Princely states: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:07, 10 August 2019

The Princely, Native or Indian States are those States in India which remained nominally under the control of their traditional or hereditary rulers.

By treaty, the Indian Government maintained Army cantonments in many of these States. These cantonments appear to have been under direct British control, as part of one of the Bengal, Madras or Bombay Presidencies, and their records were part of the Presidency records.

In contrast, Railway Colonies located in Princely States do not appear to have been under British control, and their records were not part of the British records.

List of main states at Independence

Baluchistan Agency
Baroda
Central India Agency , 148 states including Gwalior and Rewah
Eastern States Agency
Hyderabad, the Nizam's Dominions
Kashmir and Jammu
Mysore
Punjab States Agency
Rajputana Agency, 20 states including Jaipur and Jodhpur
States of Western India

Records

British Library APAC records

Baptisms, Marriages and Burials - Indian (Princely) States 1890-1946, N/5, which consists of two volumes only. The index to these records is a single, slim volume.

They are original records and the forms have been completed in a variety of different cramped handwriting and writing materials, making many of them very difficult to read. However, the amount of information provided, particularly in the case of death, is often considerably more detailed than that found in the usual presidency returns. These records are identified in the general Z/N series of indexes. There is also a name and date index from 1923-1950 to be found on LDS film 498603; and the entire set of records is contained on two films 527422 and 527423.

These records appear to be on the LDS Family Search website.

These records, including images, are also available online on the pay website findmypast.

Also see

Imperial Service Troops, later called Indian States Forces.

External Links

List of Indian Princely States - Wikipedia

Historical books online

India and its native princes. Travels in Central India and in the presidencies of Bombay and Bengal by Louis Rousselet New edition 1882 Archive.org. First published 1876, relates to travels in c 1865-1866
An Historical Sketch of the Native States of India in subsidiary alliance with the British Government by Colonel G B Malleson Bengal Staff Corps, Guardian of His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore 1875 Archive.org
British Enactments in Force in Native States by J M Macpherson Archive.org

Central India, 2nd edition 1899, Rajputana 2nd edition 1899, Southern India (Hyderabad) 2nd edition 1900.

For possible additional volumes Archive.org

Indian States Register and Directory 1929 is available to download as a pdf on OUDL (Osmania University Digital Library). May only be available Indian office hours (IST 10 am to 6 pm), (IST = GMT+5:30). Also available on Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection. Index page 641.
Sample pages: Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey edited by Arnold Wright 1922 Google Books
The Princes Of India with a Chapter on Nepal by Sir William Barton 1934. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.
The Indian States and Princes by Lieut.-General Sir George MacMunn 1936 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The '''Princely, Native or Indian States''' are those States in India which remained nominally under the control of their traditional or hereditary rulers.
-By treaty, the Indian Government maintained Army cantonments in many of these States. These cantonments appear to have been under direct British control, as part of one of the Bengal, Madras or Bombay Presidencies.
+By treaty, the Indian Government maintained Army cantonments in many of these States. These cantonments appear to have been under direct British control, as part of one of the Bengal, Madras or Bombay Presidencies, and their records were part of the Presidency records.
+In contrast, Railway Colonies located in Princely States do not appear to have been under British control, and their records were not part of the  British records.
 ==List of main states at Independence==
@@ Line 22: / Line 24: @@
 These records appear to be on the [[LDS]] [[IGI|Family Search website]].
-These records, including images, are also available online on the pay website [[Findmypast|findmypast]].
+'''These records, including images, are also available online on the pay website [[Findmypast|findmypast]]'''.
+==Also see==
+*[[Imperial Service Troops]], later called Indian States Forces.
 ==External Links==
@@ Line 32: / Line 37: @@
 *''British Enactments in Force in Native States'' by J M Macpherson Archive.org
 :[https://archive.org/details/britishenactmen01indigoog ''Central India''], 2nd edition 1899, [https://archive.org/details/britishenactmen00willgoog ''Rajputana''] 2nd edition 1899, [https://archive.org/details/britishenactmen00indigoog ''Southern India (Hyderabad)''] 2nd edition 1900.
-:[http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/discover?filtertype_1=title&filter_relational_operator_1=contains&filter_1=Native&filtertype_2=author&filter_relational_operator_2=contains&filter_2=+Macpherson&filtertype_3=title&filter_relational_operator_3=contains&filter_3=States&submit_apply_filter=&query=&rpp=100&sort_by=score&order=desc Pdf downloads, Digital Library of India], which  appear to include additional volumes. [https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28British%20Enactments%20in%20Force%20in%20Native%20States%20%29 Archive.org versions]
+: For possible additional volumes  [https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28British%20Enactments%20in%20Force%20in%20Native%20States%20%29 Archive.org]
-*''Indian States Register and Directory 1929''  is available to download as a pdf on [http://oudl.osmania.ac.in/handle/OUDL/10242  OUDL (Osmania University Digital Library)]. May only be available Indian office hours (IST 10 am to 6 pm), (IST = GMT+5:30).  Note that the applicable pdf is file size 59.18Mb. Also available on [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.85432 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection]. Index  page 641.
+*''Indian States Register and Directory 1929''  is available to download as a pdf on [http://oudl.osmania.ac.in/handle/OUDL/10242  OUDL (Osmania University Digital Library)]. May only be available Indian office hours (IST 10 am to 6 pm), (IST = GMT+5:30).   Also available on [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.85432 Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection]. Index  page 641.
 *Sample pages: [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=riBJH0J1FR0C&pg=PP7     ''Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey''] edited by Arnold Wright 1922 Google Books
 *[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.29448 ''The Princes Of India with a Chapter on Nepal''] by Sir William Barton 1934. Archive.org, Digital Library of India Collection.