What does the Prince sitting on the back of a poor man indicate ?
OR
(For Visually Impaired Candidates, in lieu of question number 25) Name the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
What does the Prince sitting on the back of a poor man indicate ?
OR
(For Visually Impaired Candidates, in lieu of question number 25) Name the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
Official answer
Main question: The Prince sitting on the back of a poor man symbolises the exploitation and burden of autocratic princely rule on the common people — the ordinary subjects bore the weight of feudal privilege while princes enjoyed power without democratic accountability, underlining the urgency of integrating princely states into a democratic Indian Union.
OR (for Visually Impaired Candidates): The first Deputy Prime Minister of India was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: correctly explains the symbolism of exploitation/burden of princely rule on common people (or, for the VI alternative, correctly names Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as first Deputy PM).
Hint
Think about what the visual of one person carrying another's weight represents in a political sense.
Quick oral answer
The Prince sitting on the poor man's back symbolises how ordinary subjects bore the burden of exploitative princely rule, justifying the need for democratic integration.
Common mistakes
- 1.Describing the cartoon only literally without explaining the symbolic meaning of exploitation.
- 2.Naming Morarji Desai or another leader instead of Sardar Patel as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
Analysis and explanation
This question requires interpreting the cartoon's symbolism rather than just recalling a fact.
Concept
- The image of the Prince riding on the poor man's back is a visual metaphor for the exploitative, non-democratic nature of princely rule, where the common subject's labour and taxes supported the ruler's lavish lifestyle.
- It reinforces the argument that integrating princely states into India was not just a political necessity for national unity, but also a step towards ending feudal exploitation and extending democratic rights to the people of these states.
OR alternative
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel served as India's first Deputy Prime Minister (and also first Home Minister) in Nehru's cabinet from 1947 until his death in 1950.
Exam trap: Students often describe the cartoon literally (e.g., 'the prince is sitting on a man') without explaining the underlying political symbolism of exploitation and the case for integration/democratisation.
Interesting facts
The privy purse system, later abolished in 1971, was originally a compensation given to former princely rulers for surrendering their sovereign powers.
Sardar Patel held the dual role of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister simultaneously in Nehru's first cabinet.
Before integration, princely states covered about two-fifths of the area of undivided India and included over 25% of its population.
Question details
Q29 of 38 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 12
- Subject
- Political Science
- Year
- 2026
- Section
- Section D
- Marks
- 1
- Chapter
- Challenges of Nation Building
- Topic
- Integration of Princely States — Cartoon Analysis
- Bloom's level
- understand
- Syllabus topic
- Challenges of Nation Building — Symbolism of princely rule and the case for integration
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
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Frequently asked questions
Why is the poor man shown carrying the Prince's weight in the cartoon?
It symbolically represents how ordinary subjects under princely rule bore the economic and social burden of maintaining autocratic rulers, who lived off their labour and taxes without offering democratic accountability.
Who was the first Deputy Prime Minister of independent India?
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was India's first Deputy Prime Minister, serving alongside Jawaharlal Nehru's Prime Ministership from 1947 to 1950.