11 Facts About Princely states

At the time of the British withdrawal, 565 princely states were officially recognised in the Indian subcontinent, apart from thousands of zamindari estates and jagirs.

The most important Princely states had their own British political residencies: Hyderabad of the Nizams, Mysore and Travancore in the South, followed by Jammu and Kashmir, and Sikkim in the Himalayas, and Indore in Central India.

Era of the princely states effectively ended with Indian independence in 1947; by 1950, almost all of the principalities had acceded to either India or Pakistan.

The Princely states which acceded to Pakistan retained their status until the promulgation of a new constitution in 1956, when most became part of the province of West Pakistan; a few of the former Princely states retained their autonomy until 1969 when they were fully integrated into Pakistan.

The treaties of 1817 and 1818 concluding the decisive Third Anglo-Maratha War left the remaining Maratha territories as princely states, with treaties with the British, and the Rajput states resumed their subordinate status, now with the British.

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British Crown's suzerainty over 175 princely states, generally the largest and most important, was exercised in the name of the British Crown by the central government of British India under the Viceroy; the remaining approximately 400 states were influenced by Agents answerable to the provincial governments of British India under a governor, lieutenant-governor, or chief commissioner.

Since the total of salute states was 117 and there were more than 500 princely states, most rulers were not entitled to any gun salute.

Dalhousie annexed seven Princely states, including Awadh, whose Nawabs he had accused of misrule, and the Maratha Princely states of Nagpur, Jhansi, Satara, Sambalpur, and Thanjavur.

Resentment over the annexation of these Princely states turned to indignation when the heirlooms of the Maharajas of Nagpur were auctioned off in Calcutta.

The remaining princely states had their own British political officers, or Agents, who answered to the administrators of India's provinces.

The agents of five princely states were then under the authority of Madras, 354 under Bombay, 26 of Bengal, two under Assam, 34 under Punjab, fifteen under the Central Provinces and Berar and two under the United Provinces.