Who took office as the Prime Minister of India on 9 June 1964, after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru?
- A.Gulzarilal Nanda
- B.Morarji Desai
- C.Lal Bahadur Shastri
- D.K. Kamaraj
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Lal Bahadur Shastri. Nehru died in office on 27 May 1964, Gulzarilal Nanda served as acting Prime Minister for the thirteen days that followed, and Lal Bahadur Shastri was sworn in on 9 June 1964; he led the country through the war of 1965, gave the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisan and died at Tashkent in January 1966. Option A, Gulzarilal Nanda, is the acting Prime Minister and not the one who took office as Prime Minister, and he acted again after Shastri's death. Option B, Morarji Desai, was a contender in the succession but became Prime Minister only in 1977, as the first head of a non-Congress government. Option D, K. Kamaraj, was the Congress president who guided the succession and is remembered for the Kamaraj Plan of 1963, under which senior leaders left office for party work.
Read the full article: India after Independence 1947-1964: Notes and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhich operation was carried out to merge the princely state of Hyderabad with the Indian Union in September 1948?
- A.Operation Vijay
- B.Operation Polo
- C.Operation Meghdoot
- D.Operation Cactus
Show answer
The Nizam of Hyderabad signed a Standstill Agreement in November 1947 and then delayed accession while the Razakar militia terrorised the countryside; the Indian government sent in troops from 13 to 18 September 1948 in an action called Operation Polo, after which Hyderabad acceded to India.
Read the full explanation →Who headed the States Department that carried out the integration of the princely states after 1947?
- A.Jawaharlal Nehru
- B.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- C.C. Rajagopalachari
- D.Rajendra Prasad
Show answer
The States Department was created in July 1947 with Patel as the minister in charge and V. P. Menon as its secretary, and the pair persuaded the rulers to sign the Instrument of Accession, which is why Patel is remembered as the Iron Man of India and his birthday is…
Read the full explanation →The death of which leader after a prolonged fast led to the creation of Andhra State in 1953?
- A.Potti Sriramulu
- B.Tanguturi Prakasam
- C.N. G. Ranga
- D.Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Show answer
He fasted for a separate Telugu-speaking state and died on 15 December 1952 on the fifty-eighth day of the fast; the protests that followed forced the government to announce Andhra State, which was created on 1 October 1953 as the first state formed on a linguistic basis, with Kurnool as…
Read the full explanation →Who was the chairman of the States Reorganisation Commission appointed in 1953?
- A.K. M. Panikkar
- B.H. N. Kunzru
- C.Fazl Ali
- D.S. K. Dhar
Show answer
The States Reorganisation Commission was appointed in December 1953 under Justice Fazl Ali, with the historian and diplomat K. M. Panikkar and the educationist H. N. Kunzru as its two members, and its report of 1955 accepted language as a basis for reorganisation while rejecting the formula of one language…
Read the full explanation →The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 reorganised India into how many states and union territories?
- A.Sixteen states and nine union territories
- B.Fourteen states and six union territories
- C.Seventeen states and ten union territories
- D.Twelve states and five union territories
Show answer
The Act came into force on 1 November 1956 and, along with the Seventh Amendment of the same year, ended the old classification of Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D states that the Constitution had set out in 1950, leaving fourteen states and six union territories.
Read the full explanation →