| Emperor of India भारत के सम्राट بادشاہِ ھندوستان |
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|---|---|
| Former Monarchy | |
| Imperial | |
| [[File:{{{coatofarms}}}|120px]] | |
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| George VI | |
| First monarch | Bahadur Shah II |
| Last monarch | George VI |
| Style | His/Her Imperial Majesty |
| Monarchy started | 1 May 1857 |
| Monarchy ended | 22 June 1948 |
Emperor/Empress of India (Urdu: Badishah-e-Hind) was used as a title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, and revived by the colonial British monarchs during the British Raj in India.
The term "Emperor of India" is also used to refer to Indian emperors such as Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Dynasty[1] and Emperor Akbar the Great of the Mughal empire. For instance, Emperor Ashoka used the word 'Samrat' as his title, which means "emperor" in Indian languages.[2]
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Though the Mughal dynasty ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th century onwards, they simply used the title badshah (considered in the West to be equivalent to emperor) without geographic designation. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the rebel sepoys seized Delhi and proclaimed the Mughal Bahadur Shah II as Badshah-i Hind, or Emperor of India. After the rebellion was crushed, he was captured and was exiled to Rangoon, Burma in 1858, and the Mughal dynasty came to an end.
After the Mughal Emperor was deposed by the British East India Company, and after the company itself was dissolved, the title "Empress of India" (or Kaiser-i-Hind, a form coined by the orientalist G.W. Leitner in a deliberate attempt to dissociate British imperial rule from that of preceding dynasties)[3] was taken by Queen Victoria from 1 May 1876, and proclaimed at the Delhi Durbar of 1877. The title was introduced nineteen years after the formal incorporation into the British Empire of Britain's possessions and protectorates on the Indian subcontinent, comprising most of modern-day India (excluding the Portuguese India, the State of Sikkim, and the enclaves of French India), Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Burma (though the latter would be made a separate colony in 1937). Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is usually credited with the title's creation.[4]
There were several motivations for the instatement of the imperial title. It had become evident that Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal, would become an empress when her husband ascended the German imperial throne; many at the time thought it wrong for the daughter to outrank her mother, a "mere" queen. Furthermore, Victoria's superiority to the various rulers who nominally controlled parts of British India was considered justification for the title "Empress".
When Victoria died, and her son Edward VII ascended the throne, his title became "Emperor of India". The title continued until India and Pakistan became independent from Britain at midnight on 14/15 August 1947. The title itself was not formally abandoned until 22 June 1948 under George VI, although the British monarch continued to be the monarch of India and Pakistan until they became republics in 1950 and 1956, respectively (see below).
When signing their name for Indian business, a British King-Emperor or reigning Queen-Empress used the initials R I (Rex/Regina Imperator/Imperatrix) or the abbreviation Ind. Imp. (Indiae Imperator/Imperatrix) after their name (while the one reigning Queen-Empress, Victoria, used the initials R I, the three consorts of the married King-Emperors simply used R).
When a male monarch held the title his wife, the queen consort, used the style Queen-Empress, but was not herself a reigning monarch.
British coins, and those of the Empire and Commonwealth dominions routinely included the abbreviated title Ind. Imp., although in India itself the coins said "Empress", and later "King Emperor". When in 1947 India became independent all coining dies had to be changed, which took up to a year and created some problems. Canadian coins, for example, were minted well into 1948 stamped "1947", the new year's issue indicated by a small maple leaf in one corner. In Great Britain itself the title appeared on coinage through 1948.
George VI continued to hold the title King of India for two years during the short Governor-Generalships of Lord Mountbatten and of C. Rajagopalachari until India became a republic on 26 January 1950. George VI remained as King of Pakistan until his death in 1952 and his successor Elizabeth II was Queen of Pakistan until Pakistan became a republic on 23 March 1956.
| Monarch | Picture | Began | Ended | Consort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor Bahadur Shah II | May 1857 proclaimed Emperor of India in Delhi; was the Mughal Emperor since 1837 |
14 September 1857 | Four - In chronological order of marriages -
Begum Ashraf Mahal, Begum Akhtar Mahal, Begum Zeenat Mahal, Begum Taj Mahal. |
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| Queen-Empress Victoria | 28 April 1876 proclaimed in Great Britain 1 January 1877 proclaimed in India |
22 January 1901 | Victoria was widowed in 1861, before her accession | |
| King-Emperor Edward VII | 22 January 1901 | 6 May 1910 | Queen-Empress Alexandra (d. 20 Nov. 1925) | |
| King-Emperor George V | 6 May 1910 | 20 January 1936 | Queen-Empress Mary (d. 24 Mar. 1953) | |
| King-Emperor Edward VIII | 20 January 1936 | 11 December 1936 | Edward abdicated the throne before he married | |
| King-Emperor George VI | 11 December 1936 | 22 June 1948 title abandoned |
Queen-Empress Elizabeth (d. 30 Mar. 2002) |