The English reached the shores of India in 1608 at Surat. In 1612, the East India Company's representatives met Emperor Jahangir and signed a commercial treaty. Gradually, they established “factories” (trading posts) at many places along the lengthy coast of India. For the next century, the British confined their activities to trade. However, by the 1740s, they had acquired significant political leverage in southern India. With their stronghold at Madras, they played a decisive role in regional politics. During this decade, in the Carnatic Wars, the East India Company defeated its regional adversaries and their French protectors. The way for expansion was now open. The first major success came in 1757 when the Company conquered Bengal and soon established its influence over Bihar and Awadh. By 1803, Delhi was also taken. This process was completed in 1849 when Punjab, the last independent state, was annexed. During this century of conquest, many states succeeded in avoiding total annexation and retained some degree of autonomy. These states, under the protection of British India, were called the Princely States and numbered about 565. Punjab too had 34 such states, and the demographics of these 34 states prior to 1947 are the subject of this article.
The princely states of India are an important segment of our history and played a role in shaping our future. I hope this article will be useful to students of history. Here, I would like to mention that you will find some exclaves of territories to the southwest of Delhi. These were small Muslim states that were confiscated by the British after the War of 1857 and given to the Sikh rulers as a reward for their help in suppressing the rebellion.
Some of the borders of the Hill States may be slightly inaccurate. But more or less, this map gives a fairly accurate idea of the location of the states. However, I am open to suggestions to improve it further.
Can I use your map in my YouTube video? Is the data given in the map is 99% correct?
ReplyDeleteAs-salaamu Alaikum bro,
ReplyDeleteExcellant work, Ma Sha Allah. Particularly the detailed and beautiful maps. ������
A typo error. You miscalculated total area of "All Princely States of Punjab". Kindly edit it.
With Regards,
Atif (India)
و علیکم السلام
DeleteThank you Atif. I just corrected the mistake. Regards.
Hello Sir, One mistake, Kalsia was a Sikh Princely State, not a Hindu State. It was ruled by Sandhu Jatts.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise I really appreciate your work!
Dear Kanwar, Thank you for providing this information. Can you confirm me with some good source, so that I can make changes in the post accordingly. Thanks.
DeleteDear Kanwar, In the light of information provided by you I have updated the post. Thanks once again. Regards.
DeleteYes you may use them and the map is fairly accurate.
ReplyDelete