List of princely states of British India (by region)

British administered India in red and the princely states coloured green

Before the Partition of India in 1947, 584 Princely States, also called Native States, existed in India,^[1]which were not fully and formally part of British India, the parts of the Indian subcontinent which had not been conquered or annexed by the British but under indirect rule, subject to subsidiary alliances.

Things moved quickly after the partition of British India in 1947. By the end of 1949, all of the states had chosen to accede to one of the newly independent states of India or Pakistan or else had been conquered and annexed.

Outline[edit]

Chamber of Princes meeting in 1941

In principle, the princely states had internal autonomy, while by treaty the British Crown had suzerainty and was responsible for the states' external affairs. In practice, while the states were indeed ruled by potentates with a variety of titles, such asMaharaja, Raja, Nizam, Raje, Deshmukh, Nawab, Mirza, Baig, Chhatrapati, Khan, Thakur Sahab, Darbar saheb or speciallyJam for Jadeja/Samma. the British had considerable influence.

By the time of the departure of the British in 1947, only four of the largest of the states still had their own British Resident, a diplomatic title for advisors present in the states' capitals, while most of the others were grouped together into Agencies, such as the Central India Agency, the Deccan States Agency, and the Rajputana Agency.

From 1920, the states were represented in the Chamber of Princes, which held its meetings in New Delhi.

The most important states were ranked as salute states, whose rulers were entitled to a given number of salute guns.

By the Indian Independence Act 1947, the British gave up their suzerainty of the states and left each of them free to choose whether to join one of the newly independent countries of India and Pakistan or to remain outside them. For a short time, some of the rulers explored the possibility of a federation of the states separate from either, but this came to nothing. Most of the states then decided to accede to India or to Pakistan, such as Junagadh (1947–1948), Hyderabad on 18 September 1948, Bilaspur on 12 October 1948, and Bhopal on 1 May 1949. Travancore also chose to remain an independent country.

In Jammu and Kashmir, a state with a Muslim majority but a Hindu ruler, the Maharaja hoped to remain independent but acceded to India on 27 October 1947 at the outset of the invasion of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan — leading to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

On 31 March 1948, Kalat acceded to Pakistan, although the brother of the Khan led a rebellion against this decision.

Princely States at the time of independence on 14 August 1947[edit]

Individual residencies[edit]

Name of state	British Resident	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Hyderabad	Individual residency	Telangana,Maharashtra andKarnataka, India	Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII
Jammu and Kashmir	Individual residency	Jammu and Kashmir, India; Azad Kashmir, Pakistan; Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan; Two prefectures ofXinjiang, China	Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat-e-Inglisia, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir
Mysore	Individual residency	Karnataka, India	Shri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar
Benares	Individual residency	Uttar Pradesh, India	Udit Narayan Singh, Sir Prabhu Narayan Singh, Aditya Narayan Singh, Vibhuti Narayan Singh
Travancore	Individual residency (individual residency status under Madras Presidency)	Kerala and 5 taluks(Kanyakumari district) ofTamil Nadu, India	Shri Padmanabha Dasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Vanchi Pala Maharaja Martanda Varma V Shri Uthradom Thirunal Kulasekhara Kiritapati Manney Sultan Maharaja Raja Ramaraja Bahadur Shamsher Jung, Maharaja of Travancore

Baluchistan Agency[edit]

Princely States of the Baluchistan Agency.

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Kalat	Princely State	Balochistan, Pakistan	Beglar Begi Mir Agha Suleiman Jan, Khan of Kalat
Kharan	Princely State	Balochistan, Pakistan	Habibullah Khan
Las Bela	Princely State	Balochistan, Pakistan	Mir Muhammad Yusuf Khan, The Amir and Jam of Las Bela
Makran	Princely State	Balochistan, Pakistan	Bai Khan Baloch Gikchi

Deccan States Agency and Kolhapur Residency (Maratha)[edit]

Princely States of Deccan States Agency and Kolhapur Residency (Maratha).

