Native States

British  

plural noun

1. Also called: Indian States and Agencies.  the former 562 semi-independent states of India, ruled by Indians but subject to varying degrees of British authority: merged with provinces by 1948; largest states were Hyderabad, Gwalior, Baroda, Mysore, Cochin, Jammu and Kashmir, Travancore, Sikkim, and Indore

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Example Sentences

There was, of course, no voting in the Native States ruled by India's bejeweled potentates.

From Time Magazine Archive

The rulers of the Native States are not content merely to profess loyalty and reprobate disaffection.

From Indian Unrest by Chirol, Valentine, Sir

The Native States of Southern India, and above all Mysore, which was for many years under direct British administration, will equally bear favourable comparison with any of the Native States of Central or Northern India.

From Indian Unrest by Chirol, Valentine, Sir

The term Punjábi much more nearly, but still imperfectly, covers the people of the Panjáb, the North-West Frontier Province, Kashmír and the associated smaller Native States.

From The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir by Douie, James McCrone, Sir

The remarriage of widows is permitted, and in Native States is not less costly to the bridegroom than the regular ceremony.

From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II by Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane)