The Provinces of India were those portions of India ruled directly by officials of the British East India Company and, from 1858 to Indian Independence in 1947, by the British Crown. During the years 1947-1950 Independent India was divided into provinces, which were replaced with states and union territories in 1950, when the Indian Constitution went into effect. 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. ... India is subdivided into twenty-eight states, six union territories and the National Capital Territory. ... A union territory is an administrative division of India. ... The Constitution of India, the worlds lengthiest written constitution (with 395 articles and 8 schedules) was passed by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949. ...

The first British trading post (called a factory) was established in Surat in 1612. British control of India spread from three coastal settlements, established in the 17th century: Bombay (present-day Mumbai), Madras (present-day Chennai) and Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in Bengal. Each of these cities was the administrative center of a presidency, or province, of the East India Company. Presidencies were administered by a governor. The governor of Bengal Presidency later became the Governor-General of India. The provinces were enlarged by wars of conquest, and during the mid-19th century by the doctrine of lapse, under which the Governor-General seized states from native rulers who died without a direct male heir. Surat (Gujarati:સુરત) is a port city in the Indian state of Gujarat and administrative headquarters of the Surat District. ... Mumbai (Hindi / Marathi: मुंबई) (pronounced in Marathi, and in English), formerly known as Bombay is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra, and is the most populous Indian city, with a estimated population of about 18 million (2005). ... Chennai (ெசன்னை in Tamil), formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is Indias fourth largest metropolitan city. ... Kolkata (Bangla: কলকাতা, Hindi: कोलकता, alternate English Calcutta), is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and was capital of British India until 1912. ... The Governor-General of India (or Governor-General and Viceroy of India) was the head of the British administration in India. ... The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy devised by Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor General of India between 1848 and 1856. ...

By the mid-19th century, the provinces comprised over half of the area of India and 60 percent of the Indian population. They were headed by Governors, Lieutenant-governors, High Commissioners, Commissioners, or Administrators appointed by the Governor-general of India. The rest of India was made up of princely states, under the control of native rulers who recognized British suzerainty in return for local autonomy. A governor is also a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ... A Lieutenant Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. ... A High Commissioner is a person serving in a special executive capacity. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Look up administrator in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Governor-General of India (or Governor-General and Viceroy of India) was the head of the British administration in India. ... A princely state or native state was a feudal monarchy in British India ruled by a hereditary ruler, who was nominally sovereign. ...

Provinces of British India

Map of Provinces of India under British Raj in 1922.

