![\"\"](\"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Sardar-Patel-persuaded-the-Constituent-Assembly.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nThe Indian Independence Act,\n1947, provided for the lapse of paramountcy of the British Crown over the\nIndian states. Each ruler had the option to accede to the dominion of India or\nto Pakistan, or continue as an independent sovereign mini-state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tireless efforts of Sardar\nPatel and V.P. Menon resulted in the princes agreeing to the dissolution of\ntheir respective states. They surrendered several villages, thousands of acres\nof scattered jagir land, palaces,\nmuseums, buildings, aircraft, and cash balances and investments amounting to\nRs.77 crore. In addition, there was the railway system of about 12,000 miles\nwhich the states surrendered to the Centre without receiving any compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In consideration of their\nagreeing to integrate with India, the princes were to be paid a Privy Purse,\nwhich was approximately 8.5 per cent of the annual revenue of each princely\nstate. The amounts varied from Rs.43 lakh a year to the Nizam of Hyderabad to\njust Rs.192 a year to the ruler of Katodia. Of the 555 rulers, 398 were to get\nless than Rs.50,000 a year. The total cost to the Indian exchequer in 1947 was\nRs.6 crore, which was to be progressively reduced. At the time of abolition in\n1970, the total amount payable to all the erstwhile princes was just Rs.4 crore\na year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Sardar-Patel-and-V.P.-Menon-with-Maharaja-of-Kochin.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nSardar Patel persuaded the Constituent Assembly to guarantee\npayment of Privy Purses and preserve the rights of the erstwhile rulers<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On October 12, 1949, Sardar\nPatel persuaded the Constituent Assembly to include Articles 291 and 362 in the\nConstitution to guarantee the payment of Privy Purses and also preserve the\npersonal rights, privileges and dignities of the rulers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his brilliant speech he said \u201cThe\nprivy purse settlements are, therefore, in the nature of consideration for the\nsurrender by the rulers of all their ruling powers and also for the dissolution\nof the States as separate units \u2026 Need we cavil then at the small \u2014 I purposely\nuse the word small \u2014 price we have paid for the bloodless revolution which has\naffected the destinies of millions of our people? \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SARDAR-PATEL.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe capacity for mischief and\ntrouble on the part of the rulers if the settlement with them would not have\nbeen reached on a negotiated basis was far greater than could be imagined at\nthis stage. Let us do justice to them; let us place ourselves in their position\nand then assess the value of their sacrifice. The rulers have now discharged\ntheir part of the obligations by transferring all ruling powers by agreeing to\nthe integration of their States. The main part of our obligation under these\nagreements is to ensure that the guarantee given by us in respect of privy\npurses are fully implemented. Our failure to do so would be a breach of faith\nand seriously prejudice the stabilisation of the new order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also informed the Assembly\nthat if the cash received from the rulers of Madhya Bharat alone were invested,\nthe interest would cover the payment of Privy Purses to all the princes. Nobody\nbut Sardar Patel and V.P. Menon could have negotiated such a settlement with\nthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Patel\u2019s death, there were\nrepeated demands to abolish the Privy Purses, but Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru\nrefused to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1967 election, several\nrulers had joined the Swatantra Party headed by C. Rajagopalachari, and many of\nthem defeated Congress candidates. Congress party was, therefore, determined to\nabolish the Privy Purses. On June 25, 1967, the All India Congress passed a\nresolution to abolish them. The Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Bill,\n1970 was introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha by a majority of 332:154 votes,\nbut it was defeated in the Rajya Sabha by 149:75. L Late Indira Gandhi\u2019s\nlandslide victory in the 1971 election enabled her to amend the Constitution\nthat abolished the Privy Purses and extinguished all rights and privileges of\nthe rulers. In Parliament, Indira Gandhi stated that the concept of Privy\nPurses and special privileges were incompatible with an \u201cegalitarian social\norder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Maharaja.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nIt was primarily on the\nassurance of Sardar Patel that the rulers signed the Instruments of Accession\nthat created a united India. But , just 20 years later, the Congress Party, of\nwhich Sardar Patel was a member, betrayed the solemn constitutional guarantee\ngiven to the rulers by the Constituent Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, the abolition of\nPrivy Purses will remain one of the most shameful events in our constitutional\nhistory. The nation saved Rs.4 crore annually but lost its honour.\n\nWith the abolition of privy purses isn\u2019t it a great insult to his\nmemory a betrayal for him.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today is the Birth anniversary of Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. His birth anniversary is celebrated as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was given the mammoth task of the political integration of India and is responsible for unifying 562 princely states in the country. This earned him the title of \u201cIron Man […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325,"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/utkalaage.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}