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Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain of India's provinces and states. The British Indian Empire, which included most of present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, was made up of two types of political units. British India consisted of fifteen provinces, all British possessions, ruled directly by the British in all respects, either through a Governor or a Chief Commissioner, officials appointed by the Viceroy. Existing alongside British India were a large number of princely states, ruled by local hereditary rulers, who acknowledged British suzerainty, including British control of their external affairs, but who retained local autonomy. At the time of the proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India in 1877, more than 700 Indian princely states and territories enjoyed treaty relations with the British Crown. The exact relationship between the Government of India (controlled by the British) and these states varied enormously, ranging from treaties of alliance, defence, protection, or supervision to almost outright control. The British Crown assumed control of British India from the East India Company in 1857 and thereafter controlled the internal governance through a Secretary of State for India in London and a Viceroy in India. The hundreds of princely states varied greatly in size, from Hyderabad, with a population of over ten million, to tiny states. Most of the rulers of the princely states worked closely with a British political Agent who was responsible to the governor of a British province, but the four largest princely states, Hyderabad, Baroda, Mysore, and Jammu and Kashmir, had Residents directly under the authority of the viceroy. Two agencies, the Central India Agency and Rajputana Agency, were made up of numerous princely states, and their political Agents were appointed by the Viceroy. ==After Indian Independence, 1947–1950== On 20 February 1947, the British government announced its intention to transfer power in British India to Indian hands by June 1948. However, the Cabinet Mission Plan on 16 May 1947 failed to evolve a constitution for India acceptable to all contending parties. Subsequently, the British government announced on 3 June 1947 its intention to partition British India into two dominions. On 15 July 1947, the House of Commons passed the India Independence Bill 1947, to divide British India into the dominions of India and Pakistan. The House of Lords followed suit the next day. The Bill received the Royal assent on 18 July 1947. From this day the suzerainty of the British Crown over the Indian princely states lapsed as per 7(b) of the India Independence Act 1947, and with it all treaties between the British Crown and the Indian states also had a legal quietus. The Rulers of the Indian States became sovereign rulers from 18 July 1947, and in principle they were free to accede to either of the two dominions or to remain independent. As per the provisions of the Act, on 15 August 1947 two independent dominions of India and Pakistan were established. The leaders in the Indian Independence movement put strong pressure on the Indian rulers to accede their states to the Dominion of India. By 15 August 1947 virtually all of the Rulers had signed an Instrument of Accession with the Governor-General of India, giving power to the dominion government to make laws on the three subjects of foreign policy, communication and defense, and otherwise they remained sovereign rulers. These Rulers also signed another agreement known as the "Stand Still Agreement", to provide continuity to any existing agreements between British India and their States. Three Indian states namely Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, and Junagadh, failed to accede to either of the dominions. Jammu together with parts of Kashmir was incorporated into India after the Maharaja Hari Singh was forced to seek Indian military intervention against the marauding Pakistani sponsored tribal lords (Afridis). In time, the two remaining states of Hyderabad and Junagadh were invaded and annexed by India. In 1948 the Maharaja of Gwalior signed a covenant with the rulers of the adjoining princely states to form a new state known as Madhya Bharat. This new covenanting state was to be governed by a council of the rulers with a head known as Rajpramukh. This new state signed a fresh Instrument of Accession with the Indian dominion. Subsequently many other Indian states merged with their neighboring Indian states on the same lines to form the covenanting states known as Vindhya Pradesh, Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), Rajputana, etc. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rajpramukh」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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