History of the British Raj
The history of the British Raj refers to the period of British rule on the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The system of governance was instituted in 1858 when the rule of the East India Company was transferred to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria (who in 1876 was proclaimed Empress of India). It lasted until 1947, when the British provinces of India were partitioned into two sovereign dominion states: the "Dominion of India" and the "Dominion of Pakistan", leaving the princely states to choose between them. The two new dominions later became the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (the eastern half of which, still later, became the People's Republic of Bangladesh). The province of Burma in the eastern region of the Indian Empire had been made a separate colony in 1937 and became independent in 1948.
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma
On 3 June 1947, British announced the date of their withdrawal from India & creation of two dominions. The Indian Independence Act 1947 provided that the suzerainty of the British Crown over the princely states would simply be terminated, with effect from 15 August 1947, that would leave the princely states completely independent. After British India became independent as two dominions in 1947, British Suzerainty was lifted from Travancore and in essence Travancore became Independent. The Instrument of Accession was a legal document created in 1947 to enable each of the rulers of the princely states under British suzerainty to join one of the new dominions of India or Pakistan created by the Partition of British India. Thus on 11 July, the Travancore Prime Minister, Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar announced, at the behest of Sree Chithira Thirunal, that the Kingdom of Travancore will neither join India nor Pakistan but will remain an Independent Country. This led to protests in Travancore mainly from Congress and other political parties who feared that it only sought to perpetuate the autocratic rule of Diwan Sir C. p. Family sources indicate that Sir C. P., himself, was not in favour of independence but only greater autonomy and that a favourable agreement had been reached between Sir C. P. and the Indian representatives by 23 July 1947 and accession to the Indian Union could not be carried out only because it was pending approval by the Maharajah. Nevertheless, an assassination attempt was made on Sir C. P. by a Brahmin youth named K.C.S. Mani on 25 July 1947 during a concert commemorating the anniversary of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal.