The Chamber of Princes (''Narendra Mandal'') was an institution established in 1920 by a royal proclamation of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

to provide a forum in which the rulers of the princely states of India could voice their needs and aspirations to the colonial government of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. It survived until the end 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 1947.

Overview

The Chamber of Princes was established in 1920, by King-Emperor George V's proclamation on 23 December 1919, after the Government of India Act 1919 was given

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

. The creation of the chamber followed the abandonment by the British of their long-established policy of isolating the Indian rulers from each other and also from the rest of the world.Barbara N. Ramusack, ''The Princes of India in the Twilight of Empire: Dissolution of a Patron-client System, 1914–1939'' (Ohio State University Press, 1978) p. xix The Chamber first met on 8 February 1921 and initially consisted of 120 members. Of those, 108 from the more significant states were members in their own right, while the remaining twelve seats were for the representation of a further 127 states. That left 327 minor states, which were unrepresented. Also, some of the more important rulers like the Maratha-ruled states of Baroda State, Gwalior State and Indore State declined to join it .John Allan, Wolseley Haig, Henry Dodwell, ''The Cambridge Shorter History of India'' (1969), p. 1065 The Chamber of Princes usually met only once a year, with the Viceroy of India presiding, but it appointed a Standing Committee which met more often. The full Chamber elected from its princely ranks a permanent officer styled the Chancellor, who chaired the Standing Committee. The chamber convened at the Parliament House. Today the hall is used as the parliament's library.

Concerns about post-independence constitution

Lord Mountbatten addressing the Chamber of Princes

On 12 March 1940, the Chamber resolved:

Chancellors

British Indian Empire 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India

References

External links

Image of the chamber in session
{{Legislatures of India 1920 establishments in British India 1947 disestablishments in British India Defunct upper houses Historical legislatures in India Legislatures of British India Princely states

Overview

Concerns about post-independence constitution

Chancellors

See also

References

Further reading

External links