UPSC Prelims 1996 · General Studies
Question 10: History and Culture
Consider the following statements about Jawaharlal Nehru: I. He was the President of the Congress Party in 1947. II. He presided over the Constituent Assembly. III. He formed the first Congress Ministry in United Province before India’s independence. Of these statements
AnswerThe answer is (d).
None of the three statements is correct. In 1947 the Congress president was J. B. Kripalani, not Nehru. The Constituent Assembly was presided over by Rajendra Prasad, elected its president in December 1946 (Sachchidananda Sinha was its temporary chairman). The first Congress ministry in the United Provinces, formed in 1937, was led by Govind Ballabh Pant. Remember: Kripalani (Congress president, 1947), Rajendra Prasad (Constituent Assembly), Pant (United Provinces, 1937).
- I. J. B. Kripalani was the Congress president in 1947.
- II. Rajendra Prasad presided over the Constituent Assembly.
- III. Govind Ballabh Pant headed the first Congress ministry in the United Provinces (1937).
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) All three statements are wrong, so this cannot be right.
- (b) Statements I and III are both wrong: Kripalani was Congress president in 1947 and Pant formed the UP ministry.
- (c) Statement II is wrong: Rajendra Prasad, not Nehru, presided over the Constituent Assembly.
- (d) Right: none of the three statements is correct.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1996, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.