With his book on the accession and integration of princely states in Pakistan, Yaqoob Khan Bangash has made a valuable contribution to Pakistani and South Asian historiography. Given its ambitious scope, empirical detail, and incorporation of unused archival sources, this book has, in some ways, lived up to its claim of breaking new ground. For that reason alone, A Princely Affair is well worth a read.

To begin with, very little scholarly attention has been devoted to princely or ‘native’ states. This is in contrast to the considerably voluminous writings on British India proper. This neglect is all the more noticeable given the fact that native states comprised over two-fifths of the Indian subcontinent. Together, the 562 states across the Indian subcontinent (according to the Indian States Committee of 1929) played a crucial role in the British imperial system. That said, this classification itself is somewhat misleading given the sheer variety of native states. Ranging from the vast territories of Hyderabad and Kashmir to small fiefdoms of a few square miles, differentiated by rank and stature with differing governance and administrative structures, there was little tying princely states together other than their role as bulwarks of indirect imperial rule. Even here though, the influence of the British Raj varied from state to state. To make matters even more complicated, modes of imperial indirect rule evolved over the course of the Raj from one region to another. In some ways, then, princely states can be better understood through rough typologies, as Barbara Ramusack has done in her seminal work with her categories of “antique,” “successor” and “warrior” states.

In his treatise on the princely states, Yaqoob Khan Bangash examines their historical trajectories as well as the post-Partition process of accession

In response to this, Bangash makes an intriguing argument. He makes the case that the states that acceded to Pakistan do not easily fit into these categories. For the most part, they had significantly different historical trajectories with alternate concepts of ‘kingship.’ Nor did they necessarily view themselves as part of India. This was particularly the case with Kalat, which Bangash examines in greater detail and devotes a separate chapter to. Other than Kalat, he charts the accession and integration of eight other states: Bahwalapur, Khairpur, and the frontier states of Chitral, Dir, Amb, Swat, Hunza and Nagar. All were Muslim majority territories with Muslim rulers. All had historically been at the periphery of major empires. And most had deeper relations with Central Asia, Afghanistan and Persia than with mainland India. Pakistan therefore had to deal with ‘different kinds’ of princely states, which explains, in part, why the process of integration was much more complicated and protracted as compared to the Indian Union.

Bangash is on firmer ground, however, when he charts the clumsy attempts of Pakistan in integrating its princely states. He notes that the government of Pakistan, caught up as it was with the multiple crises engulfing it, had no clear policy on accession. As a result, bureaucrats and military servicemen serving in princely states acquired a greater role in influencing the process of accession. In the absence of any coherent policy or vision, the government signed different instruments of accession with different states. This meant that the process of integration was uneven as well. Thus, while the legal systems of Bahawalpur and Khairpur were gradually brought into harmony with the rest of the country, frontier states retained their laws until 1969, and they are, to an extent, still governed under a different system. In contrast, Bangash argues, the Indian government had a clear policy towards their princely states, which resulted in a much smoother process of accession and integration.

The complete integration of princely states in Pakistan, then, is far from a finished process. This is particularly obvious in the case of Kalat, which Bangash analyses at great length. The case of Kalat was symptomatic of the ad hoc (non) policies adopted by the central government; policies that would in due course lead to political and regional tensions. Thus, the manner in which Kalat was compelled to accede to Pakistan led to the growth of the Baloch nationalist movement, for which the distinction between Kalat and the rest of Balochistan was immaterial. The accession of Kalat, then, remains a contentious issue, particularly in Baloch memory.

There are other things to commend about this book as well. For one, it narrates the virtually unknown story of fledgling democratic movements in the princely states, and the role of the little known All-India States Muslim League and its various branches. It also briefly outlines the differentiated nature of economic, social, and political reforms in the states following their accession and integration.

That said, this book could be questioned on a number of fronts. In particular, there are sections of the book in which Bangash’s analysis is less than convincing. To give one example, it’s not entirely clear how the distinction between tribal states of the frontier regions and the princely states of India is arrived at. A similar case can be made for the categories of ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’ states. Equally problematic is the way in which the subjects of certain states have been characterised as lacking sufficient political consciousness. At times, Bangash’s reasoning borders on the speculative. For instance, attributing “princely charisma” to the continued success of erstwhile princes in modern-day India and Pakistan appears to be a bit far-fetched in the absence of any solid evidence.

But these, to be fair, are relatively insignificant quibbles. The novelty of the subject matter alone outweighs any problems the book may have. This book is a welcome contribution to the field, especially since very little, if at all, has been written on Pakistan’s princely states. And by bringing together the nine princely states that successfully acceded to Pakistan, Bangash has broken new ground in the historiography of our country. And in doing so, he has also pointed towards future research agendas relating to Pakistan’s princely states. For those reasons, and more, this book will be referred to time and again by those interested in Pakistan’s troubled past.

The reviewer teaches history at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

A Princely Affair
(HISTORY)
By Yaqoob Khan Bangash
Oxford University Press, Karachi
ISBN 978-0199066490
452pp.