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3 - Competing Constitutionalism

The Princely States and the Constitution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2025

Rohit De
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
Ornit Shani
Affiliation:
University of Haifa, Israel
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Summary

This chapter explores the overlooked constitutional reforms and the constitution-making process in the over 550 princely states spread across 45 per cent of the subcontinent’s territory that were not part of British India. We argue that the constitutional processes in the princely states were fundamental to the subsequent successful merger of the states and to the making of the Indian Union. Constitutionalism in the princely states was an insistent refrain to India’s constitution making and became the standard language through which to think about and act on political aspirations for democratic government. The numerous parallel constitution-making processes in the states produced comparable constitutional templates that could ultimately be assembled into the new Indian constitution. The chapter analyses constitutionalism within the states, among different states and between the states and the Constituent Assembly. It examines the understudied constitution making process in Rewa and Ratlam states, the formations of unions of states, and finally looks at Manipur state in the north-eastern frontier of India to show the limits of the constitutional process of integration.

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Chapter
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Assembling India’s Constitution
A New Democratic History
, pp. 106 - 163
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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  • Competing Constitutionalism
  • Rohit De, Yale University, Connecticut, Ornit Shani, University of Haifa, Israel
  • Book: Assembling India’s Constitution
  • Online publication: 24 September 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009330046.005
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  • Competing Constitutionalism
  • Rohit De, Yale University, Connecticut, Ornit Shani, University of Haifa, Israel
  • Book: Assembling India’s Constitution
  • Online publication: 24 September 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009330046.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Competing Constitutionalism
  • Rohit De, Yale University, Connecticut, Ornit Shani, University of Haifa, Israel
  • Book: Assembling India’s Constitution
  • Online publication: 24 September 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009330046.005
Available formats
×