EVOLUTION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN BRITISH AND INDIAN STATES
As the Mughal central authority weakened, the East India Company transitioned from a commercial to a political power, exploiting the situation to establish control over various regions. Some large states like Hyderabad and Oudh, along with the Rajput states, were not directly conquered but acknowledged British supremacy, integrating into the British system of indirect rule.
Certain states, especially Rajput kingdoms in Central India, had resisted Mughal and later Maratha dominion for centuries and were preserved from annexation or dissolution through British intervention. In some instances, the British directly created states as part of their strategy to manage and pacify the Indian subcontinent, especially after defeating the Maratha Confederacy, which further diversified the political landscape.
The relationship between the British, specifically through the East India Company and later the British Crown, and the Indian princely states evolved over more than two centuries in several distinct stages.
During this period, the East India Company was just one of many players in the Indian political landscape, competing with various Indian states for trade privileges and territorial influence.
The Company sought to establish itself as a military and political equal to the existing Indian powers, engaging in battles and diplomacy to secure its position.