The Residencies of British India were political offices, each managed by a Resident , who dealt with the relations between the British Government of India and one (or a territorial set) of princely states .
35-696: The Baroda Residency was one of the residencies of British India , managing the relations of the British with Baroda State between 1806 and the 1930s. Baroda was an Indian princely state , ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721. Following the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803–1805, the Gaekwads of Baroda made peace with the British, entering into a subsidiary alliance which acknowledged British suzerainty and control of
70-491: A British Resident in their court. The Resident was a senior British official posted in the capital of these Princely States, technically a diplomat but also responsible for keeping the ruler to his alliance. This was seen as a system of indirect rule that was carefully controlled by the British Resident. His role (and all were men) included advising in governance, intervening in succession disputes, and ensuring that
105-424: A cricket context, these countries are often referred to simply as the subcontinent around the world e.g. " Australia's tour of the subcontinent". The word is also sometimes used as an adjective in this context e.g. "subcontinental conditions". The Indian subcontinent was formerly part of Gondwana , a supercontinent formed during the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic . Gondwana began to break up during
140-593: A distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state (today the Republic of India). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent". Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from
175-645: A region or a 'realm' by itself than the Indian subcontinent." This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the Indian Plate , which has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia. The Himalayas (from Brahmaputra River in the east to Indus River in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to Yarkand River in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary. In
210-482: A small archipelago southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent, sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the International Monetary Fund , as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction. The population of Indian subcontinent is about 1.912 billion which makes it the most populated region in the world. It
245-534: A term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies. Since the Partition of India , citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in
280-822: Is a peninsular region in South Asia delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east. It extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by large mountain barriers. Laccadive Islands , Maldives and
315-588: Is a physiographical region in Southern Asia , mostly situated on the Indian Plate , projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas . Geographically, it spans the countries of Bangladesh , Bhutan , the British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom), India , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka . Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote
350-428: Is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent. Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies. Afghanistan , despite often considered as a part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent. Maldives, an island country consisting of
385-650: The 26 atolls of the Maldives lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. Historically, the region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as "India" in many historical sources. Even today, historians use this term to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, "India" evolved to refer to
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#1732797438912420-660: The Chagos Archipelago are three series of coral atolls , cays and Faroes on the Indian Plate along with the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge , a submarine ridge that was generated by the northern drift of the Indian Plate over the Réunion hotspot during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic times. The Maldives archipelago rises from a basement of volcanic basalt outpourings from a depth of about 2000 m forming
455-768: The Mesozoic , with Insular India separating from Antarctica 130-120 million years ago and Madagascar around 90 million years ago, during the Cretaceous . Insular India subsequently drifted northeastwards, colliding with the Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, during the Eocene , forming the Indian subcontinent. The zone where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinent plates meet remains geologically active, prone to major earthquakes. Physiographically , it
490-815: The Baroda Residency, which in between had become the Baroda Agency , were merged with those of the agencies adjacent to the northern part of the Bombay Presidency — Rewa Kantha Agency , Surat Agency , Nasik Agency , Kaira Agency and Thana Agency — in order to form the Baroda and Gujarat States Agency . On 5 November 1944, the Baroda and Gujarat States Agency was merged with the Western India States Agency (WISA) to form
525-572: The British Resident in Delhi was more important than that of other Residents, because of the tension that existed between the declining Mughal Empire and the emerging power of the East India Company . After the establishment of Crown rule of British India in 1858, the indigenous States ruled by the Indian princes retained their internal autonomy in terms of political and administrative control, while their external relations and defence became
560-595: The British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757, to secure Bengal from attack by deploying East India Company troops of the Bengal Army within friendly Native States. Through this system, the Indian Princes of these Native States were assured of protection from internal or external aggression, through deployment of company troops. In return they had to pay for the maintenance of those troops and also accept
595-468: The Indian coast through the maritime routes on the Arabian Sea. In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes Bangladesh , Bhutan , India, Nepal , and Pakistan , besides, by convention, the island country of Sri Lanka and other nearby island nations of the Indian Ocean, such as Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory . Unlike "South Asia", sometimes
