Colonial Penetration and Administrative Transformation in Sirohi (1823–1947)

Abstract

Abstract
Colonial influence in the princely state of Sirohi was not achieved by direct annexation. Rather, it grew as a result of a treaty relationship, political supervision, fiscal duties, control over foreign affairs and a step-by-step involvement in internal administration. The Treaty of 11 September 1823 was the key moment. It acknowledged British supremacy, limited the ruler's political contacts with other states, obliged the ruler to govern on the advice of the British, and introduced a tribute based on the state's revenues. These measures set up a system in which the Sirohi ruler kept his formal authority but exercised it more and more within the boundaries set by the superior power. In the nineteenth century this relationship was extended by means of the Political Agency, supervision of revenue and customs, military and security arrangements, and British control of strategically important areas such as Mount Abu. By the early twentieth century Sirohi had seen further administrative institutionalisation. Judicial reform, changes to the executive structure, the creation of advisory bodies and village-level institutions all appeared alongside the ongoing political supervision. In the 1930s and 1940s a new element was introduced: popular political mobilisation and calls for responsible government. The formation and activities of the Sirohi Praja Mandal brought about a change from the previous pattern of administration centred on the ruler. The paper contends that colonial influence therefore transformed Sirohi through a step-by-step process rather than by a single act of conquest. British paramountcy changed the meaning of sovereignty, while local rulers, officials, jagirdars, merchants and political activists determined how the administrative changes actually took place. The study concludes that by 1947 Sirohi was still a princely state, but its political and administrative structure had been greatly altered by more than a century of interaction with the colonial state.