Priyasha Saksena presents a compelling history of international law, sovereignty and global imperialism examined through the prism of the Indian princely states. In this elegantly written book, Saksena critiques a series of vivid case studies, bringing alive the complex and fraught relationships between Indian rulers, international lawyers, colonial administrators and anticolonial nationalists in conceiving multiple, and often competing, definitions of sovereignty. Examining a rich treasure trove of materials she canvases broadly the colonial era from eighteenth century East India Company rule to Indian Independence and decolonization in the 1940s. Saksena is a gifted historian at the forefront of a new generation of scholars reestablishing the much understudied history of the Indian princely states, and this book is
essential reading for anyone interested in emergent debates on colonial Indian political and legal history.
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.