Chamber of Princes
Also called: Narendra Mandal · Topic: The National Movement: Gandhian Era · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Chamber of Princes, also called the Narendra Mandal, was a body of the rulers of India's princely states. Princely states were kingdoms ruled by Indian kings under British control. The Chamber was set up in 1921 under the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms. It could only give advice. The princes used it to discuss shared matters with the Viceroy. The British used the princes as loyal allies against the national movement. The Chamber ended in 1947, when the princely states joined India or Pakistan.
Example
At the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1931, the princes spoke as a separate group. Gandhi claimed that Congress spoke for all of India, and the princes challenged that claim.
Don't confuse with
- Praja Mandals: these were people's organisations inside the princely states, linked to the national movement. They fought for the people's rights against the rulers. The Chamber of Princes spoke for the rulers themselves.
Related concepts
- Eleven demands of Gandhi 1930
- Salt monopoly
- Salt satyagraha
- Sabarmati Ashram
- Civil disobedience movement
- Vedaranyam salt march
- Dharasana satyagraha 1930
- Sarojini Naidu
- Abdul Ghaffar Khan
- Khudai Khidmatgar