Before the partition of India in 1947, about 584 princely states, also called "native states", existed in India. These were not part of British India, the parts of the Indian subcontinent which were under direct British administration, but rather 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.

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, the British still 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.

Starting in 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), Bilaspur on 12 October 1948, and Bhopal on 1 May 1949. Travancore also chose to remain an independent country.

Hyderabad State was the largest which chose to remain independent. In Operation Polo, in September 1948, it was invaded and annexed by India.

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.

Map	Name of state	British resident	Now part of	Last ruler
	Hyderabad	Individual residency	Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka, India	Mir Osman Ali Khan
	Jammu and Kashmir	Individual residency	Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, India; Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan; Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract, China	Hari Singh
	Mysore	Individual residency	Karnataka, India	Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar
	Travancore	Individual residency status under Madras Presidency	Kerala and 5 taluks (Kanyakumari district) of Tamil Nadu, India	Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma

Princely states of the Baluchistan Agency.

Map	Name of state	British resident	Now part of	Last ruler
	Kalat	Baluchistan Agency	Balochistan, Pakistan	Mir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmedzai
	Kharan			Habibullah Khan
	Las Bela			Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan
	Makran			Bai Khan Baloch Gikchi

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 Malojiraje Bhosle
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	Rajadhiraj Chhatrapati Shahu II Bhosle
Ichalkaranji	Princely State	Maharashtra, India	Shrimant Govindrao (Abasaheb) Ghorpade
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	Shrimant Ramraje Prataosinha 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	Raja Khem Sawant-Bhosle Bahadur

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	Shrimant Jyotirditya Scindia
Garha	Princely State	Madhya Pradesh, India
Khaniyadhana	Princely State	Madhya Pradesh, India
Ramgadi	Princely State	Uttar Pradesh, India	Diwan Mahadev Mishra
Rajgarh State	Princely State	Madhya Pradesh, India	Maharani Shushila Sinha Rudrani
Rampur	Princely State	Uttar Pradesh, India	Raza Ali Khan of Rampur

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	Rama Varma Pareekshit Thampuran, Maharaja of Cochin
Pudukkottai	Princely State	Tamil Nadu, India	Rajagopala Tondaiman, Maharaja of Pudukkottai
Sandur	Princely State	Karnataka, India	Yeshwantrao Ghorpade

Princely states of the North-West Frontier States Agency. Agencies included the Dir, Swat, and Chitral Agency, and the Deputy Commissioner of Hazara acting as the political agent for Amb and Phulra.

Map	Name of state	British resident	Now part of	Last ruler
	Amb	North-West Frontier States Agency	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan	Nawab Muhammad Farid Khan Tanoli
	Chitral			Mehtar Saif-ul-Mulk Nasir
	Dir			Muhammad Shah Khosru Khan
	Phulra			Nawab Abdul Latif Khan Tanoli
	Swat			Wali Miangul Jahan Zeb

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	Now part of	Last ruler
Hunza	Gilgit Agency	Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan	Mohammad Jamal Khan
Nagar			Showkat Ali Khan

Name of state	British resident	Now part of	Last or present ruler
Khairpur	Sind Province	Sindh, Pakistan	George Ali Murad Khan

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 Farzand-i-Saadat-i-Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Maharaja Sir Harinder Singh Brar Bans Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja 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 (annexed to British India in 1846 by the Treaty of Lahore)
Kapurthala	Princely State	Punjab, India	Brig. Maharaja Sri Sukhjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala
Kumharsain	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Rana Surendra Singh
Loharu State	Princely State	Haryana, India	Nawab Mirza Alauddin Ahmad Khan II (alias Parvez Mirza), Nawab of Loharu
Malerkotla	Princely State	Punjab, India	Nawab Muhammad Iftikhar 'Ali Khan Bahadur (last nawab)
Mandi	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Maj. Raja Sir JOGINDER SEN Bahadur
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	Himachal 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 Bahadur of Suket
Siba	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Raja Dr. Ashok K. Thakur, Raja of Siba & Tantpalan
Tharoch	Princely State	Himachal Pradesh, India	Rana Rakesh Singh
Tehri Garhwal	Princely State (Zamindari)	Uttarakhand, India	Maharaja Manabendra Shah Sahib Bahadur

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		Rai Rayan Mahimahendra Maharajadhiraj Maharawalji Sahib Shri Jagmalji II Sahib Bahadur, Naresh Rajya, Maharawal of Banswara.
Bharatpur	Princely State		Shri Maharaja Shri Brajendra Sawai Vishvendra Singh Bahadur Jang
Bikaner	Princely State		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		Col. Maharao Raja Shri Bahadur Singhji Bahadur
Dholpur	Princely State		Maharajadhiraja Shri Sawai Maharaj Rana Shri Hemant Singh, Lokendra Bahadur, Diler Jang Jai Deo, Maharaj Rana of Dholpur
Dungarpur	Princely State		Rai-i-Rayan, Mahimahendra, Maharajadhiraj Maharawal Shri Mahipal Singhji II Sahib Bahadur, Maharawal of Dungarpur.
Jaipur	Princely State		HH Saramad-i-Rajahai Hindustan Raj Rajendra Shri Maharajadhiraj Sir Sawai Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II
Jaisalmer	Princely State		Maharajadhiraj Maharawal Sir Jawahir Singh Bahadur
Jhalawar	Princely State		Maharajadhiraj Maharaj Rana Shri Chandrajit Singh Dev Bahadur, Maharaj Rana of Jhalawar.
Jodhpur	Princely State		Raj Rajeshwar Saramad-i-Rajha-i-Hindustan Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Gaj Singhji II Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Jodhpur.
Karauli	Princely State		Maharaja Shri Ganesh Pal Deo Bahadur Yadakul Chandra Bhal
Kishangarh	Princely State		Umdae Rajhae Buland Makan Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Sumer Singhji Bahadur
Kotah	Princely State		Maharao Shri Bhim Singh II Bahadur
Kushalgarh	Princely State		Rao Harendra Singh
Sardargarh (formerly Lawa), thikana in Udaipur	Princely State
Mewar	Princely State		Maharana Sir Bhupal Singh
Patan, Rajasthan	Princely State		Rao Bir Bikram Singh
Pratabgarh	Princely State		Raja Ajit Pratap Singh
Shekhawati	Princely State		Shri Maharao Sheoraj Singh
Shahpura	Princely State		Rajadhiraj Sudershan Singh
Sirohi	Princely State		Maharao Raghubir Singh
Tonk	Princely State		Nawab Muhammad Faruq Ali Khan

Princely states of Kathiawar in Saurashtra

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

• Cooch Behar
• Tripura

• List of princely states of British India (alphabetical)
• List of Maratha dynasties and states
• List of Rajput dynasties and states

Sources

• Indian Princely States Genealogy
• Flags of Indian Princely States

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• True Tales of British India & the Princely States: & The Princely States, by Michael Wise. Published by In Print, 1993. ISBN 1-873047-06-1.
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