Which of the following statement is not correct regarding the Governor of Rajasthan ?
- (1)On the basis of the recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission, the institution of Rajpramukh was abolished.
- (2)The institution of Rajpramukh was abolished by the 7th Constitutional amendment.
- (3)Gurumukh Nihal Singh was appointed as the first Governor of Rajasthan on 1st November, 1956 AD.
- (4)Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde assumed the office of the Governor of Rajasthan on 31st July, 2024.
Answer
Why
Correct — option (3), Gurumukh Nihal Singh was appointed as the first Governor of Rajasthan on 1st November, 1956 AD.
The stem asks for the statement that is not correct. The error in option (3) is the word "appointed".
Gurumukh Nihal Singh was Rajasthan's first Governor, and 1 November 1956 is the day he took charge: Raj Bhavan, Rajasthan records his tenure as 1 November 1956 to 15 April 1962. His appointment came earlier — RPSC's own key to RAS Prelims 2021 gives the appointment date as 25 October 1956.
So the statement joins a real date to the wrong event. Appointment and assumption of office are two different dates.
The other three statements hold. The office of Rajpramukh ended on the recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission, through the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956. Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde took office as Governor of Rajasthan on 31 July 2024.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)On the basis of the recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission, the institution of Rajpramukh was abolished. — This statement is correct, so it is not the answer. The States Reorganisation Commission recommended ending the office of Rajpramukh, and RPSC's 2023 key names the Commission as the body that recommended replacing the Rajpramukh with a Governor in Rajasthan.
The recommendation explains why the change happened; the Seventh Amendment is how it was made law.
- (2)The institution of Rajpramukh was abolished by the 7th Constitutional amendment. — This statement is correct. The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 ended the grouping of states into Parts A, B, C and D. Rajasthan had been a Part B state headed by a Rajpramukh.
From 1 November 1956 it became a state with a Governor. Raj Bhavan's list shows Maharaja Sawai Man Singh as Rajpramukh from 30 March 1949 to 31 October 1956, the day before the first Governor took charge.
- (4)Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde assumed the office of the Governor of Rajasthan on 31st July, 2024. — This statement is correct. The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly's record lists Haribhau Bagde, son of Shri Kisanrao Bagde, as Governor of Rajasthan from 31 July 2024.
He was earlier Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (2014–2019) and was Governor on the exam date, 2 February 2025.
Concept
Every state has a Governor under Article 153 of the Constitution. The President appoints the Governor by warrant under hand and seal (Article 155), and the Governor holds office during the President's pleasure, with a term of five years (Article 156).
Before 1956 Rajasthan was different. From 1950 it was a Part B state, made up of former princely states, and its head was a Rajpramukh drawn from a ruling family.
The States Reorganisation Commission recommended ending this arrangement. The Seventh Amendment and the States Reorganisation Act gave effect to it from 1 November 1956, when the Rajpramukh gave way to an appointed Governor.
An appointment is made by order on one date; the person takes charge, usually by taking oath, on a later date. Records of Governors can give either.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus opens the State Political System of Rajasthan with the Governor: "Governor, Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Legislative Assembly, High Court."
For Rajasthan that office has a history of its own: how the Rajpramukh gave way to a Governor, who held the office first, and who held it on the exam date.
The topic joins constitutional history to the state's own record — the body that recommended the change, the amendment that made it, and the date of each event.
The current Governor is a current-affairs fact and has to be true on the exam date. Haribhau Bagde took office on 31 July 2024, so he was Governor when this paper was held.
The early history also connects to the integration of Rajasthan (1948–1956), which sits in the history part of the syllabus as "Integration of Rajasthan."
Key facts
- Gurumukh Nihal Singh, Rajasthan's first Governor, held office from 1 November 1956 to 15 April 1962, as recorded by Raj Bhavan.
- RPSC's key to RAS Prelims 2021 gives 25 October 1956 as the date Gurumukh Nihal Singh was appointed Governor.
- Maharaja Sawai Man Singh was Rajpramukh of Rajasthan from 30 March 1949 to 31 October 1956.
- The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 abolished the Part A/B/C/D classification of states and, with it, the office of Rajpramukh.
- Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde became Governor of Rajasthan on 31 July 2024; he was Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 2014 to 2019.
Option (3) attaches the taking-charge date, 1 November 1956, to the appointment.
Study next
Common traps
- Appointed versus took charge. A statement can be wrong only because it attaches the right date to the wrong event.
- The States Reorganisation Commission and the Seventh Amendment are not rival answers. One recommended the change; the other made it law.
- A current office-holder must be checked against the exam date. A Governor who changed after February 2025 would not make option (4) wrong for this paper.
A question on the Governor of Rajasthan can take the form "which statement is not correct", with statements on the Rajpramukh's abolition, the first Governor and the present Governor.
A question can also ask for a single fact: the appointment date of the first Governor, the body that recommended abolishing the Rajpramukh, or who served as acting Governor between two appointments.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023, 2021 and 2016 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who was the Rajpramukh of Rajasthan when the office was abolished in 1956?
- (a)Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner
- (b)Maharaja Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur
- (c)Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur
- (d)Maharao Bhim Singh of Kota
Answer(2) — Raj Bhavan, Rajasthan lists Maharaja Sawai Man Singh as Rajpramukh from 30 March 1949 to 31 October 1956.Maharao Bhim Singh of Kota (4) headed the Rajasthan Union formed in March 1948, a stage of integration, not the Rajasthan of 1956. Ganga Singh (1) died in 1943 and Umaid Singh (3) in 1947, before the integration of Rajasthan began in 1948.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The office of Rajpramukh was abolished by which of the following Constitutional Amendment Acts?
- (a)First Amendment, 1951
- (b)Fifth Amendment, 1955
- (c)Seventh Amendment, 1956
- (d)Ninth Amendment, 1960
Answer(3) — the Seventh Amendment reorganised the states and ended the Part B category headed by Rajpramukhs. The First Amendment (1) added the Ninth Schedule, the Fifth (2) changed the procedure for referring bills under Article 3 to states, and the Ninth (4) dealt with the transfer of territory to Pakistan under the Nehru–Noon agreement.