Princely India and the British: Political Development and the Operation of EmpireIn the latter part of the nineteenth century,the royal status of Indian princes was under threat in what became a critical period of transition from traditional to imperial rule.Weakened by treaties concluded with the British earlier in the century,the rulers were subject to a concentrated campaign by British officials to turn palace life into a westernised construct of morality,rules and regulations.Young heirs to the throne were exposed to a western education to encourage their enthusiasm for changes in the princely environment.At the same time bureaucracies constructed on the British Indian model were introduced to promote'good government'.In many cases,royal practice and authority were sacrificed in the urgency to install efficient and accountable methods of administration.Adult rulers were frequently sidelined in the intricacies of state politics and the traditional princely power base was steadily eroded. Using the framework of a princely life-cycle,this book evaluates British policy towards the princes during the period 1858-1909. |