The India Collection
Indian States
Convention and Feudatory
1864 — 1950
Post Office, Trimulgherry
The Feudatory States were Princely States under the protection of the British Raj that maintained their postal services at one period or another.
While many of these states joined the British India Post in due course of time, some states like Jaipur and Hyderabad continued to print their stamps till the independence of India. Two of these states are now part of Pakistan but have been added to the collection.
Overprinted, valid everywhere
A convention state signed an agreement with the Imperial post and overprinted Indian stamps with its own name. Mail so franked travelled anywhere in India.
Printed locally, valid at home
A feudatory state printed its own stamps, and they were good only within its own borders. The variety of those printings is the whole of the collecting field.
Convention States
Albums in preparation
Feudatory States
A — C
Alwar
Alwar was a Rajput Princely State in northwest India that shared its borders with Jaipur and Delhi.
Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur was a princely state to the east of Punjab in India, and it became a part of Pakistan after the partition.
Bamra
Bamra was a princely state in the Orissa States Agency of the Bengal Presidency, currently a part of the Indian State of Odisha. It was one of the most obscure states of India, if not for its philatelic adventures.
Barwani
Barwani was a princely state in the Malwa Regency of Central India. A predominantly Bhil state, it was ruled by a branch of Sisodia Rajputs.
Bhopal
Bhopal was a large Princely state of Central India and formed the core of the Bhopal Agency. It was one of the first princely states in India to issue postage stamps, dating back to 1872.
Bhor
Bhor was a princely state in the Kolhapur Residency and Decca States Agency, presently a part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The state was spread over 910 square miles and stretched from Satara in the Western ghats to the outskirts of the cantonment city of Poona.
Bijawar
Bijawar was a Princely state in the Central Indian Agency of Bundelkhand. One of the remnants of Chatrasal’s Bundela kingdom, Bijawar was a vassal state of the Marathas for most of its history and later passed under the British sphere in 1811.
Bundi
Bundi State, nestled in the historical Rajputana region of modern Rajasthan, India, boasts a captivating history that stretches back to the 12th century. It was established by Rao Deva, a chieftain of the Hada Rajput clan, who chose this strategically significant territory encircled by the Aravalli Hills as his domain. Throughout the ages, Bundi rose to prominence, playing a pivotal role in regional politics and forging alliances with fellow Rajput states to thwart the invasions of the Delhi Sultanate and subsequently the Mughal Empire.
Bussahir
Bussahir, also spelt as Bushahr or Bashahr, was a Rajput Princely state in the Punjab Hill State Agency, currently a part of the North Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Rana Shamsher Singh of Bussahir (1850-1914) issued the first postal stamps of the state in 1895.
Charkhari
Charkhari was a Princely State in the Bundelkhand Agency of Central India, a part of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh now. Maharaja Malkhan Singh Bahadur (ruled 1880-1908) issued the first postal stamps of Charkhari in 1894.
Cochin
Cochin (Kochi) was a Princely State on the Malabar coast, currently a part of the Indian state of Kerala. It was part of the Madras State Agency in Southern India. The state issued its first postal stamps in 1882, during the reign of Raja Kerala Varma V (ruled 1888-1895).
D — L
Dhar
Dhar was a princely state located in the Malwa region of India, part of the Central Indian Agency. Established in 1730, the state came into existence when Udaji Rao Puar, a distinguished commander of the Maratha empire, received lands as a reward for his service to the empire.
Dungarpur
Dungarpur was a Princely state in the Rajputana Agency in northwestern India, presently a part of the Indian state of Rajasthan. A relatively small state, Dungarpur remained a vassal first to the Mughals, the Marathas, and finally to the British Raj.
Duttia
Duttia, also known as Datia, was a princely state located within the Bundelkhand Agency in Central India and is now part of Madhya Pradesh. The inaugural postage stamps for Duttia were released during the reign of Maharaja Lokendra Bhawani Singh, who ruled from 1857 to 1907.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad, located in the Deccan region of South India, was one of the most prominent princely states in British India. It was established in the early 18th century and lasted until its annexation by the newly independent Indian Union in 1948.
Idar
Idar was a princely state in the Western India Agency, currently part of the Indian state of Gujarat. The state issued its first stamps in 1932, during the reign of Maharaja Himmat Singh.
Indore
Indore, also known as Holkar, was an influential Maratha Princely State located within the Indore Agency in Central India, now part of Madhya Pradesh. During the rule of Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar II from 1844 to 1886, the state launched its inaugural postal stamps in 1886.
Jaipur
Jaipur was a Princely State in the Jaipur Residency of the Rajputana Agency, presently the Indian State of Rajasthan. Established by the Kachhwaha Rajputs of Amber in the 11th Century AD, the kingdom played an important role in the geopolitics of medieval India.
Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir was a major princely state in the Kashmir Residency in northern India. Established by Maharaja Gulab Singh, the state issued its first postal stamps during the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1866.
Jasdan
Jasdan was a Princely state in the Kathiawar Agency in Western India, which is now the Indian state of Gujarat. A small state in size with an area of 730 sq km, Jasdan was the smallest princely state to issue its postage stamps.
Jhalawar
Jhalawar was a Princely state in the Hadoti region of Rajputana, part of present-day Rajasthan. The state was established in 1838, out of a treaty between the British, the State of Kota and the State of Malwa, wherein a part of Kota was spun off to be given to the hereditary family of the Dewans, descendants of Zalim Singh, who later assumed the title of Maharaja Rana of Jhalawar.
Kishangarh
Kishangarh was a princely state in the Rajputana Agency, currently the Indian state of Rajasthan. The state issued its first postal stamps in 1889 during the reign of Maharaja Sadul Singh, who ruled between 1879 and 1900.
Las Bela
Las Bela was a Princely state in the extreme southeast region of Balochistan. Earlier, a vassal state of the larger kingdom of Kalat, Las Bela entered into a subsidiary alliance with the British when they arrived in the area in the mid-1850s. It was one of the two states, now part of Pakistan, to issue its postage stamps, the other being Bahawalpur.
M — W
Morvi
Morvi was a princely state in the Kathiawar region of present-day Gujarat. It was one of the seven smaller princely states ruled nominally by the Jadeja clan under the suzerainty of the Marathas or the British.
Nandgaon
Nandgaon was a relatively small but significant entity in central India, part of the Chhattisgarh region during the British Raj. Situated in the present-day Durg district of Chhattisgarh, Nandgaon was one of the princely states that played a modest but notable role in the region’s history.
Nowanuggur
Nowanuggur State (also spelled Nawanagar) was a princely state in Kathiawar, in present-day Gujarat, India. It was one of the prominent states in the Kathiawar region and played an important role in the history of western India.