Agencies of British India
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An agency of British India was an internally autonomous or semi-autonomous subdivision of India whose external affairs were governed by an agent designated by the Viceroy of India.[1][page needed]
Description[edit]
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The agencies varied in character from fully autonomous self-governing dependencies such as princely states, where the agent functioned mainly as a representative of the Viceroy, to tribal tracts which were integral parts of the British Empire and where the agent was completely in charge of law and order. The agent of a protected tract or princely state usually lived outside the territory in his charge, as opposed to a Resident who usually lived within his confines and was frequently the District Collector of the adjoining British district.
Civil and criminal justice in agencies were usually administered through locally made laws, and the Indian Penal Code was not applicable by default in these agencies.
List of agencies in 1947[edit]
| Agency | Formation | Dissolution | Constituent Agencies and Residencies | Capital/Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilgit Agency | 1889 | 1974 | No constituent agencies | Gilgit |
| Punjab States Agency | 1921 | 1947 | No constituent agencies | Shimla |
| North-West Frontier States Agency |
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| Baluchistan Agency | 1877 | 1947 | No constituent agencies | Kalat |
| Rajputana Agency | 1817 | 1947 |
|
Mount Abu |
| Central India Agency | 1854 | 1947 |
|
Indore |
| Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency | 1944 | 1947 | No constituent agencies | Baroda |
| Eastern States Agency | 1933 | 1947 |
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Sambalpur, Raipur |
| Deccan States Agency | 1933 | 1947 | No constituent agencies | Kolhapur |
| Madras States Agency | 1923 | 1947 | No constituent agencies | Trivandrum |
Former Agencies before 1947[edit]
- Aden Agency (1839 – 1859)
- Bagelkhand Agency March 1871 / 1933
- Banas Kantha Agency
- Baroda Agency
- Baroda and Gujarat Agency
- Bengal States Agency
- Bhopal Agency 1818 / 1947-08-15
- Bhopawar Agency 1882 / 1925 (merged with Malwa to form Malwa and Bhopawar Agency)
- Bundelkhand Agency 1811
- Chhattisgarh Agency
- Cutch Agency
- Ganjam Hill Tracts Agency (Madras Presidency)
- Haraoti Agency
- Kaira Agency
- Kathiawar Agency (Bombay Presidency)
- Kolaba Agency
- Kolhapur Agency
- Mahi Kantha Agency (Bombay Presidency)
- Malwa and Bhopawar Agency 1925 / 1927 rename to Malwa and Southern States Agency
- Malwa and Southern States Agency 1927 renamed from Malwa and Bhopawar Agency / 1934 renamed to Malwa
- Nasik Agency
- Orissa Agency 1905
- Palanpur Agency 1819 (belong to Bombay Presidency, merged 10 October 1924 in WISA)
- Rewa Kantha Agency (Bombay Presidency)
- Sabar Kantha Agency
- Surat Agency
- Thana Agency
- Vizagapatam Hill Tracts Agency (Madras Presidency)
- Western India States Agency (WISA)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Great Britain India Office. The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908.
Sources and external links[edit]
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