When princely states acceded to India , their rulers were promised a "privy purse." It was a fixed annual payment, guaranteed at the time of accession. Ending that promise took a failed vote, a struck-down executive order, and finally a constitutional amendment.
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Q1. Which former ruling family, led by Madhavrao Scindia, led the Supreme Court challenge against the 1970 presidential order?
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Answer: A
The correct answer is the Scindias of Gwalior. Madhavrao Scindia led the legal challenge, which resulted in the 1970 Supreme Court ruling in the family’s favour before the government later succeeded via constitutional amendment.
Related topics: Ending the Privy Purse: The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971
Q2. The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971, which finally abolished privy purses, added which new Article to the Constitution?
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Answer: A
The correct answer is Article 363A. It ended recognition of princely rulers and abolished all their remaining privileges, including the privy purse, this time through proper constitutional amendment rather than executive order.
Related topics: Ending the Privy Purse: The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971 · Article 35A
Q3. The 1970 Supreme Court case that struck down the President’s order derecognising princely rulers was decided by a bench of how many judges?
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Answer: A
The correct answer is 11 judges, an unusually large bench reflecting the case’s constitutional importance. It was decided on 15 December 1970, led by Chief Justice M. Hidayatullah.
Related topics: Ending the Privy Purse: The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971
Q4. President V.V. Giri’s September 1970 executive order tried to derecognise princely rulers using which constitutional provision?
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Answer: A
The correct answer is Article 366(22), the Constitution’s definition clause for ‘Ruler.’ The Supreme Court later ruled this route invalid for withdrawing a constitutional guarantee.
Related topics: Ending the Privy Purse: The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971
Q5. In 1970, a bill to abolish privy purses passed the Lok Sabha but failed in the Rajya Sabha. What was the actual vote count?
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Answer: A
The correct answer is 149 for, 75 against. Despite a clear majority, this fell short of the two-thirds majority a constitutional amendment required.
Related topics: Ending the Privy Purse: The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971
Q6. Privy purse abolition is often seen as part of the same broader period as which other major Indira Gandhi-era economic policy shift?
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Answer: A
Privy purse abolition happened in the same broader period as bank nationalisation, part of Indira Gandhi’s leftward economic shift.
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Q7. The 1971 privy purse abolition succeeded where the 1970 order failed largely because of what change in Indira Gandhi’s political position?
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Answer: A
The amendment succeeded because the 1971 general election had given Indira Gandhi’s Congress a much larger majority.
Related topics: Ending the Privy Purse: The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971
Q8. After the Supreme Court struck down the 1970 presidential order, which constitutional amendment formally abolished privy purses in 1971?
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Answer: A
The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971, formally abolished privy purses and princely privileges after the earlier order was struck down.
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Q9. In which landmark case did the Supreme Court strike down the government’s 1970 presidential order that first tried to end privy purses?
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Answer: A
The Supreme Court struck down the 1970 presidential order in Madhav Rao Scindia vs Union of India.
Related topics: Ending the Privy Purse: The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971
Q10. When princely states acceded to India, their rulers were promised a fixed annual payment from the government. What was this payment called?
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Answer: A
Rulers were promised a ‘privy purse’, a fixed annual payment from the government, when their states acceded to India.
Related topics: Ending the Privy Purse: The 26th Constitutional Amendment, 1971
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