South Asia in 1930

Our series on The World as it was takes us to South Asia, in the year 1930.

At that time, the vast majority of lands in that region of the World are occupied by the British Raj, a federation of territories under direct or indirect control of the British authorities. Starting from three Presidencies in the 18th Century, Britain gradually extended its control of the Peninsula and by 1930 there were 17 Provinces as well as over 500 Princely States, entities that had a local ruler but were vassal states of the British Raj.

While Nepal, Bhutan and the Island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) were also under control of the British, they were not part of British India. Further to the Northwest, Afghanistan remained an independent nation after long and unsuccessful effort by the British to make it part of their Empire. Burma, to the East, was still part of British India, although it became a separate colony in 1937.

This leaves 5 tiny Portuguese enclaves and 5 equally tiny French enclaves, remnants of those countries to control South Asia in the previous centuries.