in Mongolian and Turkish. ... The city of Kalat is located roughly in the center of Balochistan, Pakistan, south and slightly west of the provincial capital Quetta. ... Swat is presently a district, but historically a Muslim princely state, in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... National motto: Out of Many One People Official language English Capital and largest city Kingston Monarch Queen Elizabeth II Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke Prime Minister P. J. Patterson Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 159th 10,991 km² 1. ... Chitral, or Chitrāl, is the name of a town (35° 53 N; 71° 48 E), valley, river, district, and former princely state in the Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... MIR is a TLA that could mean: Mail-in rebate Medical Inspection Room - the place for sick parade in most British and Commonwealth militaries and many NGOs. ... Entrance to the emirs palace in Bukhara. ...

Precedence and prestige

However, the actual importance of a princely state cannot be read from the title of its ruler, which was usually granted (or at least recognized) as a favour, often in recognition for loyalty and services rendered historically by the Mughal emperor, and later by the British rulers succeeding it as paramount power (first the HEIC, de facto; later the British crown, and ultimately assuming the style Emperor of India as successor to the emperor of the abolished Mughal realm). Although some titles were raised once or even repeatedly, there was no automatic updating when a state gained or lost real clout. In fact, princely titles were even awarded to holders of domains (mainly jagirs) and even zamindars (in principle tax collectors), which were not states at all. Various sources give significantly different numbers of states and domains of the various types. Even in general, the definition of titles and domains are clearly not well-established. There is also no strict relation between the levels of the titles and the classes of gun salutes, the real measure of precedence, but merely a growing percentage of higher titles in classes with more guns. A Jagir is a small territory granted by a ruler to an army chieftain (called a sardar in Marathi language) in recognition of his military service. ... Zamindar, also known as Zamindari, or the Zamindari System was employed by the Mughals to collect taxes from peasants. ...

Precedence and prestige

The gun-salute system was used to set unambiguously the precedence of the major rulers in the area in which the British East India Company was active, or generally of the states and their dynasties. Princely rulers were entitled to be saluted by the firing of an odd number of guns between three and 21, with a greater number of guns indicating greater prestige. (There were many minor rulers who were not entitled to any gun salutes, and as a rule the majority of gun-salute princes had at least nine, with numbers below that usually the prerogative of Arab coastal Sheikhs also under British protection.) Generally, the number of guns remained the same for all successive rulers of a particular state, but individuals were sometimes granted additional guns on a personal basis. Furthermore, rulers were sometimes granted additional gun salutes within their own territories only, constituting a semi-promotion.

While the states of all these rulers (about 120) were known as salute states, there were far more so-called non-salute states of lower prestige, and even more princes (in the broadest sense of the term) not even acknowledged as such. On the other hand, the dynasties of certain defunct states were allowed to keep their princely status - they were known as Pensioners. Though none of these princes were awarded gun salutes, princely titles in this category were recognized as among certain vassals of salute states, and were not even in direct relation with the paramount power.

After independence, the (Hindu) Maharana of Udaipur displaced the Nizam of Hyderabad as the most senior prince, and the style Highness was extended to all rulers entitled to 9-gun salutes. Although the dynasties had been promised continued privileges and income, the Indian government proceeded to confiscate and abolish the various princely states. In 1971, the whole princely order ceased to exist under Indian law, though many retain their social prestige informally, some still prominent in regional politics. The Lake Palace in Udaipur Udaipur (उदयपुर) is a city in Rajasthan, India. ...

