Princely India and the British

Political Development and the Operation of Empire

By the late nineteenth century the traditional royal status of Indian princes was under threat. Weakened by treaties concluded with the East India Company, the rulers were subject to a concentrated campaign by British officials to turn palace life into a westernised construct of morality, accountability and efficiency and to introduce bureaucracies built on the British Indian model to promote 'good government'. Using previously unpublished archival material, this book gives new insight into the operation of empire in India in the period 1858-1909 by providing a detailed analysis of British policy towards the princely states. It will be invaluable reading for scholars of South Asian and British imperial history.