Meera, a college student in Delhi, is reading letters her great-grandfather wrote between 1946 and 1948. One letter describes crowds singing in the streets on a morning in mid-August 1947. A few weeks later he writes that the family next door, who had lived in the same lane for generations, has packed a few bundles and boarded a crowded train. Another letter recalls the naval ratings who had risen in Bombay a year earlier. A later letter speaks of rulers of distant kingdoms, still on their thrones, some of whom talked of keeping their lands apart from the new nation.
Why could some of the rulers in the last letter talk of keeping their lands apart from the new nation in 1947?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Their constitutional status remained unclear when the British left India
Option (1) The Cabinet Mission had already granted each of them separate independence — Incorrect. No grant of independence to the princes is described. Their future was left unsettled when the British left.
Option (2) Their constitutional status remained unclear when the British left India — Correct. When the British left, the constitutional status of the princes remained ambiguous (unclear). This gave some maharajas wild dreams of independent power.
Option (3) The Constituent Assembly had set aside a separate constitution for them — Incorrect. The demand for a separate constitution came from the Muslim League, for Pakistan. No such arrangement was made for the princes.
Option (4) The Muslim League had promised them seats in Pakistan's assembly — Incorrect. The League pressed its demand for Pakistan. No promise of seats to the princes explains their hopes.
NCERT (2026-27): “1. A Tumultuous Time … |