At the time of Indian independence, only five rulers—the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Maharaja of Mysore, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, the Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda and the Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior — were entitled to a 21-gun salute. Five more rulers — the Nawab of Bhopal, the Maharaja Holkar of Indore, the Maharana of Udaipur, the Maharaja of Kolhapur and the Maharaja of Travancore — were entitled to 19-gun salutes. The most senior princely ruler was the (Muslim) Nizam of Hyderabad, who was entitled to the unique style Exalted Highness. Other princely rulers entitled to salutes of 11 guns (soon 9 guns too) or more were entitled to the style Highness. No special style was used by rulers entitled to lesser gun salutes. Hyderabad and Berar, 1903 Hyderābād was an autonomous princely state of south-central India from 1724 until 1948, ruled by a hereditary Nizam, and an Indian state from 1948 to 1956. ... The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, which was founded about 1400 AD by the Wodeyar dynasty, who ruled the state until the independence of India in 1947, when the kingdom was merged with the Union of India. ... Jammu and Kashmir is the northern-most state of the Republic of India, with Srinagar as its summer capital and Jammu as its winter capital. ... The Gaekwad (or Gaekwar) were a Maratha dynasty that ruled as Maharajas of Baroda (Vadodara) from the mid-eighteenth century to 1947. ... Vadodara, also known as Baroda, is the third-most populated town in Gujarat after Ahmedabad and Surat, and is one of four towns in the state with a population of over 1 million, the other being Rajkot. ... The Scindia, also spelled Sindhia , Sindia, or Shinde are a prominent Maratha family in India. ... Teli-ka-Mandir Gwalior is a city in Madhya Pradesh, India. ... Bhopāl (भोपाल) is a city in central India. ... Indore is the commercial capital of the Malwa region and the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh (MP). ... The Lake Palace in Udaipur Udaipur (उदयपुर) is a city in Rajasthan, India. ... Kolhapur is a beautiful city, situated in the south west corner of Maharashtra, India. ... Travancore (real name Thiruvithaamkoor in Malayalam) was a princely state in India whose capital was Thiruvananthapuram. ...

As paramount ruler, and successor to the Mughal, the British King-Emperor of India, for whom the style of Majesty was reserved, was entitled to an 'imperial' 101-gun salute (in the European tradition also the number of guns fired to announce the birth of a -male- heir to the throne). Majesty is an English word rooting in the Latin Maiestas, meaning literally, Greatness. ...

All princely rulers were eligible to be appointed to certain British orders of chivalry associated with India, The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India and The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire. Even women could be appointed as "knights" (instead of Dames) of these orders. Rulers entitled to 21-gun and 19-gun salutes were normally appointed to the highest rank possible (Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India). The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Victoria in 1861. ... The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Victoria in 1877. ...

Many Indian princes served in the British army (as others in local guard or police forces), often rising to the high official ranks; some even served while on the throne! Many of these were appointed as ADC etc., either to the ruling prince of their own house (in the case of relatives of such rulers) or indeed to the British King-Emperor. Many also saw action.

Neither was it unusual for members of princely houses to be appointed to various colonial offices, often far from their native state, or to enter the diplomatic corps.

The doctrine of lapse

Until 1858, the East India Company maintained that it could assume the sovereignty of a state whose ruler was deemed incompetent or who died without a direct heir. This policy contradicted the traditional right of Indian rulers to adopt an heir when they had no progeny. The doctrine of lapse was pursued most vigorously by the Governor-General Sir James Ramsay and the 10th Earl Dalhousie. Dalhousie annexed seven states, including the Maratha states of Nagpur, Jhansi, Satara, and Awadh (Oudh), whose nawabs he had accused of misrule. Resentment over the annexation of these states, which turned to indignation when the heirlooms of the maharajas of Nagpur were auctioned off in Calcutta by the East India Company, contributed to the rising discontent which exploded in the Indian rebellion of 1857 (the "Indian Mutiny"). The last Mughal emperor, who was accused of aiding the rebellion, was deposed. The doctrine of lapse was discontinued in the aftermath of the rebellion, as was rule by the East India Company. Although none of the states were restored, no more princely states were annexed. James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess and 10th Earl of Dalhousie (April 22, 1812–December 19, 1860) was a British statesman, and a colonial administrator in India. ... Shivaji and the Marathas The Marāthās is a collective term referring to a group of Hindu, Marathi-speaking castes of warriors and peasants, hailing mostly from the present-day state of Maharashtra, who created a substantial empire, covering a major part of India, in the 17th and 18th... Nāgpur City name is derived from River Nag which flows through the city. ... Jhansi is a city of Uttar Pradesh state, India. ... Satara is a town and district of Maharashtra state of India. ... Awadh (also known to the British as Oudh) is a region in the center of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... 1857–1858 was a period of armed uprising as well as rebellions in mostly northern and central India against British occupation of the subcontinent. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ...

Governance

By the beginning of the 20th century, The four largest states — Hyderabad, Mysore, Jammu and Kashmir, and Baroda — were directly under the authority of the governor-general, in the person of a resident. Two agencies, Rajputana Agency and Central India Agency, oversaw 20 and 148 princely states, respectively. The remaining princely states had political officers, or agents, who answered to the administrators of India's provinces. Five princely states were under the authority of Madras, 354 of Bombay, 26 of Bengal, 2 of Assam, 34 of Punjab, 15 of Central Provinces and Berar; and 2 of United Provinces. The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, which was founded about 1400 AD by the Wodeyar dynasty, who ruled the state until the independence of India in 1947, when the kingdom was merged with the Union of India. ... The Governor-General of India (or Governor-General and Viceroy of India) was the head of the British administration in India. ... Rajputana, which means Land of the Rajputs is a region of western India, which now makes up the greater part of Rajasthan state. ... The Central India Agency was a political unit of British India, which covered the northern half of present-day Madhya Pradesh state. ... Madras Presidency, also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St. ... Bombay Presidency was a former province of British India. ... Bengal, known as Bôngo (Bengali: বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bôngodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in Bangla (Bengali), is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ... Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. ... Punjab, 1903 Punjab Province, 1909 The Punjab (meaning: Land of five Rivers; also Panjab, Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, Shahmukhi: پنجاب) is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. ... A British Raj province comprising British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India. ... Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش), also popularly known by its acronym UP, is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Union of India. ...

In the early 1930's, most of the princely states under the authority of India's provinces were organized into agencies answerable to the governor-general, on the model of the Central India and Rajputana agencies. The new agencies were the Eastern States Agency, Punjab States Agency, Baluchistan Agency, Deccan States Agency, Madras States Agency, and the Northwest Frontier States Agency. The Baroda residency was combined with the princely states of northern Bombay Presidency into the Baroda, Western States, and Gujarat Agency. Gwalior was separated from the Central India Agency and placed under its own resident, and the states of Rampur and Benares, formerly under the authority of the United Provinces, were placed under the Gwalior residency in 1936. The princely states of Sandur and Banganapalle in Mysore Presidency were transferred to the authority of the Mysore resident in 1939. The Eastern States Agency was an administrative unit of British India. ... The Deccan States Agency was an administrative unit of British India. ... Teli-ka-Mandir Gwalior is a city in Madhya Pradesh, India. ... Rampur is a former princely state of India ruled by a Muslim Nawab. ... Benares (also known as Banaras, Kashi, Kasi and Varanasi (वाराणसी)) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga or Ganges in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sandur is a town in Bellary district of Karnataka state, India. ... Banganapalle is a town in Andhra Pradesh state, southern India. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Accession

After independence in 1947, the princely states were forced to accede either to the secular dominion of India or the new Islamic dominion called Pakistan (consisting of West Pakistan and East Pakistan, i.e. East Bengal, later to break away as Bangla Desh, separated by the whole north of India). The accession was to be chosen by its ruling prince, not the residents, akin to the 16th century European principle of cuius regio eius religio. Most acceded peacefully, except for four: Junagadh, Hyderabad, Baluchistan (Kalat), and Jammu & Kashmir. Cuius regio, eius religio is a phrase in Latin that means, Whose the region is, his religion. ... Junagadh is a city, in Junagadh District, in the Indian state of Gujarat. ...

Junagadh, the largest state in the Kathiawar peninsula (now in Gujarat), with a Hindu majority, acceded to Pakistan on the wishes of its Nawab. However the people revolted, and Junagadh was invaded by the neighbouring micro-state of Mangrol. Finally, in 1948 Junagarh was annexed by India, and the Nawab fled to Karachi. Junagadh is a city, in Junagadh District, in the Indian state of Gujarat. ... Kathiawar in between Gulf of Kutch and Gulf of Khambat. ... Karachi (كراچى) is the largest city in Pakistan and the capital of the province of Sindh. ...

A similar fate befell the Nizam of Hyderabad, a Muslim dynasty which had been the highest in rank since the abolition of the Mughals at Delhi and the Kingdom of Oudh. He had chosen to stay independent if not allowed to accede to Pakistan. After a lot of political wrangling, when the irregular militia of the Nizam's prime minister (the Razakars) began terrorising trains passing through the Hyderabad state, India annexed Hyderabad by a military invasion under the rubric of a "Police Action." The Nizam was deposed, though allowed to stay in Hyderabad. Nizam-ul-Mulk was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad state from 1724 to 1949. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ...

Jammu and Kashmir, although a Muslim majority, ruled by a Hindu Raja, was infiltrated by Pakistani army regulars & tribesmen from the North-West Frontier Province, and sought military help from India to repulse them. This was given only after the Raja acceded his state to India as requested by Lord Mountbatten the first Governor General of the Dominion of India. Until that time, the Raja had avoided acceding either to India or to Pakistan, hoping that he could somehow maintain his sovereignty. This has led to one of the most famous territorial disputes of the world. Jammu and Kashmir is the northern-most state of the Republic of India, with Srinagar as its summer capital and Jammu as its winter capital. ... North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ...

The Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan declared independence in 1947. Between August 1947, when the British left the Indian subcontinent, and March 1948, Kalat was an independent country. Pakistan forcibly annexed Baluchistan in March 1948.

Post Independence

India

On accession by a princely state, its territories and administrations merged into the Union of India. The rulers of the princely states were allowed to retain their hereditary titles and official residences. Depending upon their size, importance and revenue they were also allowed to retain additional properties and given privy purses (in compensation of the state's revenue which now would go the new Union). On abolition of the privy purse (and the right to the hereditary titles) by the government in 1975 the princely states ceased to exist as recognised political entities. In India, the Privy Purse was a grant given since 1947 to the rulers of the princely states of the Indian sub-continent as part of their terms of accession to the new republics of India and Pakistan, respectively. ...

His Highness Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali Azim Jah, the Prince of Arcot, is the only royal in India who was not affected by the abolition of privy purses. In the Order of Precedence, he enjoys the rank of cabinet minister of the state of Tamil Nadu.

The nawab hails from a family that traces its lineage back to the second caliph, Hazrat Omar Bib-Khattab. The title, Prince of Arcot, was conferred on his ancestor by the British government in 1870 after the post of Nawab of Carnatic ( a title granted by the Mughal emperor ) was abolished.

Former states sometimes still maintain and observe their ceremonies, forms of address etc. either as family traditions or as popular folk-customs. For example, processions during the popular Gangaur festival in Jaipur begin, as per tradition, from the City Palace, which remains the private residence of its former royal family. Also known as the Pink City, Jaipur has a long, rich and colorful history. ...

Pakistan

In Pakistan's tribal region in the North-West Frontier Province, the princely frontier states were maintained till 1971 when all states were abolished by merger into the republic, and all princely titles being abolished in 1972. Post independence, a new hereditary salute had been granted in 1966 by President Ayub Khan this being 15 guns for the Wali of Swat, ruler of one of the last princely states to be created (1926). Before Swat was granted a gun salute, there were already four other Gun-Salute States in Pakistan: Bahawalpur, Kalat, Khairpur and Chitral. A few lesser ranking non-salute states also acceded to Pakistan including Dir, Hunza, Kharan, Nagar, and Amb. North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... Muhammad Ayub Khan (May 14, 1907 – April 19, 1974) was a Field Marshal during the mid-1960s, and the political leader of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. ... Swat is presently a district, but historically a Muslim princely state, in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... Bahawalpur is a city of Pakistan (1998 pop. ... The city of Kalat is located roughly in the center of Balochistan, Pakistan, south and slightly west of the provincial capital Quetta. ... Khairpur (khīr´poor) is a city in the Sindh province in southeast Pakistan. ... Chitral, or Chitrāl, is the name of a town (35° 53 N; 71° 48 E), valley, river, district, and former princely state in the Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... In computer software, dir has several meanings: Dir is a district of NWFP It is short for directory It is a command in the DOS operating system; see dir (DOS Command) It is also a command in the OpenVMS operating system; see directory (OpenVMS command) In SCUBA diving, DIR commonly... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Copyright (c) 2005 Timothy D. Johnson Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... The ancient pre-Akkadian and Akkadian city of Nagar on the Khabur River in northeastern Syria, is now represented by the mound named Tell Brak, 40m high, one of the tallest archaeological mounds in the Middle East, and about a kilometer long, the remains of one of the largest urban... Amb was a small princely state in what is today the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. ...

Contributions

The princely states and their royal families have made many contributions to India, pre and post Independence, in diverse fields. They were the ones to have established the game of cricket in India, culminating in the famous tour of England in the 1930s under the captainship of the now infamous Maharajkumar (i.e. prince of the blood) of Vizianagaram (Vizzy). Another legendary cricketer was Ranjitsinhji, Jam Saheb (a specific ruler's title) of Nawanagar (Jamnagar). The Gwalior state provided crucial financial support to Jamshedji Tata's Steel venture in its early years. Today, many former royals continue family and military traditions as officers in the armed forces; while others are leading politicians. For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... The Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, otherwise known as Vijaya Anand but better known as Vizzy, (28 December 1905 – 2 December 1965), was an Indian cricketer, was one of the liveliest characters in Indian cricket in the late 1920s and 1930s. ... Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji (10 September 1872–2 April 1933) was an Indian nobleman and Test cricketer who played for the English cricket team. ... Teli-ka-Mandir Gwalior is a city in Madhya Pradesh, India. ... Jamshedji Tata (1839-1904) was a pioneer in the field of modern industry. ... Bold textEnvisioned by Jamshetji Tata and established in 1907, Tata Steel (formerly TISCO - Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited) is Asias first and Indias largest integrated private sector steel company. ...

Other Princely states

• British Empire - Princely states existed elsewhere in the British Empire. Some of these were considered by the Colonial Office (or earlier by the BHEIC) as satellites of, and usually points of support on the naval routes to, British India, some important enough to be raised to the status of salute states.
  • A number of Arab states around the Persian Gulf, including Oman, the present-day United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, were British protectorates under native rulers.
  • On the Malay peninsula a number of states, known as the Malay states, were administered by local rulers, who recognized British sovereignty; they still reign, but now constitutonally, in the constitutive states of modern Malaysia.
• Netherlands - Indirect rule through princely states (or even mere tribal chieftaincies) was also practiced in other European nation's colonial empires. An example is the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia), which had dozens of local rulers (Malay, and either Muslim, Hindu or animist). The colonial term in Dutch was regentschap.
• However it is NOT customary to use the term princely state, although it would be technically correct, for western principalities, neither in the feudal past (there were many, especially in the Holy Roman Empire, see Fürst) nor for the presently independent Principality of Monaco or Principality of Liechtenstein

The British Empire was the worlds first global power and the largest empire in history. ... The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... British India (otherwise known as The British Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, were under the colonial authority of the British Empire (Undivided India). ... A Salute state is a princely state (i. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are a large and heterogenous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa, originating in the Arabian Peninsula of southwest Asia. ... Map of the Persian Gulf. ... The Malay states are a group of nine states of Malaysia (all located in West Malaysia) which have hereditary Rulers. ... A regency (kabupaten) is a political subdivision of a province in Indonesia. ... The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation ▶ (help· info), Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium Nationis Germanicae, see names and designations of the empire) was a political conglomeration of lands in Central Europe in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. ... Fürst (plural Fürsten) is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince. The female form is Fürstin (plural Fürstinnen). ...

See also

• See List of Indian Princely States for a list of Indian princely states at the time of Indian Independence
• Prince and Principality for information on princely styles worldwide

Hundreds of Princely states in British India existed prior to the independence of India and Pakistan (including the present Bangladesh) in 1947, ruled by semi-independent potentates. ... The term prince (the female form is princess), from the Latin root princeps, when used for a member of the highest aristocracy, has several fundamentally different meanings - one generic, and several types of titles. ... Prince Albert of Monaco on the left represents a principality where he wields administrative authority. ...

Sources and References

• http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/main.html exclusively devoted to Indian princely states and domains
• http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/India.htm several general pages, and various states in great detail
• http://www.rulers.org/ruli.html#india exhaustive lists of rulers and heads of government, and some biographies
• http://www.worldstatesman.com/ exhaustive lists of rulers and heads of government, and many legal dates.