UPSC Mains 2026 GS1 Q12: model answer
Linguistic reorganization of Indian States was driven by popular pressure from below. Comment.
What the question wants
Agree largely, with examples of mass movements; also show the reluctance at the top and the institutional process, then give a verdict.
How to structure it
Intro: Congress's pre-1947 promise and post-1947 hesitation. Body: pressure from below (Andhra, Samyukta Maharashtra, Mahagujarat, Punjabi Suba); the top-down side (Dar, JVP, SRC). Conclusion: popular pressure decisive, state shaped the outcome.
- 1Pressure from below (Andhra, Samyukta Maharashtra, Mahagujarat, Punjabi Suba)
- 2The top-down side (Dar, JVP, SRC)
Model answer
The Congress had accepted linguistic provinces in 1920 and organised itself on that basis. After Partition, leaders feared further division. The Dar Commission (1948) and the JVP Committee (Nehru, Patel, Sitaramayya, 1949) advised delay.
- 1920Congress accepts linguistic provinces
- 1948-49Dar Commission, JVP Committee advise delay
- 1952Potti Sriramulu dies fasting
- 1953Andhra State formed
- 1956States Reorganisation Act: 14 states, 6 UTs
- 1960Maharashtra and Gujarat
- 1966Punjab and Haryana
Pressure from below
- Andhra: Potti Sriramulu's fast and death in December 1952 set off riots; Nehru announced Andhra State, formed on 1 October 1953.
- That forced the States Reorganisation Commission (Fazl Ali, Panikkar, Kunzru), whose report led to the States Reorganisation Act, 1956: 14 states and 6 UTs.
- Samyukta Maharashtra and Mahagujarat agitations, with police firing in Bombay, split the bilingual Bombay State in 1960.
- Punjabi Suba movement under Master Tara Singh and Sant Fateh Singh produced Punjab and Haryana (1966).
The view from above
- The SRC rejected language as the only test and stressed unity, administrative and economic viability.
- The Centre kept control under Articles 3 and 4 and refused some claims.
- Later states (Nagaland 1963, the 2000 trio, Telangana 2014) rested on tribal identity, development and governance, not language alone.
Comment: the statement is broadly correct. Without mass mobilisation, the leadership would have postponed the issue. But the outcome was negotiated: the Centre set terms, added zonal councils and kept Hindi and English as link languages.
The result proved the doubters wrong. Linguistic states strengthened regional languages and democracy, and made India more stable, not less.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
JVP Committee Potti Sriramulu SRC 1955 Samyukta Maharashtra Punjabi Suba Article 3
Where most answers lose marks
- Narrating events without commenting on 'from below'
- Ignoring the Centre's role
Same theme in Prelims
The artificially fixed rupee-sterling exchange rate prescribed by the Hilton-Young Commission (1926) was adopted by the British Government for which one of the following reasons ?
Answer (a) & explanation
The rate helped remittances and India's creditworthiness (a). The Hilton-Young Commission (1926) fixed the rupee at 1s 6d, against the 1s 4d Indian business wanted. A dearer rupee made the Home Charges and other remittances to Britain cheaper to pay in rupees and kept India's credit good in London. Option (c) is wrong: Indian exporters, cotton included, lost out, since a dear rupee makes exports costly. Option (b) is wrong: helping Indian importers was not the aim. Option (d) is wrong: the issue was the sterling rate, not gold.
Notice the nationalist anger: Purshotamdas Thakurdas wrote a dissent, and the "ratio controversy" fed economic nationalism. The commission also proposed a central bank, leading to the RBI (1935).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following statements about the Eka Movement and Bardoli Satyagraha is correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Option (c) is the correct description (c). Bardoli (1928, Surat district) was Vallabhbhai Patel's no-revenue campaign against a 22% land revenue hike. The Eka (unity) movement of 1921–22 rose against rents charged above the recorded amount. Option (a) is wrong: Congress started Eka, but under Madari Pasi it moved outside Congress control. Option (b) is wrong: Eka was led by peasants against taluqdars, and Bardoli was by landholding peasants. Option (d) is wrong: Eka was in Hardoi, Bahraich and Sitapur, and Bardoli is in Gujarat, not Saurashtra.
Notice that Bardoli's women gave Patel the title "Sardar". The Maxwell-Broomfield inquiry cut the hike to 6.03%, a clear win for the peasants.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements with reference to the Constitution of India :
- 1. There is no Article in the Constitution of India that specifies that the Constitution of India will be officially called the 'Constitution of India'.
- 2. There is no Article in the Constitution of India that specifies that the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the Government of India Act, 1935 stand repealed.
- 3. There is no Article in the Constitution of India that mentions 26th January, 1950 as the date of the commencement of the Constitution of India.
Which one of the following conclusions based on the above statements is correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
There is no correct statement (b). The last Articles of the Constitution answer all three. Statement 1 is wrong: Article 393 gives the short title, "the Constitution of India". Statement 2 is wrong: Article 395 repeals the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the Government of India Act, 1935. Statement 3 is wrong: Article 394 says the remaining provisions come into force on 26 January 1950, the "commencement of this Constitution". So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the two dates: some provisions, like citizenship, elections and the provisional Parliament, came into force on 26 November 1949, when the Constitution was adopted. The rest began on 26 January 1950, chosen because the Purna Swaraj pledge was made on that day in 1930.
three negative statements in a row. Turn each one positive in your head: "Is there an Article that…?" Then answer.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/QP-CSM-26-010926-GENERAL%20STUDIES%20PAPER%20-%20I.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.