The Cutch Agency was one of the

agencies of British India An agency of British India was an internally autonomous or semi-autonomous unit of British India whose external affairs were governed by an agent designated by the Viceroy of India. Description The agencies varied in character from fully ...

. The appointed Political Agent looked after only one territory, that of the princely state of Cutch, which had a surface of , not including the

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located mostly in the Kutch district of the Indian state of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan. ...

. The agency's headquarters were at Bhuj, where the Political Agent used to reside. He reported to the Political Department office at

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, Bombay Presidency.

History

The agency was formed in 1819 when Cutch State became a

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

. Captain James MacMurdo was first appointed Political Agent, as Collector and Resident of Cutch. He worked from his office at Anjar while the capital of Cutch State was located away at Bhuj. The progressive prosperity of Cutch was devastated by the

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

of 1899-1900, which was felt everywhere with extreme severity; between 1891 and 1901 the population of the state of Cutch decreased from 558,415 inhabitants in 1891 to 488,022 in 1901, owing to the famine. On 10 October 1924 the Cutch Agency was abolished and merged into the Western India States Agency.The Indian Year Book, Volume 11 by Bennett, Coleman & Company, 1924,pp:151-152

References

{{coord, 23, 54, N, 70, 22, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title Agencies of British India History of Gujarat 1924 disestablishments in India 1819 establishments in India History of Kutch Cutch State

History

See also

References