The British Raj (/rɑːdʒ/; from Hindi rāj: kingdom, realm, state, or empire[6][a]) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia;[8] it is also called Crown rule in India,[9] or Direct rule in India,[10] and lasted from 1858 to 1947.[11] The region under British control was commonly called India in contemporaneous usage and included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom, which were collectively called British India, and areas ruled by indigenous rulers, but under British paramountcy, called the princely states. The region was sometimes called the Indian Empire, though not officially.[12]