Priyasha Saksena is a lecturer at the School of Law, University of Leeds, UK. Her research focuses on the historical development of legal concepts and institutions within the British empire and their contemporary effects. She is particularly interested in exploring how legal doctrines such as sovereignty have shaped the relationship between international law and colonialism.

• 1: Introduction


• 2: Setting the Stage: The Legal Construction of British Paramountcy


• 3: Jousting Over Jurisdiction: Sovereignty Debates in the Aftermath of the 1857 Rebellion


• 4: The Controversy Over Divisible Sovereignty: The Princes and the Indian States Committee


• 5: Political Negotiations: The Princes in the Federation Debates


• 6: Building the Nation: The Princely States in the Age of Decolonization


• 7: Epilogue

Sovereignty, International Law, and the Princely States of Colonial South Asia examines the role the doctrine of sovereignty played in debates over the legal status of the princely states of colonial South Asia, illustrating how different interpretations have shaped current understandings of international law and the modern Indian nation-state.