Berar (Hyderabad Assigned Districts)

Princely states of India

When the British Crown took over from the East India Company in 1858, it did not rule all of India directly. About two-fifths of the subcontinent stayed under Indian princes: maharajas, nawabs, the Nizam of Hyderabad and hundreds of minor chiefs. Many of their states had signed 'subsidiary alliances' with the Company, giving up control of foreign affairs and accepting British troops in return for protection. After 1858 the Crown inherited these treaties and claimed 'paramountcy': the rulers ran their own internal affairs, but Britain controlled their defence and foreign relations, kept a Resident or Political Agent at their courts, and could depose a ruler for misrule. In 1947 there were 565 recognised states, from Hyderabad and Kashmir, each larger than many European countries, to estates of a few villages. When British rule ended, paramountcy lapsed and each ruler was asked to join India or Pakistan. Most signed Instruments of Accession by 15 August 1947. Junagadh's Nawab chose Pakistan, but India took over in November 1947; Kashmir's Maharaja acceded to India in October 1947 during a tribal invasion; Kalat joined Pakistan in March 1948; and Hyderabad was taken over by the Indian Army in September 1948.