Indian Princely Medals: A Record of the Orders, Decorations and Medals of the Indian Princely States

Prior to Indian independence and partition there were some S60 Indian or Princely States covering approximately half the geographical area and accounting for a quarter of the population of the Indian Empire. As times changed and it became more difficult for the Princes to grant land as a reward for good service, some of them attempted to introduce a series of orders, decorations and medals to recognize the efforts of their subjects. The British were generally opposed to the idea, arguing that the sovereign was the fount of all honour and the British Empire had only one sovereign, the King-Emperor.This book traces the arguments for and against the States creating a medallic honours system and identifies 266 honours created by 45 States, as well as 4 created by the Sikh Empire. Some of the medals are known by reference to a ribbon only but many have been photographed and described in detail, with inscriptions translated into English.