• Madras Presidency: established 1640. Enlarged by the 18th century Carnatic Wars and Anglo-Mysore Wars.
• Bombay Presidency: East India Company's headquarters moved from Surat to Bombay in 1687. Enlarged by the Anglo-Maratha Wars.
• Bengal Presidency: established 1690. Enlarged after the battles of Plassey (1857) and Buxar (1865), and by the Second and Third Anglo-Maratha Wars.
• Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri: ceded by Sindhia of Gwalior in 1818 at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
• Coorg: Annexed in 1834.
• North-Western Provinces: established in 1835 from portions of Bengal Presidency; later renamed the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.
• Punjab: Established in 1849 from territories captured in the Anglo-Sikh Wars.
• Nagpur Province: Created in 1853 from the princely state of Nagpur, siezed by the doctrine of lapse. Merged into the Central Provinces in 1861.
• Central Provinces: Created in 1861 from Nagpur Province and the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories. renamed the Central Provinces and Berar in 1903.
• Burma: lower portion annexed 1852, made a province 1862, upper portion added 1886. Separated from British India in 1937 to become a separate Crown Colony.
• Assam: separated from Bengal in 1874.
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands: established as a province in 1875.
• Baluchistan: Organized into a province in 1887.
• North-West Frontier Province: created in 1901 from the northwestern districts of Punjab Province.
• Bihar and Orissa: separated from Bengal in 1912. Renamed Bihar in 1935.
• Delhi: Separated from Punjab in 1912, when it became the capital of British India.
• Aden: separated from Bombay Presidency to become province of British India in 1932; separated from British India as Crown Colony of Aden in 1937.
• Orissa: Separated from Bihar in 1935.
• Sindh: Separated from Bombay in 1935.
• Panth-Piploda: made a province in 1942, from territories ceded by a native ruler.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1013x1049, 569 KB) Summary Originally by: Bartholomew, J. G. - 1922. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1013x1049, 569 KB) Summary Originally by: Bartholomew, J. G. - 1922. ... The British Raj (also simply known as the 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). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Madras Presidency, also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St. ... The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of eighteenth-century wars fought in India between the Kingdom of Mysore (then a French ally) and the British East-India Company, represented chiefly by the Madras Presidency. ... Bombay Presidency was a former province of British India. ... The Anglo-Maratha Wars were three wars fought in India between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company. ... Bengal, known as Bango ( Bengali:বঙ্গ), Bangla (বাংলা), Bangodesh (বঙ্গদেশ), or Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) in Bengali, is a region in the northeast of South Asia. ... The Battle of Plassey was a battle that took place on June 23, 1757, near Palashi (পলাশী in Bengali) (anglicised to Plassey), a small village on the Bhagirathi River (a distributary of the Ganga) located about 150 km north of Kolkata, and south of town of Murshidabad (then capital of the... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803 - 1805) was a second conflict between Britain and the Maratha empire in India. ... The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817 - 1818) was a final and decisive conflict between Britain and the Maratha empire in India, which left Britain in control of most of India. ... Ajmer-Merwara (also Ajmere-Merwara) is a former province of British India. ... The Sindhia, also spelled Scindia , Sindia, or Shinde are a prominent Maratha family in India. ... Teli-ka-Mandir Gwalior is a city in Madhya Pradesh, India. ... 1818 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... A coffee plantation in Coorg Kodagu (previously called Coorg) is a district of Karnataka state, India. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... United Provinces, 1903 A province of the British Raj, which corresponds to modern Uttar Pradesh state of India. ... 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. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... There have been two Anglo-Sikh wars: The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846) The Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-1849) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Nagpur Province was a province of British India that covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh states. ... The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy devised by Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor General of India between 1848 and 1856. ... A British Raj province comprising British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India. ... The Saugor and Nerbudda Territories was a region of British India, located in central part of present-day Madhya Pradesh state in central India. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. ... Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India. ... Baluchistan (or Balochistan), also known as Greater Baluchistan is an arid region of south Asia, presently split between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... Bihar (बिहार in Devanagari) is a state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. ... This article deals with the metropolis of Delhi. ... This article is about the former British Colony of Aden, a former territory in what is now Yemen. ... Orissa (2001 provisional pop. ... Sindh (Sind) سندھ is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and is home to the Sindhis and various other groups. ... Panth-Piploda was a province of British India. ...

Provinces at independence, 1947

At Independence in 1947, British India had seventeen provinces:

• Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Assam
• Baluchistan
• Bengal
• Bihar
• Bombay
• Central Provinces and Berar
• Coorg
• Delhi
• Madras Province - Madras
• North-West Frontier Province
• Panth-Piploda
• Orissa
• Punjab
• Sindh
• United Provinces

At independence eleven provinces (Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Central Provinces, Madras, North-West Frontiet, Orissa, Punjab, and Sindh) were headed by a Governor. The remaining six provinces (Ajmer-Merwara, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Baluchistan, Coorg, Delhi and Panth-Piploda) were headed by Chief Commissioners. Ajmer-Merwara (also Ajmere-Merwara) is a former province of British India. ... Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India. ... Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. ... Baluchistan (or Balochistan), also known as Greater Baluchistan is an arid region of south Asia, presently split between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. ... 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. ... Bihar (बिहार in Devanagari) is a state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. ... This article or section should be merged with Mumbai Mumbai (previously known as Bombay) is the worlds most populous conurbation, and is the sixth most populous agglomeration in the world. ... A British Raj province comprising British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India. ... A coffee plantation in Coorg Kodagu (previously called Coorg) is a district of Karnataka state, India. ... This article deals with the metropolis of Delhi. ... Madras Presidency, also known as Madras Province and known officially as Presidency of Fort St. ... Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... Panth-Piploda was a province of British India. ... Orissa (2001 provisional pop. ... 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. ... Sindh (Sind) سندھ is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and is home to the Sindhis and various other groups. ... United Provinces, 1903 A province of the British Raj, which corresponds to modern Uttar Pradesh state of India. ...

In 1950, the Indian Constitution went into effect, and the provinces were replaced with states and union territories.