White Paper on Indian States (1950)/Part 2/Political Diversity of States
Political Diversity of States
32. The internal administration of the States and their political set-up varied greatly. There was a very wide difference in the degree of administrative efficiency reached by the most advanced and the most backward. According to the information circulated by the Chamber of Princes in 1946, over 60 States had set up some form of legislative bodies. In several others, schemes for associating people with the governance of their States were under consideration. In most of the cases, the development of representative institutions did not approximate to the growth of self-governing institutions in the Provinces, which were on the threshold of complete freedom. However, everywhere there was a growing consciousness of the rights and liberties of the people and a new spirit was abroad.