630-406: The Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance". Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia. While South Asia , a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the Indian subcontinent ,
665-511: The States did not maintain military forces other than for internal policing or else form diplomatic alliances with other States. The Residents attempted to modernize these Native States through promotion of European notions of progressive government. The first Native States to enter such subsidiary alliances included Arcot , Oudh and Hyderabad . Before the Rebellion of 1857 , the role of
700-482: The central part of the ridge between Laccadives and the Great Chagos Bank . According to anthropologist Patrap C. Dutta, "the Indian subcontinent occupies the major landmass of South Asia." According to historian B. N. Mukherjee , "The subcontinent is an indivisible geographical entity." According to geographer Dudley Stamp , "There is perhaps no mainland part of the world better marked off by nature as
735-631: The early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them. It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states . The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors, while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal ,
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#1732797438912770-481: The east, it is bounded by Patkai , Naga , Lushai and Chin hills. The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west. Given the difficulty of passage through the Himalayas, the sociocultural, religious and political interaction of the Indian subcontinent has largely been through the valleys of Afghanistan in its northwest,
805-444: The expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka. According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included the region is referred to as South Asia. The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and
840-417: The island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist. Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous landmass , the borders between countries are often either a river or a no man's land . The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context
875-628: The landmass of Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas. It is one of the most populated regions in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the peninsular region in Southern Asia is located below the Third Pole , delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east. The neighboring geographical regions around
910-475: The larger Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency . The autonomy of the state ended in 1949 when it acceded to the newly formed Union of India . This article about a location in Vadodara district , Gujarat , India is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Residencies of British India The Residency system has its origins in the system of subsidiary alliances devised by
945-530: The local prince even paid for the erection of these Residencies, as a gesture of his support for and allegiance to the British. The Nawab of Oudh , one of the richest native princes, paid for and erected a splendid Residency in Lucknow as a part of a wider programme of civic improvements. North India Part of Central India Agency Part of Rajputana Agency Other Residencies Former Residencies Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent
980-431: The region, the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan , which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, while excluding the British Indian Ocean Territory which is geologically associated with the subcontinent. Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India , an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with
1015-518: The responsibility of the Crown. An area over two-fifths of the Indian subcontinent was administered by native princes, although nothing like such a high proportion in terms of population. The continuation of Princely rule allowed the British to concentrate their resources on the more economically significant areas under their direct control and also obscured the effective loss of independence of these States in their external relations. The Resident
1050-408: The state's external affairs in return for retaining internal autonomy. With wealth coming from the lucrative cotton trade as well as rice, wheat and sugar, it was one of the largest and richest of the hundreds of princely states existing alongside British India . It was thus one of the states which had a British Resident appointed to deal with no other princely state. In 1937, the princely states of
1085-766: The subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to the east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Apart from Maritime Southeast Asia (the Malay Archipelago ), the maritime region of the subcontinent ( littoral South Asia ) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere : the British Indian Ocean Territory two of
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1120-534: The term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries. Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region. The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent", the "South Asian subcontinent", as well as "India" or " Greater India " in the classical and pre-modern sense. The sport of cricket is notably popular in India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Nepal and Bangladesh . Within
1155-457: The valleys of Manipur in its east, and by maritime routes . More difficult but historically important interaction has also occurred through passages pioneered by the Tibetans . These routes and interactions have led to the spread of Buddhism out of the subcontinent into other parts of Asia. The Islamic expansion arrived into the subcontinent in two ways: through Afghanistan on land, and to
1190-726: The west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of Hindu Kush , Spīn Ghar (Safed Koh), Sulaiman Mountains , Kirthar Mountains , Brahui range, and Pab range among others, with the Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate, where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In
1225-521: Was a permanent reminder of the subsidiary relationship between the indigenous ruler and the European power. The physical manifestation of this was the Residency itself, which was a complex of buildings and land modified according to the aesthetic values of the suzerain power (Britain). The Residency was a symbol of power because of its size and position within the prince's capital. In many instances,
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