The correct answer is A, B and C. The erstwhile princely states were those states:whose prince agreed to merge with Indiawhose prince agreed to merge with Pakistanwhich were retained as administrative units until statehoodBefore the partition of India in 1947, there were 584 princely states. These were also known as native states. By the end of 1949, all these states had chosen to accede to one of the newly independent states of Pakistan or India or else had been conquered and annexed. Thus, we can say that the above statements about the 'erstwhile Princely states' in India are correct.