Since the 19th century the
princely states and the
tributary states of
Orissa and
Chhota Nagpur were not part of Bengal, but British relations with them were managed by its government through the
Bengal Presidency. The Eastern States Agency was created on 1 April 1933. This agency dealt with 42 princely states in eastern India, located in the present-day Indian states of
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Odisha, West Bengal and
Tripura. Before the creation of the Eastern States Agency in 1933, 23 native states of the former
Orissa Tributary States and
Chhota Nagpur States were under the
suzerainty of the
British provinces of
Bihar and Orissa and 16 under that of the
Central Provinces. and
Orissa area during the British Raj. Political Divisions. 1909
Imperial Gazetteer of India map section. The Agent reported to the
Governor General of India and two Political Agents under his supervision were posted at
Sambalpur and
Raipur.
Cooch Behar and
Tripura were transferred from
Bengal Province to the Eastern States Agency on 1 November 1936. On 1 December 1944, the status of this agency was raised to that of a first-class
residency. These states were grouped into three political agencies, under the "Resident" in
Calcutta. The headquarters of the Orissa States Agency was at
Sambalpur, the headquarters of the Chhattisgarh States Agency was at
Raipur and the headquarters of the Bengal States Agency was at Calcutta. After the withdrawal of the British from India in 1947, the states
acceded to the new
Union of India and some of the states formed the
Eastern States Union, an organisation that failed. Later they were integrated into the Indian states of
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,
West Bengal and
Orissa. The eastern portion of Madhya Pradesh and the southern portion of Bihar became the states of
Chhattisgarh and
Jharkhand, respectively, in November 2000. Link to the Map of Eastern States Agency == Princely states of the Eastern States Agency ==