Local Governments of India, originally twelve in number, with eleven listed here. Rajputana, the Nizam’s Dominions, Central India Agency (uncluding Bundelkhand), Baroda, Mysore, Kashmir and Manipur were in the charge of the Governor-General in Council, while Bombay, Madras, Bengal, Punjab, the North-Western Provinces and Central Provinces were under local Governments.
Source: “Index Geographicus Indicus: Being a List, Alphabetically Arranged, of the Principal Places in Her Majesty’s Indian Empire, with Notes and Statements Statistical, Political, and Descriptive, of the Several Provinces and Administrations of the Empire, the Native States, Independent and Feudatory, Attached to and in Political Relationship with Each Other; and Other Information Relating to India and the East ; Names Spelt in Accordance with Recent Authorised Orthography” by J. Frederick Baness, F.R.G.S., F.S. Sc. (Lond.) Survey Of India. Surveyor and Chief Draftsman, Geographical and Drawing Branch. London: Edward Stanford, 55, Charing Cross, Calcutta: W. Newman & Co., 3, Dalhousie Square, 1881.
| Locality | Princely States | Area (km2) | Population | Revenue (Rs) | Tribute (Rs) | Guns | Cavalry | Infantry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punjab Province ¤ | 35 | 262,965.29 | 5,418,370 | 16,011,030 | 280,180 | 400 | 6,158 | 42,715 |
| North Western Provinces | 2 | 13,273.75 | 657,000 | 1,540,000 | N/A | 28 | 500 | 2,000 |
| Bengal Province ‡ | 32 | 99,401.61 | 2,311,547 | 2,025,583 | 105,895 | N/A | N/A | 11,894 |
| Assam Province § | 23 | 31,271.66 | 206,452 | 117,545 | N/A | 30 | 400 | 4,400 |
| Central Provinces | 15 | 74,682.65 | 1,052,836 | 577,410 | 135,230 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Bombay Presidency þ | 433 | 188,966.40 | 8,954,590 | 44,596,467 | 1,035,033 | 575 | 13,734 | 40,763 |
| Madras Presidency | 5 | 25,239.55 | 3,252,161 | 8,060,226 | 1,010,000 | 4 | 21 | 2,122 |
| Rajputana Agency | 19 | 334,345.69 | 9,667,710 | 29,680,500 | 1,246,531 | 1,183 | 22,225 | 61,350 |
| Central India Agency | 62 | 223,053.39 | 8,177,810 | 27,022,870 | 46,607 | 603 | 14,012 | 47,005 |
| British Burmah Province † | 3 | 11,655.00 | 50,000 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Nizam’s Dominions | 1 | 253,820.00 | 11,000,000 | 60,000,000 | N/A | 720 | 6,000 | 34,000 |
| Totals | 630 | 1,518,685.35 | 50,748,476 | 189,631,631 | 3,859,476 | 3,543 | 63,050 | 246,249 |
- ¤ – including Kashmir
- ‡ – including Sikkim
- § – including Manipur
- † – including Karenni
- þ – including Baroda State
Agencies and Residencies of British India
The Residencies of British India were political offices, each managed by a resident, which dealt with the relations between British India and a large number of princely states. Through this system, the Indian Princes of these Native States were assured of protection from internal and external aggression through the deployment of East India Company troops. In return, they had to pay for the maintenance of those troops and also accept a British Resident in their court. The Resident was a senior British official posted in the capital of these Princely States, technically a diplomat but also responsible for keeping the ruler in his alliance. His role included advising on governance, intervening in succession disputes, and ensuring that the states did not maintain military forces other than for internal policing or else form diplomatic alliances with other states. Arcot, Oudh, and Hyderabad were among the first native states to form such subsidiary alliances.
An agency was a political unit of the pre-1947 Indian Empire that managed the relations of British India with the sub-continent’s princely states. Political agencies were created, merged, or abolished at different times during the history of the British Raj.
