States Department
Encyclopedia
The States Department, later States Ministry, was a department of the Government of India
headed by the Minister of States. Its responsibility was to deal with the princely states and manage their relationship with independent India
.
The department was formed in May 1947 to replace the Political Department of the British Government, which had administered relations between the British Crown and British India on the one side and the princely states on the other. The Political Department had exercised its power on the basis of paramountcy
. Since the British did not intend the government
of India to acquire paramountcy, Lord Mountbatten of Burma
, the last viceroy of India, proposed that a department that would replace the Political Department avoid that name, and instead call itself the States Department. Vallabhbhai Patel, who was to be the first home minister of India, was also made Minister of States. V.P. Menon was appointed the administrative head of the department.
The States Department had principal responsibility for bringing about the political integration of India
by securing the accession of the princely states to India. Subsequently, it supervised the conduct of their affairs, their democratisation, and their administrative integration into India.
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
headed by the Minister of States. Its responsibility was to deal with the princely states and manage their relationship with independent India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The department was formed in May 1947 to replace the Political Department of the British Government, which had administered relations between the British Crown and British India on the one side and the princely states on the other. The Political Department had exercised its power on the basis of paramountcy
Paramountcy
The doctrine of paramountcy is the legal principle that reconciles contradicting or conflicting laws in a federalist state. Where both the central government and the provincial or state governments have the power to create laws in relation to the same matters, the laws of one government will be...
. Since the British did not intend the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
of India to acquire paramountcy, Lord Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, the last viceroy of India, proposed that a department that would replace the Political Department avoid that name, and instead call itself the States Department. Vallabhbhai Patel, who was to be the first home minister of India, was also made Minister of States. V.P. Menon was appointed the administrative head of the department.
The States Department had principal responsibility for bringing about the political integration of India
Political integration of India
At the time of Indian independence, India was divided into two sets of territories, the first being the territories of "British India", which were under the direct control of the India Office in London and the Governor-General of India, and the second being the "Princely states", the territories...
by securing the accession of the princely states to India. Subsequently, it supervised the conduct of their affairs, their democratisation, and their administrative integration into India.