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Akalkot	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Shrimant Rani Sumitra Bai Raje Bhonsle, Rani Saheb of Akalkot
Aundh	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Meherban Shrimant Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi
Bhor	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Raja Shrimant Sir Raghunathrao Shankarrao Pandit Pant Sachiv, Raja of Bhor
Jamkhandi	Princely State	Karnataka, India	Raja Saheb Shrimant Raja Pranay Rao Parshuram Rao Patwardhan
Janjira	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Nawab Sidi Muhammed Khan II Sidi Ahmad Khan, Nawab of Janjira
Jath	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Lt. Shrimant Raja Vijaysinghrao Ramrao Babasaheb Dafle
Kolhapur	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Shrimant Rajashri Shahu II Bhonsle Chhatrapati Maharaj Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kolhapur
Kurundvad Senior	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Raja Shrimant Bhalchandrarao Chintamanrao Patwardhan, Raja of Kurundwad Sr.
Kurundvad Junior	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Raja Shrimant Hariharrao Raghunathrao [Bapusaheb] Patwardhan, Raja of Kurundwad Jr.
Miraj Junior	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Raja Meherban Shrimant Sir Madhavrao Hariharrao Patwardhan
Miraj Senior	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Narayan Rao Jatya Sahib Patwardhan
Mudhol	Princely State	Karnataka, India	Shrimant Raja Bhairavsinhrao Malojirao Ghorpade II
Phaltan	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Major Raja Bahadur Shrimant Ram raje Naik Nimbalkar
Sangli	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Capt. Shrimant Raja Saheb Sir Chintamanrao II Dhundirajrao Appasaheb Patwardhan
Savanur	Princely State	Karnataka, India	Nawab of Savanur, Abdul Majid Khan II
Sawantvadi	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Bhonsale clan

Gwalior Residency (Maratha)[edit]

Princely States of the Gwalior Residency.

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Gwalior	Princely State	Madhya Pradesh, India	Maharaja Jivaji Rao Scindia
Garha	Princely State	Madhya Pradesh, India
Khaniyadhana	Princely State	Madhya Pradesh, India
Ramgadi	Princely State	Uttar Pradesh, India	Diwan Mahadev Mishra^[2]
Rajgarh	Princely State	Madhya Pradesh, India	Maharani Shushila Sinha Rudrani
Rampur	Princely State	Uttar Pradesh, India	Raza Ali Khan of Rampur

Madras Presidency[edit]

Princely States of the Madras Presidency.

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Banganapalle	Princely State	Andhra Pradesh, India	Nawab Sayyid Fazl-i-'Ali Khan IV Bahadur, Nawab of Banganapalle
Cochin	Princely State	Kerala, India	Kerala Varma
Pudukkottai	Princely State	Tamil Nadu, India	Rajagopala Tondaiman, Maharaja of Pudukkottai
Sandur	Princely State	Karnataka, India	Yeshwantrao Ghorpade

North-west Frontier States Agency[edit]

Princely States of the North-West Frontier States Agency (all in present Pakistan). Agencies included the Dir Swat and Chitral Agency and the Deputy Commissioner of Hazara acting as the Political Agent for Amb and Phulra.

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Amb	Princely State	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Nawab Muhammad Saeed Khan
Chitral	Princely State	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Mehtar Saif-ul-Mulk Nasir
Dir	Princely State	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Muhammad Shah Khosru Khan
Phulra	Princely State	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Khan Ata Muhammed Khan
Swat	Princely State	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Miangul Abdul-Haqq Jahanzib

Gilgit Agency[edit]

The States of Hunza and Nagar and many feudal Jagirs (Puniyal, Shigar, etc.) in the Gilgit Agency were tributary to the Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir.

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Hunza	Gilgit Agency	Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan	Mohammad Jamal Khan
Nagar	Gilgit Agency	Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan	Showkat `Ali Khan

Province of Sind[edit]

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Khairpur	Princely State	Sindh, Pakistan	George Ali Murad Khan
Umerkot	Princely State	Sindh, Pakistan	Rana Hamir Singh

Punjab state agency[edit]

States of the Punjab States Agency (Punjab).

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Bahawalpur	Princely State	Punjab, Pakistan	Nawab Sadeq Mohammad Khan V
Bilaspur	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Raja Kirti Chand, Raja of Bilaspur
Faridkot	Princely State	Punjab, India	Colonel H.H. Farzand-i-Saadat-i-Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Raja Sir Harinder Singh Brar Bans Sahib Bahadur, Raja of Faridkot
Jind	Princely State	Punjab and Haryana, India	Maharaja Satbir Singh ["Prince Sunny"], Maharaja of Jind
Kalsia.	Princely State	Haryana, India	Raja Himmat Sher Singh Sahib Bahadur
Kangra	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Raja Aditya Dev Chand Katoch
Kapurthala	Princely State	Punjab, India	Brig. Maharaja Sri Sukhjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala
Loharu State	Princely State	Haryana, India	Nawab Mirza Alauddin Ahmad Khan II (alias Parvez Mirza), Nawab of Loharu
Malerkotla	Princely State	Punjab, India	H.H. Nawab Muhammad Iftikhar 'Ali Khan Bahadur(last nawab)
Mandi	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India
Nabha	Princely State	Punjab, India	Sir Pratap Singh Sir Hira Singh
Patiala	Princely State	Punjab, India	Maharajadhiraj Sir Yadavindra Singh Mahendra Bahadur
Rajgarh	Princely State	Madhya Pradesh, India	Maharani Sushila Sinha
Sirmur	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Lt. Maharaja Rajendra Prakash Bahadur
Suket/ Sundernagar	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Raja Hari Sen, Raja of Suket
Siba	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Raja Dr.Ashok K. Thakur, Raja of Siba & Tantpalan
Tehri Garhwal	Princely State (Zamindari)	Uttarakhand, India	Maharaja Manujendra Shah Sahib Bahadur

