RAS question
The 'Rajasthan Union' (second stage, 25 March 1948) was formed by merging which group of states?
Correct answer: (B) Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar, Tonk, Dungarpur, Banswara, Pratapgarh, Kishangarh, Shahpura.
The Rajasthan Union inaugurated on 25 March 1948 was formed by Banswara, Bundi, Dungarpur, Jhalawar, Kishangarh, Pratapgarh, Shahpura, Tonk and Kota, with Kota as its capital.
Explanation
The second stage is the Union of Rajasthan inaugurated on 25 March 1948. The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly page lists its constituent princely states as Banswara, Bundi, Dungarpur, Jhalawar, Kishangarh, Pratapgarh, Shahapura, Tonk and Kota, and adds that Kota received the honour of being the capital. This is option B, with the same nine-state grouping. The date matters because it came after the Matsya Union of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli, inaugurated on 17 March 1948, and before Udaipur's later decision to join the Union. So the answer is not just a list of states; it is the specific 25 March 1948 stage in Rajasthan's phased integration.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer are linked to the later formation of Greater Rajasthan, not to the Union of Rajasthan inaugurated on 25 March 1948.
- (C) This group does not match the nine-state Union of Rajasthan; Udaipur decided to join only after that Union was inaugurated, while Ajmer's merger is discussed separately for November 1956.
- (D) Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli formed the Matsya Union inaugurated on 17 March 1948, so they belong to an earlier stage, not the 25 March Union of Rajasthan.
Concept
This tests the phased integration of Rajasthan after 1947. It recurs in RAS because nearby dates, similarly named unions and overlapping princely-state lists are easy to confuse.