QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC , 27 January 2021 – History

Solution: b)

Mountbatten Plan

(i) independence for princely states ruled out—they would join either India or Pakistan;

(ii) independence for Bengal ruled out;

(iii) accession of Hyderabad to Pakistan ruled out

(iv) freedom to come on August 15, 1947; and

(v) a boundary commission to be set up if partition was to be effected.

Solution: c)

Abolition of Privy Purse was a major issue in post-independent India.

The integration of India was preceded by an assurance that after the dissolution of princely rule, the then rulers’ families would be allowed to retain certain private property, and given a grant in heredity or government allowance, measured on the basis of the extent, revenue and potential of the merging state.

This grant was called the Privy Purse.

Solution: a)

The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcation line between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab and Bengal provinces of British India. 

The demarcation line was published on 17 August 1947 upon the Partition of India. Today its western side still serves as the Indo-Pakistani border and the eastern side serves as the India-Bangladesh border.

Solution: d)

The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan.

The representatives of princely states were to be nominated by the heads of the princely states.

Constituent Assembly was to be a partly elected and partly nominated body. Moreover, the members were to be indirectly elected by the members of the provincial assemblies, who themselves were elected on a limited franchise.

Seats were allotted on the basis of population at that time.

Solution: a)

• The integration of princely states with the rest of India has purely an ad hoc arrangement. There has been a demand from different regions, particularly South India, for reorganisation of states on linguistic basis.
• Accordingly, in June 1948, the Government of India appointed the Linguistic Provinces Commission under the chairmanship of S K Dhar to examine the feasibility of this.
• The commission submitted its report in December 1948 and recommended the reorganisation of states on the basis of administrative convenience rather than linguistic factor.
• This created much resentment and led to the appointment of another Linguistic Provinces Committee by the Congress in December 1948 itself to examine the whole question afresh. It consisted of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallahbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya and hence, was popularly known as JVP Committee
• It submitted its report in April 1949 and formally rejected language as the basis for reorganisation of states. The creation of Andhra state intensified the demand from other regions for creation of states on linguistic basis.
• This forced the Government of India to appoint (in December 1953) a three-member States Reorganisation Commission under the chairmanship of Fazl Ali to re-examine the whole Question.
• But, it rejected the theory of ‘one language–one state’. Its view was that the unity of India should be regarded as the primary consideration in any redrawing of the country’s political units.