In the given question, a statement of Assertion is followed by a statement of Reason. Mark the correct answer.

Assertion: The prospects of democracy for the people in the princely states looked bleak after the Independence of India.
Reason: In most of the princely states, governments were run in a non-democratic manner and the rulers were unwilling to give democratic rights to their populations.

Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.

The response of the rulers of the Princely States meant that after Independence there was a very real possibility that India would get further divided into a number of small countries. The prospects of democracy for the people in these states also looked bleak. This was a strange situation since the Indian Independence was aimed at unity, self-determination as well as democracy. In most of these princely states, governments were run in a non-democratic manner and the rulers were unwilling to give democratic rights to their populations.