HPAS 2025 Prelims : In the Interim Government formed in 1946, the Viceroy of India (Lord Wavell) was the President of the Executive Council. Jawaharlal Nehru's official designation was Vice-President of the Executive Council.

HPAS 2025 Prelims Question 96 – Given below are two statements: Statement I: In the Interim Government of

Given below are two statements:

In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

(A) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct

(B) Both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect (

C) Statement I is correct and Statement II is incorrect

(D) Statement I is incorrect and Statement II is correct

The correct answer is (D) Statement I is incorrect and Statement II is correct.

Statement I: In the Interim Government of 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister and Head of the Executive Council of Viceroy. (Incorrect) This statement is factually incorrect. In the Interim Government formed in 1946, the Viceroy of India (Lord Wavell) was the President of the Executive Council. Jawaharlal Nehru’s official designation was Vice-President of the Executive Council. While he functioned as the de facto head of the ministers, the formal head was the Viceroy, and the title “Prime Minister” was not used at that time.

Statement II: Rajni Kothari observed that “It is not politics that gets caste ridden, it is caste that gets politicised”. (Correct)This statement is correct. It is one of the most famous and influential observations by Rajni Kothari, a renowned Indian political scientist. He argued that the advent of democratic politics in India did not simply make politics a dirty game of casteism. Instead, it empowered caste groups to transform themselves into political blocs to compete for power and resources, a process he termed the “politicisation of caste.”