THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN PRINCELY INDIA
THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN PRINCELY INDIA 2024 The variegated of the British conquest of India, and the different stratagems through which the various parts of the country were brought under colonial rule,had resulted in two -fifths of the sub-continent being ruled by Indian princes. The areas ruled by the princes included Indian states like Hyderabad, Mysore and Kashmir, that were equal in size to many European countries, and numerous small states who counted their population in the thousands.
The common features was that all of them, big and small, recognised the British Government. In return, the British guaranted the princes against any threat to their autocratic power, internal or external. Most of the princely states were run as unmitigated autocracies, with absolute power concentrated in the hands of the ruler, or his favourites. The burden of the land tax was usually heavier than in British India, and there was usually much less of rule of law and civil liberties.