UPSC Prelims 1996 · General Studies

Question 77: Polity and Governance

B. R. Ambedkar was elected to the Constituent Assembly from

aWest Bengal

bthe Bombay Presidency

cthe then Madhya Bharat

dPunjab

AnswerThe answer is (b).

Ambedkar was first elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946 from Bengal, but that seat fell in the area that became East Pakistan at Partition. He was then re-elected from the Bombay Presidency in 1947 and sat in the Assembly for India; he later chaired its Drafting Committee. Remember: Bombay is the answer; West Bengal is wrong because his original seat lay in what became East Pakistan.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) His 1946 seat was in East Bengal, which became part of Pakistan; it was not West Bengal.
(b) Right: he was re-elected from the Bombay Presidency in 1947.
(c) Madhya Bharat was formed only in 1948 and did not elect him.
(d) Punjab did not elect him to the Assembly.

Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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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.