The Court of Wards in a Princely State
Bank Robber or Babysitter
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3627486 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Benjamin B Cohen (0000-0002-8268-2396, University of Utah, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 395-420 |
| Publication date | 2007-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern Asian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0026749x05002246 |
| OpenAlex | W2170537386 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 9 |
Scholarship on institutional history rarely brings the academe to a heightened state of excitement. However, when institutions cross spans of time and place while intersecting with multiple cultural identities and levels of power, things can become more captivating. An ideal institution for examination of this very process is the Court of Wards. Originally devised in Tudor England, the Court was later brought to India by members of the East India Company and put into wide use throughout the subcontinent. In India, its purpose was to shelter child heirs and their estates, eventually returning heir and estate to autonomy when ruling age was reached. However, while the Court in England and in India has received some critical review, we can extend its investigation one step further by examining its use in the 'other India', that of the princely states. How did this administrative unit become adopted and adapted to some of India's 560 princely states? To what degree were the Court and its administrators able to rectify an inherent tension within the Court's purpose? It was largely designed to protect child heirs and their estates, and return them in due time. But, in a princely state, in some circumstances, the ultimate 'owner' of any land was the chief prince. Did the Court mediate between the wishes of the ruling prince and his (or her) smaller 'little kings?' In short, to what extent was the Court of Wards at times a babysitter, and at other times a bank robber
Autonomy · Business · Estate · Institution · Political science · Power (physics · Scholarship · Settlement (finance · State (computer science · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Finance · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · Philippine History and Culture
The Hollow Crown
The Indian Princes and their States
The Irish court of wards under James I
The Raj Darbhanga and the Court of Wards, 1860-1879
Social History of an Indian Caste
Political Systems in Eighteenth Century India
An Institutional Shelter
South India 1770-1840
An Introduction to the History and Records of the Court of Wards and Liveries
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,06 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2008 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |