Which of the following group of princely states had enacted legislations on Panchayats prior to independence ?
- (1)Alwar, Banswara, Karauli, Sirohi
- (2)Banswara, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Bundi
- (3)Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Sirohi
- (4)Karauli, Bundi, Alwar, Jaisalmer
Answer
Why
Correct — option (3), Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Sirohi.
The Government of Rajasthan's district gazetteer (Karauli volume, chapter on local self-government) records this history. It says the princely states of Jodhpur, Bharatpur, Jaipur, Sirohi, Udaipur and Karauli enacted legislation on Panchayats.
It adds that Bikaner State had its own Gram Panchayat Act much earlier, in 1928. At independence, Panchayats were functioning in some princely states, while other states had no such institutions.
Every state in option (3) — Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Sirohi — is named in that record. No other group has all four of its states in the record.
A group question works state by state. One name outside the record rules out the whole group, however many of the other names fit.
After integration, the Rajasthan Panchayat Act, 1953 set up village panchayats throughout the new State.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Alwar, Banswara, Karauli, Sirohi — Half of this group fits. Karauli and Sirohi are among the states the gazetteer names as having enacted panchayat legislation.
Alwar and Banswara are not in that record. Because the option needs all four states, the two unrecorded names rule it out.
- (2)Banswara, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Bundi — This group contains the earliest law in the record: Bikaner's Gram Panchayat Act of 1928. Bharatpur is also named.
Banswara and Bundi, however, are not in the gazetteer's list. Two correct names do not make the group correct.
- (4)Karauli, Bundi, Alwar, Jaisalmer — Only one state here is in the record: Karauli, named among the states that enacted legislation on Panchayats.
Bundi, Alwar and Jaisalmer are not named. With three of four names outside the list, this group is the furthest from the record.
Concept
Village panchayats are old in Rajasthan, but written panchayat laws began in the princely states. Bikaner passed a Gram Panchayat Act in 1928, and several other states followed with their own legislation.
After the princely states were integrated, the Rajasthan Panchayat Act, 1953 created village panchayats across the State.
The three-tier system came next. The Rajasthan Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads Act, 1959 added the block and district tiers, and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated Panchayati Raj at Nagaur on 2 October 1959.
After the 73rd Amendment, the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, in force from 23 April 1994, replaced both the 1953 and the 1959 Acts with a single law.
The topic connects to the syllabus head Political and Administrative System of Rajasthan, which lists "Panchayati Raj Institutions", but its content is historical. It links the modern Panchayati Raj system to the princely states that became Rajasthan.
Rajasthan was formed by integrating princely states in stages from 1948; Ajmer was merged on 1 November 1956. Each state had its own laws, so institutions such as panchayats existed in some states and not in others at independence.
After integration came the Rajasthan Panchayat Act, 1953, the Nagaur inauguration of Panchayati Raj in 1959 and the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.
The gazetteer's record names Bikaner (1928), plus Jodhpur, Bharatpur, Jaipur, Sirohi, Udaipur and Karauli.
Key facts
- Bikaner State had its own Gram Panchayat Act in 1928, which the gazetteer calls much earlier than the panchayat laws of the other states it names.
- The Rajasthan gazetteer names Jodhpur, Bharatpur, Jaipur, Sirohi, Udaipur and Karauli as princely states that enacted legislation on Panchayats.
- The Rajasthan Panchayat Act, 1953 established village panchayats throughout the State.
- Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated three-tier Panchayati Raj at Nagaur on 2 October 1959.
- The Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, in force from 23 April 1994, repealed the Panchayat Act, 1953 and the Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads Act, 1959.
Option (3)'s four states all appear in the pre-independence row.
Study next
Common traps
- Accepting a group because some names fit. Option (1) has Karauli and Sirohi and option (2) has Bikaner and Bharatpur, but each also includes states outside the record.
- Choosing any group that contains Bikaner. Bikaner's 1928 Act is the earliest in the gazetteer's account, but option (2) still fails on Banswara and Bundi.
- Mixing princely-state laws with later Rajasthan statutes. The 1953 Panchayat Act and the 1959 three-tier system came after integration, not before independence.
A question on the history of local government can ask which princely states had a panchayat law before 1947, which state acted first, or when and where three-tier Panchayati Raj began.
When the options are groups of states, each name has to be checked against the record.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2013 here once that paper is published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which princely state of Rajasthan had its own Gram Panchayat Act in 1928?
- (a)Jaipur
- (b)Bikaner
- (c)Udaipur
- (d)Jodhpur
Answer(2) — the Rajasthan gazetteer records Bikaner's Gram Panchayat Act of 1928. Jaipur (1), Udaipur (3) and Jodhpur (4) also enacted panchayat legislation, but the gazetteer places Bikaner's Act much earlier than theirs. - practice — not a real PYQ
Three-tier Panchayati Raj was inaugurated in Rajasthan on 2 October 1959 at:
- (a)Nagaur
- (b)Jaipur
- (c)Bikaner
- (d)Ajmer
Answer(1) — Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated it at Nagaur. Jaipur (2), Bikaner (3) and Ajmer (4) were not the place of the inauguration.