Privy Purses

Privy Purses – The necessity to redeem it

Privy purses were indeed a fair deal. Had Sardar Vallabai Patel not introduced the idea of Privy purses, not a single princely state ruler who have opted to integrate their land, wealth and people with the rest of the nation. If the princely states weren’t united, India would have been a fragile country that easily exposes itself to attacks from other ambitious countries. Moreover, I don’t think a country named ‘India’ would have existed if this unity did not take place. Now, we call ourselves as a country that has ‘Unity in diversity’. The Indian government must understand that it was only the ‘Privy purses’ that made way for this integrity we experience now. By spending money to give those rulers who have agreed to ‘Privy Purses’, the country is neither going to lose all its wealth nor will its treasury get emptied. It’s just 4 crores that India would spend annually for Privy Purses. This amount is nothing when compared to the money that is being corrupted everyday by our politicians. Privy Purses was a peaceful treaty between India and its princely rulers. Now that being violated, who knows when the successors of the rulers are going to trouble the government to redeem it. With Patel’s dream having failed, I don’t think there’s any use in spending 2500 crores to build his statue. If Patel had been living now, he would have been even happier if this 2500 crores were used for the Privy Purses.