The Harcourt Butler Committee under the chairmanship of
Sir Harcourt Butler was appointed in 1927 to investigate and clarify the relationship between the paramount power of the
British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
in India, and the rulers of
Princely States. The two other members were,
William Searle Holdsworth
Sir William Searle Holdsworth (7 May 1871 – 2 January 1944) was an English legal historian and Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford University, amongst whose works is the 17-volume ''History of English Law''.
Biography
Holdsworth wa ...
and
Sidney Peel
Colonel Sir Sidney Cornwallis Peel, 1st Baronet, (1870–1938), was a British Army officer, barrister and financier. He was also for the coalition government term 1918–1922, a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). For the 19 years until dea ...
.
The committee visited 16 States and submitted its report in 1929.
Context
The question of sovereignty and paramountcy was undefined at the time. There was a growing call among the princely states to clarify the term ''paramountcy''.
Recommendations
In the committee's report of 1929, the "paramountcy" doctrine was reaffirmed. Guidelines were given for its application, and it was made clear that the financial relationship between the Raj and the States should be fair.
# The relationship of the princely states with the British empire was not merely a contractual relationship, but a living, growing relationship shaped by the circumstances and policy, resting on the mixture of history and theory.
# British paramountcy to stay intact(solid) to preserve the princely state.
# State should not be transferred without their own consent to a relationship with a new government in British India responsible to an Indian legislature.
References
*''A Brief History of Modern India'', by Rajiv Ahir I.P.S Spectrum Publications Pg 605,606 Edition 2019-20.
Notes
{{morecat, date=October 2023
1927 in India