{"id":91494,"date":"2026-04-15T16:30:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=91494"},"modified":"2026-04-17T11:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:27:20","slug":"26th-constitutional-amendment-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/26th-constitutional-amendment-act\/","title":{"rendered":"26th Constitutional Amendment Act, Reasons, Relevance, Significance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>26th Constitutional Amendment Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was an important amendment to the Constitution of India passed in <\/span><b>1971.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It aimed to <\/span><b>bring changes related to the status and privileges<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that existed from the time of the integration of princely states after independence. The amendment was introduced to <\/span><b>strengthen the principles of equality and democracy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the country and to ensure that the constitutional system was in line with the idea of a modern republic.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About 26th Constitutional Amendment Act<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>26th Constitutional Amendment Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was passed in <\/span><b>1971<\/b> <b>to abolish the privy purses and special privileges<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> given to the former rulers of princely states. The main objective was to <\/span><b>promote equality and establish an egalitarian society in India.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After independence, many princely states agreed to join the Indian Union. In return for surrendering their ruling powers, the government guaranteed them a <\/span><b>tax-free payment called privy purse along with certain privileges.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> These guarantees were provided under<\/span><b> Article 291 and Article 362 of the Constitution of India.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The amount of privy purses was generally about <\/span><b>one-fourth of the income that the rulers had earlier received.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the system of privy purse was initially accepted as part of the agreement for the integration of princely states, it later came to be criticised for being <\/span><b>inconsistent with the democratic principle of equality.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> During the discussions in the Constituent Assembly of India on 12 October 1949, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/sardar-vallabhbhai-patel\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel<\/a><\/strong> explained that these payments were a necessary compromise to ensure the peaceful integration of the princely states into India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, over time the government decided that such privileges were not suitable for a democratic republic. Therefore, <\/span><b>the amendment abolished the privy purse, ended the recognition of former rulers, and removed Articles 291 and 362<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/indian-constitution\/\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution of India<\/a><\/strong>, strengthening the principles of equality and democracy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Relevance of Privy Purse<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After independence, many princely states joined India on the condition that their rulers would receive a fixed payment from the government, known as the <\/span><b>privy purse.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> These payments were guaranteed under Article 291 of the Constitution of India and Article 362 of the Constitution of India. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, over time the system was criticised for several reasons:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It gave <\/span><b>special privileges and financial benefits<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to former rulers, which created inequality in a democratic country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It continued the <\/span><b>old colonial practice of ruler and ruled<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which was not suitable for a modern republic.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It went <\/span><b>against the principle of equality<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> mentioned in the Constitution of India, especially the ideals in the Preamble of the Constitution of India and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/fundamental-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fundamental Rights<\/a><\/strong> (Part III).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The payments also created an <\/span><b>extra financial burden on the government<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at a time when the country was facing poverty, hunger, and development challenges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result, <\/span><b>the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed in 1971<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which abolished the privy purse and removed Articles 291 and 362 from the Constitution.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Reasons for Abolition of Privy Purse<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Equality before law:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Privy purse gave special financial benefits to a small group of former rulers, which went against the principle of equal rights for all citizens.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Incompatibility with democracy: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The idea of maintaining royal privileges did not match the values of democracy, equality, and social justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Economic reasons:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India was facing serious economic challenges, including poverty and rising government expenditure. Abolishing the privy purse helped reduce the financial burden on the state.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Socialist goals:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The government aimed to build a socialistic pattern of society, where resources would be used for the welfare of all people rather than for maintaining royal privileges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Political and economic pressures:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Events such as the 1971 refugee crisis from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) increased government expenditure, making it necessary to reduce unnecessary payments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thus, the abolition of the privy purse was seen as an important step toward strengthening democracy, equality, and economic justice in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Significance of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act (1971)<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Promoted Equality:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The amendment ended special privileges given to former princely rulers and strengthened the principle of equality before law.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Strengthened Democracy:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> By abolishing royal privileges, it reinforced the idea that all citizens are equal in a democratic republic.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ended Privy Purses:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It removed the system of privy purse payments, which were earlier given to former rulers after the integration of princely states.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reduced Financial Burden:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Abolishing these payments helped reduce unnecessary government expenditure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Completed Political Integration:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It marked an important step in fully integrating the princely states into the Indian democratic system.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>26th Constitutional Amendment Act 1971 abolished privy purses and privileges of former princely rulers, strengthening equality and democratic values in India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":91482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[5912,5484,5485],"class_list":{"0":"post-91494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-26th-constitutional-amendment-act","9":"tag-polity","10":"tag-polity-notes","11":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91494"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91508,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91494\/revisions\/91508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}