This is a list of Indian princely states, as they existed during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

before 1947. Before the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947, hundreds of

Princely States A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

, also called Native States, existed in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. These states were not a part of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

but enjoyed a British protectorate under a subsidiary alliance and some

indirect rule Indirect rule was a system of governance used by the British and others to control parts of their colonial empires, particularly in Africa and Asia, which was done through pre-existing indigenous power structures. Indirect rule was used by vario ...

. They were the parts of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

which had not been conquered or annexed by the British, often former vassals of the Mughal Baadshah (Emperor). The states are listed alphabetically; this list complements the

List of princely states of British India Before the Partition of India in 1947, about 584 princely states, also called "native states", existed in India, which were not fully and formally part of British India, the parts of the Indian subcontinent which had not been conquered or an ...

, which is arranged by region and agency. Geographical and administrative assigning is indicative, as various names and borders have changed significantly, even entities (provinces, principalities) split, merged, renamed ''et cetera''. Furthermore, criteria of statehood (used for inclusion) differ between sources. In some cases, several name variations or completely different names are included.

Sortable list of former princely states

Sources and references

Indian Princely States Genealogy
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Flags of Indian Princely States

Sortable list of former princely states

See also

Sources and references

Further reading