i. Fast-track Integration
After independence, the Government of India followed the policy of fast-track integration of the princely states. The smaller states were amalgamated into larger administrative units or merged with the erstwhile provinces of the union.
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Complete subordination |
Smaller states were completely subordinated to the federal centre by using democratisation as a means. |
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Governors and deputy governors |
Some of the princes were absorbed into the new polity as governors and deputy governors. However, they could not maintain the privileges and extraordinary status that they had enjoyed under British patronage. |
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Privy purses |
In return for the surrender of their sovereignty, the rulers of the major states were also given privy purses amounting to Rs. 4.66 crores in 1949, free of all taxes that were later also guaranteed by the Constitution. These concessions were abolished in 1969. |