Crossword Genius

Queen administered India (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rani

'queen' is the definition.
(historical term for a Hindu queen)

'administered india' is the wordplay.
'administered' becomes 'ran' (run can mean to administer or control).
'india' becomes 'i' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'ran'+'i'='RANI'

(Other definitions for rani that I've seen before include "Indian princess" , "Rajah's wife from Iran" , "Wife of a raja" , "Royal Indian female" , "Hindu queen or princess" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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