Privy Purse in India
Encyclopedia
In India
, the Privy Purse
was a payment made to the royal families of erstwhile princely states as part of their agreements to first integrate with India in 1947, and later to merge their states in 1949 whereby they lost all ruling rights. The Privy Purse was continued to the royal families until the Constitutional Amendment of 1971, implemented after a two year legal battle, was passed by which all their privileges and allowances from the Central Government ceased to exist. In some individual cases however privy purses were continued for life for individuals who had held ruling powers before 1947.
ceded its paramountcy over British India (including the modern states of India
, Pakistan
and Bangladesh
), a large portion of the subcontinent was held by rulers whose position and status within the British Raj
varied. There were in 1947 more than 565 such princely state
s in India whose position and relation with the Paramount Power was determined by separate treaties. A system of Gun salutes also determined the importance of each state. On the eve of independence, most of these states had signed the Instrument of Accession with either India
or Pakistan
. Only certain states pressed for claims of complete independence after the British left India. However, due to the diplomacy of Vallabhbhai Patel and VP Menon, Travancore
, Bhopal and Jodhpur
signed the Instruments of Accession before 15 August 1947. Even after independence three states vacillated, namely Kashmir
, Junagadh
and Hyderabad
which were integrated later.
The Instruments of Accession needed the states to only cede defense, communications and foreign relations to India
. Democratic institutions were introduced in these states and it was only in 1949 that they were fully merged with India
to form new states. Thus Travancore
and Cochin
merged into India and formed the new state of Thiru-Kochi. Although in 1947 the royal families had been allowed to retain large sums of money as their Privy Purse
, in 1949 with the states and its revenues being entirely taken over by the Government of India
, it was the Indian Government that provided the rulers and their families with Privy Purses that were determined by several factors such as revenue of the state, gun salute enjoyed, antiquity of the dynasty and so on . Dewan Jarmani Dass of Kapurthala
says:
, Mysore, Travancore
, Baroda, Jaipur
and Patiala. For several rulers, the agreements provided for a reduction in the Privy Purse for successors. For certain other states, while certain amounts were guaranteed for the time being, it was liable to be reduced soon after. Thus Hyderabad which received initially a Privy Purse of Rs. 42,85,714/- was a few years later guaranteed a Rs. 20,00,000/- purse. The Government of India also generally reduced the allowances with every succession in the family.
in 1969 and was defeated by one vote.
It was again proposed in 1971 by then Prime Minister of India
, Indira Gandhi
and was successfully passed as the 26th Amendement to the Constitution of India in 1971.. Indira Gandhi argued the case for abolition based on equal rights for all citizens and the need to reduce the government's revenue deficit.
Many erstwhile royals tried to protest the abolition of the Privy Purse, primarily through campaigns to contest seats in the Lok Sabha
elections of 1971. They, however, received a rude shock when many of them were defeated by huge margins. This included Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
, the last and former Nawab of Pataudi, who contested from Gurgaon
. Mansoor contested as a candidate for the Vishal Haryana Party
, but received barely 5% of the vote in a two-way contest.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the Privy Purse
Privy Purse
The Privy Purse is the British Sovereign's remaining private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £13.3 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2009. The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres held in trust for the Sovereign since 1399. It also has...
was a payment made to the royal families of erstwhile princely states as part of their agreements to first integrate with India in 1947, and later to merge their states in 1949 whereby they lost all ruling rights. The Privy Purse was continued to the royal families until the Constitutional Amendment of 1971, implemented after a two year legal battle, was passed by which all their privileges and allowances from the Central Government ceased to exist. In some individual cases however privy purses were continued for life for individuals who had held ruling powers before 1947.
History
When BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ceded its paramountcy over British India (including the modern states of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
), a large portion of the subcontinent was held by rulers whose position and status within the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
varied. There were in 1947 more than 565 such princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
s in India whose position and relation with the Paramount Power was determined by separate treaties. A system of Gun salutes also determined the importance of each state. On the eve of independence, most of these states had signed the Instrument of Accession with either India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
or Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Only certain states pressed for claims of complete independence after the British left India. However, due to the diplomacy of Vallabhbhai Patel and VP Menon, Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
, Bhopal and Jodhpur
Jodhpur
Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
signed the Instruments of Accession before 15 August 1947. Even after independence three states vacillated, namely Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, Junagadh
Junagadh
Junagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...
and Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
which were integrated later.
The Instruments of Accession needed the states to only cede defense, communications and foreign relations to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Democratic institutions were introduced in these states and it was only in 1949 that they were fully merged with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to form new states. Thus Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
and Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
merged into India and formed the new state of Thiru-Kochi. Although in 1947 the royal families had been allowed to retain large sums of money as their Privy Purse
Privy Purse
The Privy Purse is the British Sovereign's remaining private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £13.3 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2009. The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres held in trust for the Sovereign since 1399. It also has...
, in 1949 with the states and its revenues being entirely taken over by the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
, it was the Indian Government that provided the rulers and their families with Privy Purses that were determined by several factors such as revenue of the state, gun salute enjoyed, antiquity of the dynasty and so on . Dewan Jarmani Dass of Kapurthala
Kapurthala
Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The secular and aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic...
says:
The Princely States Receiving Privy Purses
As stated above, the Privy Purses were determined by several factors. Minor feudatories of the erstwhile princely states received whatever little allowances the princely governments had been providing them. For the 565 princely states, Privy Purses ranged from Rs. 5000/- per annum to amounts in millions. Only 6 of the most important states in India were provided with Privy Purses above Rs. 10,00,000/-. These states were HyderabadHyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, Mysore, Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
, Baroda, Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
and Patiala. For several rulers, the agreements provided for a reduction in the Privy Purse for successors. For certain other states, while certain amounts were guaranteed for the time being, it was liable to be reduced soon after. Thus Hyderabad which received initially a Privy Purse of Rs. 42,85,714/- was a few years later guaranteed a Rs. 20,00,000/- purse. The Government of India also generally reduced the allowances with every succession in the family.
Abolition
The motion to abolish Privy Purses, and the official recognition of the titles, was originally brought before the ParliamentParliament of India
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...
in 1969 and was defeated by one vote.
It was again proposed in 1971 by then Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
, Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
and was successfully passed as the 26th Amendement to the Constitution of India in 1971.. Indira Gandhi argued the case for abolition based on equal rights for all citizens and the need to reduce the government's revenue deficit.
Many erstwhile royals tried to protest the abolition of the Privy Purse, primarily through campaigns to contest seats in the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
elections of 1971. They, however, received a rude shock when many of them were defeated by huge margins. This included Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
Mansoor Ali Khan or Mansur Ali Khan , sometimes M.A.K. Pataudi , nicknamed Tiger Pataudi, was an Indian cricketer and former captain of the Indian cricket team...
, the last and former Nawab of Pataudi, who contested from Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
. Mansoor contested as a candidate for the Vishal Haryana Party
Vishal Haryana Party
Vishal Haryana Party was a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, led by Rao Birender Singh. It merged with Congress on September 23, 1978. It was first regional party of Haryana and successfully made its own Chief minister only after six months of formation of Haryana state....
, but received barely 5% of the vote in a two-way contest.