Foreign relations of India
India's relations with the world have evolved since the British Raj (1857–1947), when the British Empire monopolised external and defence relations. When India gained independence in 1947, few Indians had experience in making or conducting foreign policy. However, the country's oldest political party, the Indian National Congress, had established a small foreign department in 1925 to make overseas contacts and to publicise its independence struggle. From the late 1920s on, Jawaharlal Nehru, who had a long-standing interest in world affairs among independence leaders, formulated the Congress stance on international issues. As a member of the interim government in 1946, Nehru articulated India's approach to the world.
Wadiyar dynasty
The last king of the Wadiyar dynasty was Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, who ruled from 1940 until Indian independence from British rule. In the year 1947, after India attained independence, he ceded his kingdom to the Dominion of India, but continued as the Maharajah until India became a Republic in 1950. He became the Raja Pramukh—a constitutional position—as the head of Mysore State in the Republic of India from 1950–1956. After the reorganization of the Indian states on a linguistic basis, he was appointed Governor of the integrated Mysore State (present Karnataka State) in 1956 and held the post until 1964.