Laws passed by these legislatures needed the dual ascent of the governor or lieutenant-governor of the province and the governor-general of India who functioned as the representative of the Emperor. All these provinces had their own legislatures established by the Indian Councils Acts and high courts established by Indian High Courts Acts. The Bengal Presidency was re-established in 1912 as a governorship. Agra was finally separated in 1878 and merged with Oudh.

Agra and Bengal were still considered de jure parts of the defunct Bengal Presidency for judicial and legal purposes. The first three of the lieutenant-governorships were territories annexed to India from other powers and temporarily governed by the erstwhile Bengal Presidency before being made into their own separate provinces. The governor or lieutenant-governor also served as the Emperor's representative to the constituent states of the province. A Governor or Lieutenant-Governor acted as the representative of the Emperor to that province and head of government of the directly ruled territories in the province.

The entire empire was divided into provinces and agencies.Ī province consisted of territory under the direct rule of the Emperor of India (who was also the King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions) and a few minor states, ruled by Indian princes under the suzerainty of the Emperor. At the time of its establishment in 1876, it was made up of 584 constituent states and the directly ruled territories of the Crown. The Indian Empire was a very complex political entity consisting of various imperial divisions and states and territories of varying autonomy.

History Administrative divisions of the Indian Empire in 1909 Administrative divisions of the Dominion of India in 1949 1876–1919 Though some of the union territories have their own territorial government, they do not have police forces. On the other hand, the union territories are directly governed by the union government. The governing powers of the states are shared between the state government and the union government. The states of India are self-governing administrative divisions, each having a state government. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 entities.

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