| Name | Princely States | Area (km2) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aden Agency | 1839 – 1859 | 31,271.66 | — |
| Aden Residency | 1859 – 1873 | 207.20 | 43,974 |
| Alwar Agency | — | 8,179.0 (1901) | 828,487 (1901) |
| Bagelkhand Agency | 1871 – 1933 | 37,100.0 (1901) | 37,100.0 (1901) |
| Baluchistan Agency | 1877 – 1947 | 387,553.93 | 996,781 |
| Banas Kantha Agency | 1925 – 1933 | see below | see below |
| Baroda Agency | 1xxx – 1937 | 20,976.41 (1901) | 1,952,692 |
| Baroda Residency | 1806 – 1937 | — | — |
| Baroda and Gujarat States Agency | 1937 – 1944 | — | — |
| Baroda, WISA and Gujarat States Agency | 1944 – 1947 | — | — |
| Bengal States Agency | — | — | — |
| Bhil Agency | 1825 – 1882 | > 12,274.75 | > 445,205 |
| Bhopal Agency | 1818 – 1947 | 30,181.0 (1901) | 1,157,697 (1901) |
| Bhopawar Agency | 1882 – 1937 | 19,901.56 (1901) | 547,546 (1901) |
| Bikaner Agency | — | 60,375.5 (1901) | 584,627 (1901) |
| Bundelkhand Agency | 1811 – 1948 | 25,510.0 (1901) | 1,308,326 (1901) |
| Central India Agency | 1854 – 1947 | 200,453.05 (1901) | 8,510,317 (1901) |
| Chhattisgarh Agency | 18xx – 19xx | 42,004.62 (1901) | 1,676,848 (1901) |
| Chota Nagpur Tributary States Group | 1821 – 1936 | 41,476.26 (1901) | 1,001,429 (1901) |
| Cutch Agency | — | 19,725.44 (1901) | 488,022 (1901) |
| Deccan States Agency | 1933 – 1947 | 28,453.86 | — |
| Delhi Agency | — | — | — |
| Deputy Bhil Agency | 1860 – 1882 | > 4,648.01 | > 208,998 |
| Eastern Rajputana States Agency | — | 11,341.6 (1901) | 1,054,424 (1901) |
| Eastern States Agency | 1933 – 1948 | 170,758.7 (1901) | 8,785,876 (1901) |
| Ganjam Hill Tracts Agency (Madras Pres’cy) | 1839 – 1923 | — | — |
| Gilgit Agency | 1889 – 1947 | 20,960.87 | 26,913 (1931) |
| Guna Agency | 1860 – 1896 | > 1,121.0 | > 66,909 |
| Gujarat States Agency & Baroda Residency | 1937 – 1944 | — | — |
| Gwalior Residency | 1782 – 1947 | 46,166.75 (1901) | 2,817,682 (1901) |
| Hadaoti Agency | — | — | — |
| Hadaoti – Tonk Agency | — | 9,684.0 (1901) | 357,233 (1901) |
| Hyderabad Residency | 1xxx – 1947 | 213,190 | 16,338,534 (1941) |
| Indore Agency | 1818 – 1907 | 23,206 | 833,410 |
| Indore Residency | 1899 – 1947 | 59,399.06 | 1,513,966 (1941) |
| Jaipur Residency | — | 42,621.04 | 2,752,307 |
| Jammu and Kashmir Residency | 1xxx – 1947 | 222,444 | 1,500,000 (1891) |
| Kaira Agency | 1818 – 1937 | 906.50 (1901) | 75,225 (1901) |
| Kathiawar Agency (Bombay Presidency) | 1822 – 1924 | 60,722.0 (1901) | 2,645,805 (1901) |
| Kolaba Agency | 1868 – 1xxx | 839.16 | 85,414 (1901) |
| Kolhapur Jagirs Group | 18xx – 1956 | 3,058.07 | ~228,608 |
| Kolhapur Residency | — | — | — |
| Kollam Residency | — | — | — |
| Kotah – Jhalawar Agency | — | 16,819.5 (1901) | 635,054 (1901) |
| Madras States Agency | 1923 – 1948 | 27,781.0 (1901) | 4,188,101 (1901) |
| Mahi Kantha Agency (Bombay Presidency) | 1820 – 1933 | 8,097.0 (1901) | 361,545 (1901) |
| Malwa Agency | 1895 – 1947 | — | — |
| Malwa and Bhopawar Agency | 1925 – 1927 | — | — |
| Malwa and Southern States Agency | 1927 – 1934 | — | — |
| Mewar Residency | — | 44,112.88 | 1,347,690 |
| Mysore Residency | 1xxx – 1947 | 75,563 | 4,186,188 (1891) |
| Nasik Agency | 1xxx – 1937 | 932.40 (1901) | 11,532 (1901) |
| North-East Frontier Agency | — | — | — |
| North-West Frontier States Agency | 1877 – 1947 | ~25,877.27 (1901) | ~466,000 (1931) |
| Orissa States Agency | 1803 – 1948 | 72,638.0 (1905) | 3,173,395 (1901) |
| Palanpur Agency see Banas Kantha Agency | 1819 – 1925 | 16,558.0 (1901) | 467,271 (1901) |
| Poona Agency | 1887 – 19xx | 2,395.75 (1901) | 137,268 (1901) |
| Punjab Native States Group | 1816 – 1933 | 107,571.17 (1881) | 3,692,904 (1881) |
| Punjab States Agency | 1933 – 1947 | 94,617.88 (1901) | 4,424,398 (1901) |
| Rajputana Agency | 1817 – 1948 | 330,331.2 (1901) | 9,723,301 (1901) |
| Rewa Kantha Agency (Bombay Pres’cy) | 1811 – 1937 | 12,877.48 (1901) | 479,065 (1901) |
| Sabar Kantha Agency see Banas Kantha | 1933 – 1944 | — | — |
| Satara Jagirs Group | 1849 – 1887 | 8,409.73 (1901) | 397,640 (1901) |
| Shimla Hill States Group | 18xx – 1933 | 2,333.59 (1881) | 177,300 (1881) |
| Sikkim Residency | 1904 – 1947 | 7,298.62 | 59,014 |
| Southern Maratha Agency | — | 5,959.59 (1901) | 390,257 (1901) |
| Surat Agency | 1880 – 1937 | 5,076.40 | 179,976 |
| Thana Agency | 1xxx – 1937 | 802.90 (1901) | 47,538 (1901) |
| Travancore Residency | 1xxx – 1923 | 19,749 | 2,401,158 (1891) |
| United Provinces of Agra and Oudh | — | 277,554.76 (1901) | 48,500,000 |
| Vizagapatam Hill Tracts Agency | — | — | — |
| Western India States Agency (WISA) | 1924 – 1944 | 102,800.0 (1941) | 5,220,011 (1941) |
| Western Malwa Agency | 1854 – 1895 | 31,080.0 (1881) | 1,511,324 (1881) |
| Western Rajputana States Residency | 1906 – 19xx | 137,241.51 (1901) | 2,163,479 (1901) |