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.
The rulers of distant kingdoms in the last letter belonged to the princely states. During the period of the Raj, roughly how much of the area of the subcontinent did such rulers control?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → About one-third
During the Raj, about one-third of the area of the subcontinent was under nawabs and maharajas, which made the princely states a serious problem for the new nation.
NCERT (2026-27): “1. A Tumultuous Time … |