565 princely states existed in
India during the British Raj. These were not parts of
British India, having never become possessions of
the British Crown, but were tied to the Crown by various treaties and were under the
suzerainty of the Crown. British India and the princely states were together referred to as the "Indian Empire", commonly called "India". The
Government of India Act 1935 introduced the concept of the Instrument of Accession, wherein a ruler of a princely state could accede his kingdom into the 'Federation of India'. The federation concept was initially opposed by the Indian princes, but it is believed that they came around to its acceptance by the beginning of World War II. In 1947, the British finalised their
plans for leaving India, and the question of the future of the princely states was a conundrum for them. As they were not
British possessions, they could not be partitioned by the British between the new sovereign dominions of India and Pakistan. The
Indian Independence Act 1947 provided that the suzerainty of the British Crown over the princely states would simply be terminated, effective 15 August 1947. That would leave the princely states completely independent, even though many of them had been dependent on the Government of India for defence, finance, and other infrastructure. With independence, it would then be a matter for each ruler of a state to decide whether to accede to India or Pakistan, independence for princely states ruled out—they would join either India or Pakistan. == Standard template ==