Before the Republic of India was established on 26 January 1950, all Indian subjects of the princely states and Indian rulers were entitled to substantive knighthoods (the Order of the Star of India and the Order of the Indian Empire).[1] Those Indian rulers who received other British orders of knighthood were only considered honorary members of those orders.[citation needed]
The following is a partial list of honorary British knighthoods as given to Indian rulers and members of the ruling families up to 1947 (the Orders of the Star of India and the Indian Empire are considered substantive). Rulers of states that are presently part of what is now Pakistan are included in this article. The order moves from the most prestigious states (21-guns) to least prestigious (9-guns).
Note that this list does not include knighthoods awarded by the various Royal Houses in India, which are described in the articles of the individual princely states. This list also does not include orders of knighthood granted to Indian rulers by other foreign countries, such as France.
Hyderabad
Mysore
Jammu and Kashmir
Gwalior
Bhopal
Kolhapur
Kotah
Bahawalpur (now in Pakistan)
Bikaner
Cutch
Jodhpur
Patiala
Dholpur
Dhar
Idar
Rampur
Swat (now part of Pakistan)
Kapurthala
Nawanagar
Ratlam
Jaora
Palanpur
Rajpipla
Tripura
Assam
Hiralal Phukan -1917(A.D.)
Received Order of British India First Class in Delhi Durban.
Narendra Nath Phukan -1941
For fighting courageous in the Second World War. And, also received the Indian Recruiting Badge.
Morvi
Narsingarh
As a religious head, the Aga Khan is not a monarch per se, but until 1947 merited a 13-gun salute
Those ruling families had lost ruling rights by the 20th century.
Murshidabad (entitled to a 19-gun personal salute)
The Order of the Star of India was an Indian Knighthood established in 1861 to strengthen bond between the rulers of India and the British Crown.