States of the Rajputana Agency[edit]

States of the Rajputana Agency.

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Alwar	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja Jitendra Pratap Singhji Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur Jitendra Singh, Maharaja of Alwar.
Banswara	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Rai Rayan Mahimahendra Maharajadhiraj Maharawalji Sahib Shri Jagmalji II Sahib Bahadur, Naresh Rajya, Maharawal of Banswara.
Bharatpur	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Maharaja Brijendra Singh
Bikaner	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Sri Raj Rajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Narendra Sawai Maharaja Shiromani Ravi Raj Singhji Bahadur, Maharaja of Bikaner and Head of the Royal House of Bikaner.
Bundi	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Col. Maharao Raja Shri Bahadur Singhji Bahadur
Dholpur	Princely State	Rajastsan, India	His Highness Maharajadhiraja Shri Sawai Maharaj Rana Shri Hemant Singh, Lokendra Bahadur, Diler Jang Jai Deo, Maharaj Rana of Dholpur
Dungarpur	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Rai-i-Rayan, Mahimahendra, Maharajadhiraj Maharawal Shri Mahipal Singhji II Sahib Bahadur, Maharawal of Dungarpur.
Jaipur	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	HH Saramad-i-Rajahai Hindustan Raj Rajendra Shri Maharajadhiraj Sir Sawai Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II
Jaisalmer	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Maharajadhiraj Maharawal Sir Jawahir Singh Bahadur
Jhalawar	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Maharajadhiraj Maharaj Rana Shri Chandrajit Singh Dev Bahadur, Maharaj Rana of Jhalawar.
Jodhpur	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Raj Rajeshwar Saramad-i-Rajha-i-Hindustan Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Gaj Singhji II Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Jodhpur.
Karauli	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Maharaja Shri Ganesh Pal Deo Bahadur Yadakul Chandra Bhal
Kishangarh	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Umdae Rajhae Buland Makan Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Sumer Singhji Bahadur
Kotah	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Maharao Shri Bhim Singh II Bahadur
Kushalgarh	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Rao Harendra Singh
Sardargarh (formerly Lawa), thikana in Udaipur	Princely State	Rajasthan, India
Mewar	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Maharana Sir Bhupal Singh
Patan, Rajasthan	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Rao Bir Bikram Singh
Pratabgarh	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Raja Ajit Pratap Singh
Shekhawati	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Shri Maharao Sheoraj Singh
Shahpura	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Rajadhiraj Sudershan Singh
Sirohi	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Maharao Raghubir Singh
Tonk	Princely State	Rajasthan, India	Nawab Muhammad Faruq Ali Khan

Gujarat States Agency and Baroda Residency[edit]

The Majestic Laxmi Vilas Palace ofBaroda, built by the Maratha MaharajaH. H. Sayajirao Gaekwad III

Kathiawar Agency[edit]

Princely states of Kathiawar in Saurastra

Name of state	British Resident or Agent	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Dhrol State	Princely State	Kathiawar, India	Thakor Saheb Shri Shri Chandrasinhji Jadeja
Nawanagar State	Princely State	Kathiawar, India	Jam saheb shri Shatrushaylsinhji Digvijaysinhji Jadeja
Rajkot State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Thakor saheb Shri Pradhyumansinhji Jadeja
Gondal State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Thakor Saheb Shri Bhagvatsinhji Jadeja
Morvi State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Thakor Saheb Shri Lakhdhirsinhji Jadeja
Porbandar State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Maharana Shri Natwarsinhji Jethwa
Songadh State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Raja Saheb Shri Toyaji Sonara
Bhavnagar State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Maharaja Raol Shri Krishnakumarsinhji Gohil
Wadhwan State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Maharaja Shri Suredrasinhji Jhala
Junagadh State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Nawab sahib Mahabatkhanji 3rd.
Jafarabad State	Princely state	Kathiawar, India	Mohammad Khan 2nd.